by Karthika Gopalakrishnan & Samantha Kokkat A festive atmosphere reigned on Day 1 of the 2022 Neev Literature Festival as readers of all ages came together to meet authors, as well as experience music, rhythm, and story. It began with Kapil Pandey, a storyteller and performer, setting the tone with the depiction of sailing on … Continue reading #INDIAKIDLIT – All the Places that Reading Takes You: the Neev Literature Festival

by Karthika Gopalakrishnan After three years of gathering at events online, authors, illustrators, and publishers came together at the Neev Book Award Retreat to discuss the space that Indian children’s publishing finds itself in and what can be done to go forward. This event was conducted to commemorate the fifth year of the award, ahead … Continue reading #INDIAKIDLIT – Looking Back, Looking Ahead at Indian Children’s Literature

by Kavita Gupta Sabharwal Lifelong learning depends on reading. Parents and teachers are aligned but need the ecosystem to create access and guide choices Jonas Salk - the inventor of the Polio vaccine - suggested the most important question to ask ourselves is, “Are we being good ancestors?” This question nudges us toward ethical choices … Continue reading #INDIAKIDLIT – Breeding Readers

by Karthika Gopalakrishnan Amish Tripathi Amish has always marched to the beat of his own drum.  From his 2010 decision to self-publish his debut work of fiction—The Immortals of Meluha, the first book in The Shiva Trilogy—a reimagined narrative of traditional Hindu mythology, to setting up the Immortal Writers’ Centre initiative today (similar to what … Continue reading #INDIAKIDLIT – Amish Tripathi on Books, Balance, and Building Bridges to One’s Culture

by Samantha Kokkat Paro Anand, a celebrated member of India’s children’s literature community, writes short stories, novels, plays and poetry for children and young adults. Paro Anand (image source: HarperCollins India) A fearless writer who has won accolades including the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar for her collection Wild Child and Other Stories, now … Continue reading #INDIAKIDLIT – Opening the Gates: Paro Anand on Diversity in Indian Children’s Literature

by Samantha Kokkat Nestled in an apartment in the hills of Mussoorie, India’s most beloved children’s book author has been religiously stringing together words and sending them readers’ way for around seven decades now. Ruskin Bond (image source: The Hindu) Ruskin Bond published his first novel, The Room on the Roof, in 1956 when he … Continue reading #INDIAKIDLIT – Ruskin Bond – The Writer in the Hills

by Samantha Kokkat Anushka Ravishankar Anushka Ravishankar, an eminent personality in India’s children’s literature industry, has been working in children’s publishing since 1996 as an editor and writer. She started off as an editor at Tara Books, a groundbreaking independent publishing house, where she wrote her first book Tiger on a Tree. In 2012, she … Continue reading #INDIAKIDLIT – Anushka Ravishankar on Writing Wicked, Wacky Verse

by Nadine Bailey This is a personal story of my relationship with Tara Books - for an extensive history of the company please read their latest blog celebrating 28 years of existence.  My first introduction to Indian books was through what is probably one of Tara Books’ most famous offerings - the inimitable London Jungle … Continue reading #INDIAKIDLIT – Tara Books – a pilgrimage and homage

by Shobha Viswanath Karadi Tales -- a children's book publishing house based in Chennai, India A child’s imagination is a vibrant thing, always hungry for stories. Adults, in their role as storytellers to children, nurture this imagination through the stories they tell them. But this can be a daunting task for the typical adult who is … Continue reading #INDIAKIDLIT – The Case of the Fascinating Folktale

by Jeremy Willette As a librarian, former language teacher, and someone who lived and worked in India for eight years, I love everything there is about Pratham Books. Pratham Books (pronounced like the English "TH" in "Thanks" and which means “first” in Hindi) is a nonprofit publisher whose top mission is to get books into … Continue reading #INDIAKIDLIT – Pratham Books & StoryWeaver