Two-day literature festival to be held this weekend

Neev Literature Festival 2023 is scheduled for October 7 and 8. 
Launched in 2017, the event focuses on children’s literature. This year, the theme of the event is ‘What is childhood without stories?’. “Post-pandemic, there has been a drastic shift in children’s lives. They are dealing with artificial intelligence, globalisation, mental challenges, and changing values among many other things. We are looking at the healing power stories hold in all these contexts,” says Kavita Gupta Sabharwal, co-founder of the festival. 

Over the years, it has focused on themes such as ‘Partition: Memory and Memorialisation’, ‘Peripheries: Boundaries on the Edge, Boundaries Within’, and ‘Embracing Diversity’. 

In this edition, other forms of media will also be highlighted, in addition to literature. “This is important because the exposure that kids get today is not restricted to the ‘read’ word, but also to the ‘viewed’ word and the ‘listened’ word. So, in addition to conversations with authors, we’ve included performances and discussions with people from other forms of media,” she tells Metrolife. 

Over two days, the festival will host 76 speakers — including actor Naseeruddin Shah, film director and screenwriter Ashim Ahluwalia, animation filmmaker and artist Suresh Eriyat, storyteller Geeta Ramanujam, and authors Muthoni Muchemi, Linda Sue Park and Nandita da Cunha. It will feature masterclasses, book readings, signings, performances and interactive sessions.

Though the festival is geared towards children over the age of 5, the event will also have panel discussions and interactions for parents and educators. ‘Post-pandemic parenting’, ‘Ecological mindspace’, ‘Books as connectors’, and ‘The future of talk’, are some of the sessions for adults. 

Kavita stresses on the importance of actively looking for solutions to problems in children’s day-to-day lives. “Children are not reading because they’re constantly overstimulated with content from all ends. They aren’t reading Indian literature because most of the books don’t relate to what’s happening in their world today. This time, with the sessions for adults, we’re focusing on what parents, educators and writers should really be thinking about,” she signs off. 

The festival will also host the finals of the 2023 NLF Reading Challenge, a national reading event that saw participation from over 600 teams from across the country.

Neev Literature Festival, October 7 and 8, at Neev Academy, Yemalur. For the complete schedule and to register, visit neevliteraturefestival.org

Masterclasses

Neev Literature Festival 2023 will also host over 30 masterclasses with industry experts and insiders. Some of them are:

‘Drawing from history’ with illustrator Priyanka Tampi (Age: 9 to 12. Oct 7, 10 am)

‘Adapting stories for the stage and the screen’ with author Aditi Rao (Age: 16 and above. Oct 7, 12 pm)

‘Penning a romance series’ with author Andaleeb Wajid. (Age: 13 to 18. Oct 8, 4 pm)

‘Spotting patterns’ with author Priya Narayanan. (Age: 9 to 12. Oct 8, 4 pm)