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Astrology
Chat
Cityscape
Classifieds
Entertainment
Health
Matrimonial |
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The workshop’s main objectives were:
Day one, Session 1: This session dealt with the importance of non-fiction for children and how it can be educational yet enjoyable to read. The two resource persons, Zai Whitaker and Rohini Chowdhury, spoke about the relevance and demand for non-fiction among children today and what the various sources for interesting non-fiction ideas are. Zai Whitaker is a writer, naturalist and teacher. She comes from a family of naturalists and writers, and is the grand niece of Salim Ali, the bird man of India. Her first love though is teaching, she is presently the principal of Abacus Montessori School, Chennai. Her writing includes novels, short stories, poems, articles and film scripts and she has published several books like Kali and the Rat Snake, Andamans Boy and Salim Ali for Schools for children’s publishers like Tulika and Permanent Black. She is the President of the Irula Tribal Women’s Society and a trustee of the Madras Crocodile Bank. She was Chatterbox’s consultant editor for six months. She lives in Chennai. Rohini Chowdhury writes and illustrates fiction and non-fiction for children. She has written a series of six books for children called Rohini’s Book of Meera Stories. She has also designed and developed her own website for children, www.longlongtimeago.com. Through the website, she brings together and retells stories of various kinds – fables, folklore, fairy tales, myths, contemporary fiction – from all over the world in a style that is suitable for today’s children. She has also devised activities centered around these stories for children to download and play. She holds degrees in web technology and management from Harvard University and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, respectively. She lives in London. Day one, Session 2:
Ranjit Lal is a freelance writer and columnist who has published over 1,000 articles, short stories, features and photo-features in newspapers and magazines in India and abroad. His areas of interest include natural history (with a leaning towards birds and birding) photography, (especially birds and nature), humour, satire and automobiles, on which he writes for both adults and children. He is the author of several books, including The Crow Chronicles, The Life and Times of Altu Faltu, That Summer at Kalagarh and Birds from My Window. He writes a regular animal column, Creature Feature, in Chatterbox, and has conceptualised and guest-edited its May 2003 issue on cars. He lives in Delhi. Asha Nehemiah is a freelance writer and has written for several Indian newspapers and magazines, including Chatterbox, Children’s World, Young World and Open Sesame. She worked as an advertising copywriter, but switched to writing for children about eight years ago. Writing for children gives her imagination the freedom that no other form does and she has written short stories (for 8 to 10 year-olds) as well as picture books (3 to 5 year-olds) for them. Zigzag and Other Stories, Granny’s Sari, The Runaway Wheel and The Rajah’s Moustache are some of the books she has published with Scholastic India and The Children’s Book Trust. She has also a special interest in promoting the reading habit among children and has written several articles on this subject. She lives in Vellore. Day two, Session 1: This session dealt with approaches to illustrating both fiction and non-fiction for children’s magazines and books. The two resource persons – Uma Krishnaswamy and Ashok Rajagopalan – spoke about choice of medium (both conventional and digital), negotiating the creative space that illustrators get and the problems faced by freelancers. Uma Krishnaswamy is a freelance artist who has illustrated for several leading publishing houses like Orient Longman, Macmillan and Tulika. She has also illustrated for Chatterbox and other magazines and newspaper supplements like Highlights for Children, Chandamama, The Heritage and the Indian Review of Books. The books that she has illustrated include And Land was Born, The Story of Tipu Sultan and A Face in the Water. She has a master’s in visual communication from the University of Central England in Birmingham, UK. She was awarded the Charles Wallace Art Scholarship for the year 1997-98 tenable at the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design. She also illustrates and designs book covers, diaries, reading cards and educational/entertainment computer games. She lives in Chennai. Ashok Rajagopal is a freelance artist who has dabbled in cartooning, animation, illustration and art direction. He has freelanced for advertising agencies like Mudra and O&M and publishers like Scholastic, Orient Longman, Macmillan and Oxford University Press. He was art director with Tulika Publishers for two years. He is a regular contributor to Chatterbox and is the creator, author and illustrator of the comic strip, The Adventures of TT. His illustrations have been exhibited at the prestigious Bologna Book Fair. He also conducts art workshops for schools and workshops for aspiring art directors and copywriters. He lives in Chennai. Day two, Session 2:
Aditi De is a freelance writer and editor and occasional media consultant to fledgling dotcom sites and magazines at the early stage. She was the associate editor of Junior Quest, a children’s magazine which she conceptualised and launched for the Chandamama Group. She was awarded the Charles Wallace Trust Scholarship to participate as an overseas fellow at the 27th British Council Cambridge Seminar on the Contemporary Writer in the United Kingdom. She writes a regular ‘finding out’ column called ‘The Inside Story’ for Chatterbox. She also conducts workshops on reading, writing, speaking and creative skills for children. She lives in Bangalore. Sandhya Rao is the editor of Tulika Publishers, Chennai. After being many years in newspaper and magazine journalism, she was delighted to get out of it and follow a long-cherished dream -- doing books for children. She develops ideas/stories/books in English and other languages, writes, translates and edits content for Tulika. Her books include Ekki Dokki, Eecha Poocha, And Land was Born and One World. She also doubles as a book consultant and resource person for Goodbooks Bookstore and Resource Centre for Children and Young People, the first specialised children’s bookstore in India. She lives in Chennai. Day two, Closing Session: Announcement of the 'Chatterbox' – British Council Annual Award for Children’s Writing (Fiction): To give children’s literature the prominence it deserves, Chatterbox and the British Council have instituted an annual award for children’s writing – the first of its kind in India. The first award will be given only for fiction writing. For more details, log on to www.chatterboxclub.com 'Chatterbox' -- The 5th Year
In addition to being a ‘fun’ magazine, 'Chatterbox' has an educational section (Spotlight) that aims at supplementing what children learn in the classroom by presenting various concepts in an innovative and interactive manner. It attempts to help children develop their imagination and enhance their skills in self-expression. Its stated editorial mission is to help children develop intellectually, artistically and creatively and provide them with a space of their own. Chatterbox was launched in August 1999 as a 32-page glossy to fill a vacuum in the children’s magazine segment in the publishing industry. It was re-launched in October 2001 as a 100-page magazine with major changes in content and format developed from two years of reader-feedback. It has a subscriber base of 8,000 children across India, which is steadily growing. Chatterbox, though initially available on newsstands, is now available only by subscription through a network of over 1,500 individuals spread across 96 cities in India.
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Copyright
2010, Chennai Interactive
Business Services (P) Ltd. |
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A workshop 'Through the Looking Glass' on writing, illustrating and editing children’s literature (hosted by 'Chatterbox' – the magazine for smart kids - and The British Council) was held in Chennai on August 27 and 28 to celebrate the Magazine's fifth year of publication.
This session dealt with writing fiction for children of different age groups and went into the nuts and bolts of story writing. The two resource persons – Ranjit Lal and Asha Nehemiah – spoke about the technical and creative aspects of writing fiction and how it is important to consider the reader as ‘the boss’!
This session dealt with the challenges and complexities of editing children’s material. The two resource persons – Aditi De and Sandhya Rao – spoke about problems of content, language, political correctness and gender in children’s literature and outlined the important role played by editors in bringing out good reading material for children. 
'Chatterbox' – The Magazine for Smart Kids (now in its fifth year of publication) is a thoroughly enjoyable, well-produced magazine for 7 to 13 year old children. It contains stories, folktales, mysteries, puzzles, craft, art, contests, features on wildlife, computers, sports and science by some of India’s best known writers for children. It also showcases budding talent in writing and art, and encourages contributions from children. 
