70 schools in Mumbai participate in the ‘I want to be an author’ initiative
February 12, 2019, Mumbai
On Saturday, 350 students from top notch schools like Green Lawn’s High school, Ryan International school, J B Petit, Rustomjee Cambridge to Utpal Sanghvi Global, and Billabong High International gathered for the first of its kind initiative, that motivates students to submit their short stories. It was a unique event that saw around 350 students from 70 schools participating in it. ‘I want to be an author – season 2’, was announced by The Write Place, the publishing arm of Crossword Bookstores, at Ryan International School, Mumbai.
Entries for season 2 were opened in November 2018. Since then the bookstore chain has received more than double the entries. This year 30,000 stories were submitted as opposed to the 10,000-last year, indicating that the initiative is reaching multitudes of students across the city.
While interacting with the young students, children’s author Shamim Padamsee shared, “Imagination and creativity will be of utmost importance in the years ahead. How does it help? Well, think of the stalwarts of people in days of yore who asked the question, What if? The Wright Brothers asked, what if there was a machine that would enable man to fly? What if machines can talk? What if, man can go to the moon? These questions triggered thought processes in place that propelled us into a never dreamt of future. Writers do the same. They ask, What if? And thus, unleash their creativity to come up with propositions and possibilities to address the same.”
The final anthology will comprise of approximately 45 excellent short stories giving students the chance to become published writers and is slated to be released in April end.
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Maulik Desai, head of Crossword Bookstores said, “We are excited for the second season of the event. We have been dedicated to providing customers quality writing in English since the past 26 years. This is a platform we have started for students to give them the opportunity to be more creative and confident. It’s also a rare chance for the students to showcase their writing skills and get published.”
One of the students, 13-year-old Disha Jain from The Universal School, Tardeo said, “Writing is fun as you can put all your thoughts into it and later on, they give you so many memories!”
In an era where binge watching tv shows and movies is more customary, an increasing number of students are spending their time to write and read.
“The first edition of the book sold over 1,000 copies. Research shows that if children start writing stories from an early age then their imagination is empowered, they have better concentration and communication is highly improved. This initiative is the perfect booster for the students to start writing,” added Anup Jerajani, who heads The Write Place.
School: Ryan International Group of Institutions, Billabong High International School, Utpal Sanghavi High School & Prabhavati Padamshi Soni International Junior College, Cambridge School, J. B. Petit High School
