shyamala's world

         These are exciting times for the authors and illustrators of children books. New publishers have come into existence. The existing publishers have branched into new categories.  The visibility and availability of children books have always remained a big challenge.   The creators of Writer's Bug have a new offering for lovers of children books- GetLitt !It is a new e-library which fulfils the needs of all parents who want their children to grow on Indian content but are unable to find them in their neighbourhood bookstores. All you need is an internet connection. With GetLitt! children will have access to great content in a reader friendly environment. The out of print books will  remain  in circulation and earn royalties for  authors and publishers. Though a couple of publishers are yet to join the bandwagon, brand new titles are missing from the collection and the number of books are currently lim...

Writing Young Adult (YA) Books: Insights and Challenges (Guest Blog By Nalini Ramachandran) Jumpstart, ‘India’s only annual congress for children’s content creators’—which is organised by German Book Office—celebrated its 10th year in November 2018 through a two-day event at the Goethe Institut in Mumbai. ‘A Brave New World’, a panel discussion at the event, delved into the need for and contents of young adult (YA) books. The panel comprised Australian children’s books author Meredith Costain, Marathi children’s books author Madhuri Purandare, novelist and poet Sampurna Chattarji, and young author Zuni Chopra. Children’s books author Sowmya Rajendran, who moderated the session, touched upon five key aspects which throw light on the evolution of this genre. For authors who wish to dabble in writing for this readership, here’s an overview: YA books act as a bridge The emotional journey of young adults is distinct from that of children and adults, hen...