The quote ‘I write to discover what I know,’ by Flannery O’Connor, an American author, in The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor captures how the art of writing helps in understanding yourself.
Time and again authors across the world have stressed that what you write is more important than how you write when it comes to writing.
In the same spirit, Navayuga Junior Lit Fest, the city’s first children’s literary festival, is conducting a short story competition in English for students from classes 7 to 10 in Visakhapatnam.
There is no specific theme. However, all stories must capture a cultural aspect of Andhra Pradesh. Only one entry is allowed per student and each story should be within 750 to 1,000 words.
The stories should be sent via email with their name, parent’s name, school’s name, phone number and identity proof — school ID cards or Aadhaar card. The last date for submissions is August 20.
“Language is not the criteria in selection of stories. Creativity, connect with the culture of Andhra Pradesh and originality of work are the main factors that we are looking at. The motto behind the competition is encourage students to write,” says Priya Gopalakrishnan of Navayuga Vizag Junior Literary Fest.
Top 20 stories will be published by Timbuktoo, a young authors publishing house, under the title ‘ Anaga Anaga in Andhra’ which translates to ‘Once Upon a Time in Andhra’. The book will be launched at the festival.
Navayuga Junior Lit Fest will be held on November 17 and 18 at the Hawa Mahal, Beach Road. Authors like Devdutt Pattanaik, Roopa Pai, Janaki Sabesh, Priya Kuriyan and many others are expected to join the event. The festival will have author interactions, book-reading sessions, storytelling sessions, creative writing workshops, illustration workshops, panel discussions and other activities. Navayuga Junior Lit Fest is presented by Andhra Tourism in association with The Hindu and Timbuktoo as the publishing partner.
For more details about the festival 9866628484 or mail vjlfest@gmail.com
