BENGALURU : This weekend, women writers from across the country will put their heads together to delve into the direction women’s writing is taking. Celebrating creativity and literature, She The People.TV, a storytelling platform for women, is organising the 15th edition of Women Writers’ Fest in Bengaluru. “The festival has carved a spotlight in the din of political-literature jamborees. We are a positive, safe and energetic space where women participate to discuss writing independently and fiercely. This is where writers or writings are not slotted into genres,” says Shaili Chopra, founder of SheThePeople TV.
The festival which focuses on the trends and new possibilities in writing, will this year encompass fiction and non-fiction writing, including journalism, civic activism, environmental writing, feminist narratives in fiction and non-fiction, how to get published and more. “We are also looking at how storytelling can be merged with shaping ideas of a city like Bengaluru,” Chopra says.
It will also dive deep into the power of female writing with author Preeti Shenoy, how a performer puts words into actions with Bengaluru’s very own Kubbra Sait and Shashi Deshpande who will speak on the prejudices women writers face. There will be a Spoken Word participation and poetry readings by Mariyam Saigal, Sowmya Peri, Supriya Mishra, Poornima Laxmeshwar and more and a discussion on ‘How to Get Published’ by editors Deepthi Talwar, Ajitha GS and Karthik Venkatesh.
“Our theme and focus is on the city of Bengaluru and we have panels which will discuss the evolving art and culture scene in Bengaluru, the environmental challenges facing the city as well a session with poets and spoken word performers who will focus on being a woman in the city.
These we hope will be the touch points for those listening in to consciously realign their own perceptions of what it means to be a conscious, aware citizen and to contribute to the socio-cultural fabric of city as well as to be actively concerned and involved with the environmental challenges the city deals with,” shares Kiran Manral, editor, SheThePeople.TV.
For Venkatesh, platforms such as these are opportunities to spread word to readers and writers about what the publishing industry is doing. “As a publishing professional, I have things to say about what we want, what we are doing and so on. But equally, I am excited about meeting readers and writers and listening to them. As a commissioning editor, I think it’s an opportunity to get market insights which otherwise are unavailable to me,” Venkatesh says.
The event will be held on August 31 at Gilly’s Redefined in Koramangala, 10am onwards.