Of Things Unread

Book launches are usually restricted to the writer8217;s hometown and the publicity blitzkrieg around authors of everything from Diaspora, campus fiction and chick lit, are not heard of in this world. 8220;The problem is with priorities. Maybe publishers still don8217;t feel that the section is not big enough for organized publicity,8221; says Roy. A feeling echoed by authors. Ranjit Lal, whose teen fiction, The Battle for Number 19 deals with teenagers trapped in a riot says, 8220;Once they get their money back, by selling around 1,000-2,000 copies they are happy. Then again, they always don8217;t want writers to deal with touchy issues.8221; Seconds Anu Kumar, who wants to turn Atisa and the Seven Wonders, which takes its protagonist across the seven wonders of the world following the 8216;fact and fiction8217; mode, into a series. 8220;But my plans have to wait. As of now, my publishers want me to work on non-fiction,8221; rues Kumar.

However, publicity for children8217;s books requires a different approach feel many. Subhadra Sengupta, author of Double Click, yet another teen fiction, feels that book launches might bore the target reader. 8220;One has to go to schools and other such places frequented by children. Who has so much time to promote a new author, a new brand of literature?8221; questions. Kumar vouches. It8217;s often the parents who make reading choices, so homegrown authors get eclipsed by either their Western counterparts or names like R K Narayan or Ruskin Bond. 8220;You can8217;t blame them. I had a book launch where Shyam Benegal had launched my book. But there is hardly much talk about it elsewhere,8221; says Kumar.

So, it8217;s up to the authors to take up the cudgels. Chandrachud,who read out excerpts from her book and also put up a dramatisation of its characters to a packed house in her hometown Pune, has taken the e-route. 8220;Pune was my strong-hold so I did whatever I could. Otherwise I have a website hilarioushauntings.com which has snippets of the story, illustrations to interest readers,8221; says Chandrachud, who is ready with Pearls of Wisdom, the second installment of her five-part series. UK-based author Rohini Chowdhury, who has to her credit The Adventures of Meera, too has taken the virtual route. She has been managing her website lonlongtimeago.com for sometime, initiating children to classics, contemporary works and encouraging them to write. Sengupta organizes workshops to get people interest in the genre.

Roy, however, hopes that the fastest growing sector of literature finally gives Indian writers their dues. The editor is looking forward to Bookaroo, the first ever children8217;s book fair in India which plans to get together the biggest and the newest names in children8217;s works in Delhi this November. 8220;We are planning book reading sessions, dramatisations, debates to get children back to books and then get them interested in authors from India,8221; says Roy. The focus of Bookaroo, which is slated to start on November 22, is interaction between authors and children and their parents. 8220;Form 4-16 years, Bookaroo should encourage children of all ages to try the hitherto unexplored,8221; says Roy.