The authors of Flickering Flames, an anthology of short stories and poems, were part of the Pune International Literary Festival (PILF) 2016! The young girls, all in the age-group 11-13, got the opportunity to read excerpts from their work at an event that welcomed a range of eminent speakers and writers.Of the thirteen members of the Writers' Club at St. Mary's, ten spoke at PILF 2016. One girl spoke of how Flickering Flames was born, after which each of the girls read a little of what they had written. They spoke of their journey with me, writing, rewriting and editing. The audience asked questions, engaging in a lively discussion with the young writers. This was just a beginning for them; I hope to see them with more books to their credit in the years to come! … [Read more...]
Flickering Flames – A Review
Flickering Flames is a collection of short stories and poems written by the members of the Writers' Club at St. Mary's School. Here's a little about it.Ishitaa Shevate, one of the students in the next batch of the Writers' Club, reviewed the book: here's what she has to say!This is a very nice book. It draws the reader into each and every poem or story. I couldn't stop turning pages. It is by the girls of my school. My favourite story was 'Room 37'. This book is filled with excitement. I would recommend this book to people who like poetry, mystery and other genres. … [Read more...]
Author Visit
Yesterday, the Writers' Club at St. Mary's School welcomed Leela Gour Broome, author of Flute in the Forest and Red Kite Adventure. Mrs Broome introduced her two books and spoke to the children about the process of writing them."I'm not a fan of fantasy," she said when the children asked her what she reads. "I think we need more realistic Indian fiction that children can read!"Her own books are inspired by experiences she's had through her close interaction with nature, experiences that help her stories ring true. "Even when you imagine, there's a limit, right? For instance, you could write about a pony that is colourful and magical … Maybe the pony can fly. But would you be able to convince your readers that the pony can drive a car? Remember that the reader must be able to imagine with you, so don't let your imagination get away with you!"The … [Read more...]
Flickering Flames – Now Available!
During the last academic year, a group of girls from St. Mary's School worked with me at the Writers' Club. They imagined, wrote and rewrote. Now, their work is available in the form of an anthology of poems and short stories! Flickering Flames, written by girls from classes VI and VII of St. Mary's School, is now available online.The proud authors are Advaya Venbakkam, Advika Dhar, Ananya Banerjee, Anika Garg, Anushka Shinde, Ashna Bhavnagarwalla, Jayde MacFarland,Lavanya Dua, Pareesa Irani, Rashmin Kaur Juneja, Riva Verma, Samiksha Deshpande and Tejasee Khurjekar.The illustrators (also girls from the school) are Advaya Venbakkam, Ananya Banerjee, Anika Garg, Ashna Bhavnagarwalla, Chahat Agarwal, Nandini Ghosh, Pareesa Irani, Paridhi Kumar, Riva Verma, Samiksha Deshpande, Shanaya … [Read more...]
Writers’ Club – The Last Session
A whole year with my first batch of the Writers' Club at St. Mary's School is over! We've written all kinds of things. I've put a few pieces up on my blog; I've made the girls write and rewrite, write and rewrite ... We did poetry, prose and drama. We worked with back stories, plot and setting. We played all kinds of games and we did all kinds of activities. And it was fun.During my first session, 60 children showed up. I knew many of them would not keep at it. I reminded them, several times, that if their compositions improved, or they began to write answers better, these would be side benefits. I warned them that I expected assignments to be submitted on time.And finally, about 15 stuck with it. They continued to attend sessions, even though writing regularly was tough, and I kept making them rework their pieces. During the orientation for the next batch, the girls kept … [Read more...]