Right Platform for Budding Poets

They could barely hide their emotions. It was the moment they had waited for long. And they couldn't believe what was happening was for real as their books were unwrapped amidst flash of cameras and released to loud applause. The awesome threesome stood there, smiling and accepting greetings from everyone.

Meet the new authors - Sai Pradeep, Ravi Theja and Suhas Bhatnagar. They are from different backgrounds and what is common about them is that they are all young and first time writers. They owe their new found fame to Woven Words, the publishing house which seeks to encourage new writers.

At 20, Pradeep is the youngest of the lot. He is still pursuing his B.Tech in computer science and has become a writer to the surprise of all. His book - All The Lights Within Us - is a collection of poetry that celebrates life in its varied hues. Through 40 poems he seeks to explore hope, pain, courage, darkness, strength, passion and love. "I started writing at the age of 16", says Pradeep, who is studying at Vishakapatnam.

Who are his favourite writers? Pat comes the reply: Agatha Christie, Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman. He devoured most of their books and started writing. Pradeep's style is lucid and content mature. He chooses free verse to give expression to his ideas. As he says 'poetry is the rhythm that elevates my soul'. He has also tried his hand at writing Telugu poetry and hopes to come out with a book soon.

Ravi Theja is an engineer by profession but prefers to introduce himself as a storyteller. A quick reading of his two books - Frogs' Dream About Flying and Lyla and Her Wings - show that a great writer is in the making. Theja too took to writing at an young age and thanks to his parents he could pursue his passion. In fact he made debut as a writer in 2017 itself with the publication of his first book - The Execution, a trilogy novel.

The third author, Suhas Bhatnagar, is a poet and playwright. His book - Sulagte Hain Jazbaat - is a collection of passionate poetry revolving around Sudipta and Subeer. As the name suggests the book sizzles with simmering verses about the duos diary and letters.

The debut authors have varied experiences about writing. But the biggest challenge they faced was  getting their books published. Luckily they didn't have to sit for long with fingers crossed. Through mutual friends they came into contact with Mosiur Rehman of Woven Words Publishers and a few meetings later they were on their way to becoming authors.

With 80 plus titles to its credit, Woven Words shifted base from West Bengal to Hyderabad last year with a view to provide opportunities for new voices. "We want to fulfil the dreams of writers who feel let down by mainstream publishers", says Rehman.

The online store of Woven Words makes the submission process of manuscripts easy and fast. It also has a DIY (do it yourself) publishing platform for people who do not have any sales motive but want to see their books in print. This apart Woven Words has plans to offer courses in creative writing livening up the publishing scene. So guys get cracking and let your creative juices flowing.

J.S.Ifthekhar,

Hyderabad based journalist.

Article published in The Hindu

Dated March 22,2019