Speakers 2017

Atanu Roy studied science with mathematics in school. As a Sports Captain and a champion athlete, he represented Delhi in the National Games in 1968. He has a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and was awarded the National Scholarship for advanced studies in Children’s Book Illustration. He worked as a designer / illustrator, Art Director, and

Arundhati Venkatesh went to school in five towns, and worked in four continents. Everywhere, she made up stories. Now she puts them down on paper. Her books have won several awards, including the Comic Con India 2015 Best Publication for Children award for Bookasura and the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award 2015 for India, Middle East

Anuradha Sengupta is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in CNN, Gulf News, NYC-based Women’s Media Center, The Hindu, among other platforms. She is founder-editor of Jalebi Ink, an award-winning media collective for children and youth. Her portfolio includes reportage from Kuwait after the Gulf War and a citizens’ media project in Afghanistan.

Anita Vachharajani has a Masters in English Literature and in Linguistics. She has just published a pictorial biography for Young Adults called Amrita Sher-Gil: Rebel with a Paintbrush. She has written newspaper columns and book reviews. Her stories for children have appeared in The Puffin Book of Bedtime Stories, The Puffin Book of Spooky Ghost

Andaleeb Wajid is a Bangalore-based writer. She has written on diverse topics like food, relationships, weddings etc. She weaves all of these in a Muslim context. She has spoken about how she wants to challenge the stereotypical representation of Muslim lives through her stories. She started writing at the young age of 10 and decided

Akhshay Gandhi is a theatre artist & practitioner, collaborating with artists in various disciplines to create performances. An alumni of Saratoga International Theatre Institute, New York and BITS-Pilani, he has also received extensive training with Indian Ensemble & Veena Basavarajaiah in theatre & movement arts. Recipient of prestigious Tata Scholar Grant and BITSAA 30u30 award

Aditi De is a Bangalore-based author, blogger, photographer, foodie, and 24/7 dreamer. She is in love with stories, children, art, theatre, music, dance, crafts and textiles. Her passions include the new, the unexplored, and travelling the globe. Of her 13 books in print so far, nine are for children. She has facilitated over 100 Word

After a BA in Theater from Smith College, Massachusetts, Adithi worked as an assistant director on the award-winning Hindi cult film Satya, and then as a writer/editor on the travel channel of Indya.com. Shakuntala and Other Timeless Tales of Ancient India and Growing Up in Pandupur are her books for children. Her short stories have been

Rasil has been a passionate reader since the day she discovered a library. She worked in technology for 10 years before making the leap into a classroom. Her passion for education combined with a love for stories inspires her to write for children. Her first children’s book was published in 2017. When she isn’t writing,

Nadine is an experienced teacher-librarian with a demonstrated history of working in the IB environment, following innovative practices. She is a strong education professional, demonstrating lifelong learning with a Master of Education (Knowledge Networks and Digital Innovation) and Master in Information Studies, Charles Sturt University. She is passionate about diversity and enhancing a multi-cultural, multi-lingual