There's nothing quite like the energy of a lit fest. Children running around, reading, getting excited about books ... what more does a writer want?My first session of the day was all about my middle-grade book, Sisters at New Dawn. Do you see the sheets of paper in the children's hands? They're lists of subjects children at New Dawn choose from. I asked the children to imagine they received these lists. What would they choose? I loved listening to all their responses, and all their additions to my subject lists!But what made my session extra special is the girl in yellow right in the front. That's Sunandini, and we finally took a picture together too. She's been part of my online creative writing programme for the last two years now, and she lives in Kolkata, but she stayed back just for my session! Sunandini bought Sisters, read it one day in advance, and brought it … [Read more...]
Lit Fests in Schools
Last year, St. Mary's School had its first lit fest, and I was delighted to be part of it. Talking to starry-eyed children is an experience like no other, and that's why lit fests in school are special.After addressing the children who were gathered together in the hall, we visited a few classrooms, met the girls and looked at the work they had put together. It was good fun, and I wished I had more time with each child. In an hour, I could do no justice to 150 very different reading-related projects. Stories, 3-D projects, book reports, reviews ... These girls from classes I to III had them all! (Some very honestly told me, 'My father and I made this' or 'My mother did everything and I did the colouring'.)Many of the children I met are now in my Writers' Club, and I'm delighted to be working with them all year on their writing.They were excited to meet me again, … [Read more...]
The Lit Bug Fest 2017
Do you see all the red marks? That's what I attended at the Lit Bug Fest yesterday!The first event of the day was a play written by a young girl and performed by Pushkar Rangmanch. A sweet story, performed with enthusiasm!A few months ago, I invited Leela Gour Broome to address the Writers' Club at St. Mary's. Yesterday, I watched how she told a story to children of varied ages. I also watched Kakoli Bagchi tell a story for the first time. With lovely little puppets, they brought Mrs Broome's story Red Kite Adventure to life! After that, she told the story of a shiny red ball that travels the globe ... I enjoyed the story as much as the children did!My event was next on the agenda, and I loved it! I did have a wide range of children there, and I'm afraid the older children weren't as involved as the younger ones, but all in all, it was such … [Read more...]