The Women Writers’ Festival not only celebrates women’s contribution to literature, but also in other genres. This year, SheThePeople.TV, the organisers of the festival, which has been curated by founder Shaili Chopra, Ideas Editor Kiran Manral, and independent consultant Shonali Advani, throws the spotlight on writing in various categories. “The women writers’ festival explores conversations among both writers and readers. There is a genuine interest on increasing conversations on diverse subjects, from humour and erotica to personal experiences and business, and much more. There is a diversity of the kind of writing that has emerged,” says Shaili. “There is not enough share of women speaking about their works or showcasing their work. The festival is inclusive of formats, including novelists, poets, food bloggers, micro-fiction writers, micro-bloggers, and much more. The festival is also inclusive in the sense that it is a safe space for people to share their views and experiences. We are also looking at subjects of current interest.”
Bengaluru has some of the most well-known women writers, hence, the city would be an obvious choice for the festival, asserts Shaili. “We also chose Bengaluru because it has a great community of readers. There is an increase in consumption of women writing by women. There is an ever-growing community of offline and online book clubs in Bengaluru. We have book clubs with 21 highly engaged members, we even have a women’s writers group on Facebook.”
The festival will host panel discussions on such topics as the need for more strong female protagonists in children’s fiction, challenges of capturing brevity with short story fiction, gender and narratives, challenges for women authors in the world of publishing, and more. An illustrious line up of writers will be participating in the panels, including Shinie Antony, Jahnavi Barua, Madhavi Mahadevan, Monideepa Sahu, Ruth D’souza Prabhu, Nandita Bose, Amruta Dongray, Sunayana Roy, Aparna Raman, Tarangini Sriraman, Milan Vohra, Keerti Ramachandra, Shalini Srinivasan, et al.
There will be a workshop on ‘The Art of Storytelling’ with Aparna Athreya, a special session on children’s fiction writing, a fireside chat with Anuja Chauhan, and insights on short story writing. “Contrary to the common perception, the publishing world is thriving, and reading is back. Also the short form hasn’t killed the long form; it has helped the long form and vice versa,” says Shaili.
There will be a launch of Feminist Rani: India’s most powerful voices on gender equality , authored by Shaili Chopra and Meghna Pant. “I will be in conversation with Vasanthi Hariprakash.
“The book is the first recent collection on women’s issues that act as a primer through the experiences of 14 people, men, women, and trans people, on such topics of equality and their experiences of feminism. They are compelling conversations that are uncensored,” says Shaili.
As for the choice of a rather unique venue, Fandom at Gilly’s Redefined, which is a more intimate space than large grounds, Shaili says the intent is to keep the festival small and make it more interactive. “We have started small, and we have grown from an average of 250 members to 600 people within the last two years.”
The Women Writers’ Fest will be held on September 1 at Fandom at Gilly’s Redefined, Koramangala 4th block. Tickets on insider.in.
