The National Book Trust (NBT) on Tuesday called upon young authors to participate in the ongoing contest under the YUVA mentorship scheme to write books about freedom fighters and related themes.
Termed YUVA (Young, Upcoming and Versatile Authors), the mentorship scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to mentor authors under the age of 30 and train them to promote reading, writing and book culture in the country, and project India and Indian writings globally.
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A total of 75 authors will be selected through an all India contest being conducted through nbtindia.gov.in and mygov.in from June 1 to July 31 and the winners will be announced on August 15.
“It is an exciting opportunity for young authors to not only get published but also be mentored through various stages till the book takes a final shape,” Yuvraj Malik, the director of NBT, told reporters.
“The selected young authors from English and 22 official languages of India will interact with some of the best authors of the world, participate in literary festivals and book fairs. The books prepared under this scheme will be published by us and will also be translated into other Indian languages ensuring the exchange of culture and literature,” he added.
The contestants have been asked to submit a manuscript of 5,000 words to judge its suitability to develop as a proper book under the mentorship scheme.
“A consolidated scholarship of ₹50,000 per month for a period of six months per author will be paid under the mentorship scheme and a royalty of 10 per cent will be payable to the authors on successful publications of their books at the end of the mentorship program,” Malik said.
