The ongoing fourth edition of Neev Literature Festival is trying its best to ensure that children don’t miss out on the joy of stories, author interactions and poetry as they are holed up at home due to the pandemic.
It started on August 15 with compelling stories, insightful panels and other events conducted by authors, publishers, and illustrators from across the globe.
This is the first time the year-long fest has gone online.
“The offline version used to be a festival for the children, parents and educators of Bangalore. But the online avatar is a bridge between India and the rest of the world. This is a great place to discover the best in children’s writing from India and other parts of the world,” says Kavita Gupta Sabharwal, Co-founder of Neev Literature Festival for Children.
The inaugural pick for NLF Imaginary Lines Book Club for Children is the 2019 Newbery Honor book – The Night Diary by author Veera Hiranandani. It is about a 12-year-old girl caught in the turbulence of the 1947 Partition and the plight of refugees during the historical event.
“Veera will guide the sessions via in-depth conversations with participants about the Partition and historical events connected to the ongoing conflicts involving culture, religion and geographies. Participants will get to engage in a Q&A with the author towards the end of every session.” adds Sabharwal.
Other topics up for discussions are Kashmir and North East tensions, tribal issues, etc.
“Next, Veera’s Book Club will start and continue for over two weeks. The next book club will launch in two weeks for parents, on the book reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World, by Maryanne Wolf.
These sessions will happen over five weeks with a different speaker for each session. Participant speakers – Developmental Psychologist Aruna Sankarnarayan, Librarians Sujata Noronha and Katie Day, and a session with Wolf – in conversation with me.”
Details
Webinar 1: September 4: 5.30 pm-6.30 pm
Webinar 2: September 11: 5.30 pm-6.00 pm
Age: 10 to 13 years (Grade 5-7)
On: Zoom
Registration link: https:// rb.gy/b4qd7i