300 stalls, 111 publishers, kids’ events, food and films: 11-day Ahmedabad International Book fest to open on Nov 13

“The book festival is divided into thematic zones. The first zone will be ‘Children’s Corner’ (NCCL Pavilion) with various interactive sessions such as storytelling, puppet theatre, Mandala art, dance-drama, and creative recycling. The second is ‘Gyan Ganga’ which will stage writing and design studios daily, including workshops on poetry, drama, film script, essay, and biography, besides hands-on sessions with terracotta art, fabric puppetry, oil painting, and metal embossing. The third zone will be AMC School Board Centenary Pavilion that will feature inter-school contests from morning to evening,” Deputy Municipal Commissioner Jayesh Upadhyay told The Indian Express.

A children’s film festival will also be organised during which four to seven globally acclaimed films will be screened from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm on all days.  Cultural performances involving artists such as Kirtidan Gadhvi, Ankit Trivedi and Sandeep Christian Orchestra, a Mushayra (poetic symposium)  and a special Shaurya Samvad (discussion) with Lt Gen (Retd) K J S Dhillon and retired IPS officer K Vijaykumar will be held.  There will be book launch programmes along with diverse literary programmes every evening.The inter-school competitions will be the major attraction that would involve quiz, storytelling, fancy dress, panel discussions, impromptu speeches, and book reading competitions, the organisers said.

“The students will get a chance to interact with thinkers and authors like Acharya Prashant, Gurcharan Das, Nitin Sethi, and Kulpreet Yadav. Live sessions on artificial intelligence, crime journalism, and Gandhi-Mandela legacy will inspire the youth. Besides this, the Innovation Zone will offer live masterclasses, content-writing workshops, and even on-the-spot internship opportunities with publishers,” DyMC Upadhyay added.