All you need to know about the upcoming Vizag Junior Literary Fest

In times when a large segment of children and young readers are leaning towards screens rather than books for entertainment, the need to open their minds to literature is the aim of the Vizag Junior Literary Fest. Jaya Siva Murty brings you all that you must know about the event.

With the belief that interaction with literature doesn’t just mean reading or writing a book, the Vizag Junior Literary Fest brings forth a first-of-its-kind experience for the city. The brainchild of Sandhya Godey, Priya Gopalakrishnan and Sonal Sarda, the event presents a fun-filled interaction and experience with literature for children in the city, as it also engages the grown-ups in the family.

What and when

Slated to be held on November 17 and 18, the two-day festival will bring together a bouquet offering of renowned authors, illustrators, storytellers, publishing houses, books and theatre from across the country. These creative minds will regale the young audience with stories that use elements of music, theatre and craft, as they also touch many sensitive topics such as overcoming insecurities and dealing with loss. Sessions for the visually challenged children, discussions on important topics like learning disabilities, teaching through stories and parenting would also be held.

The speakers and sessions

From Roopa Pai, award-winning author of ‘The Gita for Children’ to Sowmya Rajendran, Sushree Mishra and Richa Jha Founder of Pickle Yolk Books, Vizag Junior Literary Fest will also bring together renowned storytellers Janaki Sabesh, Seema Wahi, Sherin Mathews, Deepa Kiran and Bongiswa Kotta-Ramushwana. Illustrators Priya Kuriyan and Ashwathy P.S., renowned for their association with Ruskin Bond and Karadi Tales respectively, will bring forth sessions, while Tanu Shree Singh, psychologist and author will address sessions on parenting as well. Publishers specialising in children literature such as Aparna Raman, Daya Subramanium, will also hold sessions.

With close to 60 slots, each being an hour-long, sessions over the weekend are divided on the basis of age groups. Book signings and theatre from the house of Helen O’ Grady theatre is also planned. Besides the sessions, which need to be pre-booked, one can walk-in to attend any of the open sessions which are on a first-come-first-served basis.

Book fair

A major attraction at the fest would be the ongoing book fair, that will bring together books from many publishing houses. In times when western authors dominate the market shelves, the fair will bring in Indian authors. With visualising local elements being much easier for children to relate to a story, all would thus have the Indian connect, as they bring stories from a knife sharpener to that of animals and people. Moreover, the books available would be pocket-friendly ranging from Rs. 50 to Rs. 200.

Book launch

The fest will also play host to two book launch events. The first book launch would be of ‘Anaga Anaga in Andhra’ with stories collated from a city-contest run across schools of Visakhapatnam, of which the 15 best stories written by children have made their way into the book. The second book launch would be of a novel – “The Hidden Children” by author Reshma Krishnan.

Want to know more about Vizag Junior Literary Fest?

Details about the event are up online. So, if you want to know about the sessions or the people conducting them, more information is available at www.vizaglitfest.com