With the worldwide outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone is facing issues. Locked at home, working and studying from there itself can become a bit too much, especially with all the negativity that social media is filling us with. No matter which platform you access, there is always some negative news about the coronavirus. All of this can be a bit overwhelming for most of us. And to get a break from this overexposure to negativity, everyone is trying to do something engaging in one way or the other. Be it engaging in hobbies like reading, cooking, painting or trying something entirely new, something that you always thought you would get around to trying, but never had the opportunity, not until now.
Though almost everyone from the privileged section of the society is using the lockdown period to be productive, the group which is having the happiest experience is probably that of bibliophiles. Bibliophiles all over the world are using this quarantine time to clear their TBR(to-be-read) shelves and to make their quarantine time even more fun and exciting, Manjul Publishing House of Bhopal, India has initiated something which is the only exception to books when it comes to bringing joy to bibliophiles; yes! Your guess is spot on: “A Literary Festival”
Most bibliophiles, busy with school, college and work, can now finally sit down with their beloved stash of books, and get high on the musty odour of all those dusty pages, and blow away their worries and the dust as they get down to the real business of reading without having to worry about putting other important tasks on hold. And while the rest of the world is sulking about not having a taste of the outdoors, these word walkers, time travel, visit strange and otherworldly places, all from the comfort of their cosy reading nooks, breathing foreign air through sunlit windows. Bibliophiles seem to follow Katrina Mayer’s quote very dearly “A book is a magical thing that lets you travel to far-away places without ever leaving your chair.” Haha!
Manjul publishing house has brought the literary festival to every bibliophile’s home. They have used the lockdown to be the perfect opportunity to fulfil the wish of bibliophiles of attending the literary festival without stepping out of their homes. Yes! You read it right. They have brought it to their comfy rooms. Excited already? Well, hold yourself because the details of the fest will make you even more excited.
Manjul publishing house is conducting the first-ever online literary festival. It is starting tomorrow on the 11th of April and will go on till the 12th of April. Attendees would be treated to talks, discussions and workshops ranging from mental health to Indian mythology. 30 Amaryllis and Manjul authors would be part of this online literary festival. Guest speakers shall be logging in from Bangalore to Calcutta and everywhere in between the country.
The festival is not at all confined to India only, it will be having bestselling Australian writer couple Allan and Barbara Pease and some writers like Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Rajiv Malhotra and Dr Chris Winters from the USA too.
The festival will also be making attempts to help viewers cope with the current times through positive and relevant sessions around coping with loneliness, the mental health of children, writing stories, moving forward and sleeping well to name a few. All these topics will be taken up on the panel by the very talented authors of Amaryllis and Manjul.
For those who don’t know, Manjul has, over the years, single-handedly created a niche market for high-quality Indian language translations of international bestsellers, and has emerged as the front-runner in the translations publishing segment of the Indian publishing industry. Their translations list include eminent authors like Yuval Noah Harari, Stephen R Covey, Rhonda Byrne, JK Rowling and others. Amaryllis, on the other hand, is a literary fiction and non-fiction imprint of Manjul Publishing House, India. It brings to readers the best in writing from across the globe. It targets a significant literary readership and authorship that has hitherto remained untapped. Their authors include prominent Indian authors such as Ashok K Banker, Deepti Naval, Jaswant Singh and many more. So you all can definitely expect some really informative talks coming your way this weekend.
The entire festival shall be conducted live on Instagram through the Manjul’s IG handle which is @manjulpublishinghouse. Sessions will start at 4.10 pm on the 11th of April and at 12.30 pm on the 12th of April.
Happy with the good news? I know you all are, and so am I but don’t go anywhere yet. Manjul has some more good news for all of us. As an addition to this outstanding experience of attending a literary festival from home, the attendees will also stand the chance of winning free copies of the authors’ books as the authors would be identifying the best comment or question posed to them during the session. The winners will also receive a handwritten note from the authors. Isn’t it a piece of awesome news? I know, right?
You can access the literary festival from here: Instagram
For the detailed schedule of the literary festival, check the below pictures.
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True ….I loved it..!!