March 2023, New Delhi: India’s National Young Authors Fair, the first writing competition of its kind, successfully organised in Gurugram. The event gave budding writers a chance and inspired over 100,000 students to publish their first books. The young authors received a lifelong souvenir of their published works – complete with an ISBN issued by the Ministry of Education, an opportunity to speak, a writing experience, an entrepreneurial journey, and hundreds of hours of reading and writing. Many authors sold over 1000 books in just 30 days.
An awards ceremony recognized jury award winners and best-selling authors. The awards ceremony was attended by 500 people, including jury members, young authors, and esteemed guests. The jury included renowned personalities like Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Dele Olojede, bestselling author of Start-Up Nation and columnist Saul Singer and Edesia Nutrition, Founder & CEO – Navyn Salem. Schools from across the country participated, with Pathways School Noida and Gurgaon, Cambridge School – Indirapuram, JBCN International School – Parel Branch, Apeejay School NOIDA, Modern Public School – Shalimar Bagh, Birla Vidya Niketan, The Shriram Millennium School, Bal Bharati Public School, and The Heritage School Vasant Kunj winning multiple awards.
Winners of the Jury Award included Tara Kumar for ‘The Dead Alive and In Between’, Advik Yambalada for ‘Lessons from The Animal Kingdom’, Dia Shangbag for ‘Emotional Well-Being’, Utsa Banerjee for ‘Riki and Her Dream’, and Tvarita Guliani for ‘Princess of Beauty Island’. The best-selling authors, who sold the highest number of books, included Dhairya Sudarshan with ‘Savi Our Saviour’, Keya Hatkar with Dancing on My Wheels’, Kshipra Moreker with ‘Learning From the Jungle’, Kunwar Vikram with ‘Nature Teaches Love’, Rudraang Goenka with ‘The Rise of The Great Insane’, Subasree Bharathi with ‘My Talking Cat’, Roohi Sharma with ‘Memories Miracles Magic’, Hiyansh Joshi with ‘The Rescue Rabblets’, Tania Boya with ‘The Journey’, and Tvarita Guliani with ‘Princess of Beauty Island’.
Tara Kumar, Author of ‘The Dead Alive and In Between’ & Winner of the Jury Award said that, “Winning this award is a dream come true. It has encouraged me to write more and continue to share my thoughts with the world. I heartily thank BriBooks for giving me and all the other authors this opportunity to tell our stories to the world.”
At the event, Ami Dror, Founder – BriBooks said, “We are thrilled to have organized the National Young Authors Fair and young authors to publish their first book. We hope this experience has provided them with a lifelong love for reading, writing, and entrepreneurship.”
Jury Member, Saul Singer shared that, “I am truly impressed by the talent and creativity of the young authors. Seeing the next generation of writers and entrepreneurs take charge and showcase their work is inspiring. I wish these budding writers all the luck and hope to hear more of their stories in the coming years.”
