On April 23rd, 2024, the fourth edition of Ananke’s Women in Literature Festival will celebrate and showcase how collective efforts enable positive narratives, mobilize change through dialogue and engagement.
Happening in the month of World Book Day, the three-day event strives to create a space, a collective, where diverse set of voices – especially from the Global South – can come together to share their thoughts, vision, and lived experiences with agency. The event will be livestreamed on Ananke’s YouTube and Facebook pages. To attend the session, click here to register.
AnankeWLF is a shared space powered by award winning authors, writers, creatives and independent publishing houses as well as other media organistations including (in alphabetical order) Ala Books and Authors, BookBot, eShe, Kitaab, Keemiya Creatives, Nadja Media, Neem Tree Press, Readomania, Reverie Publishers, Seagull Books, Trace Press, Yoda Press, Zubaan Books, and Zuka Books.
Ananke’s Women in Literature Festival, has consistently been at the forefront of sparking impactful conversations at the intersection of gender equality and intersectional feminism through the prism of literature and creative arts. The digital festival aims to bridge divides and celebrate the diverse, creative journeys of women across the globe.
Setting an example as to how collective efforts can initiate positive impact, AnankeWLF’s alliances have forged new, regional, global, professional and literary relationships amongst authors, publishers, media houses, connoisseurs and lovers of the written word, creative arts, dialogue, justice, equity and equality.
This year is no different when it comes to Ananke’s event partners upping their games. Award winning, feminist publishing house Zubaan Books, celebrating its 21st anniversary, is curating insightful sessions including one on Dalit Writing aligned with April being Dalit History Month. The session is titled Truth to Power: Challenging structures of oppression through feminist writings, hosted by Divya Kandukuri, a journalist by training and founder of a Phule-Ambedkarite mental health collective, The Blue Dawn. The other Zubaan session titled Friendships in frontiers: Building and nurturing feminist writing communities in Northeast India is helmed by Bidisha Mahanta who heads programmes for Zubaan, a feminist NGO focusing on participating, publishing and chronicling the feminist and women’s movements in India and South Asia. Both sessions will be held on Day two and three of the festival. A special session titled Readings in Translation with Urvashi Butalia and Sumitra Mehrol will also be screened at the digital event.
Zubaan is a leading independent publishing house based in New Delhi, India, with a strong academic and general list. It was set up in 2003 as an imprint of India’s first feminist publishing house, Kali for Women, and continues to publish books on, for, by and about women in South Asia. Urvashi Butalia, Founder Zubaan, is also on AnankeWLF’s advisory board.
“It’s a pleasure to be part of Ananke’s festival. There’s much we love about it, but perhaps the most exciting thing is the truly collaborative ways in which Ananke brings together diverse voices: it’s a place where women (and some men?) speak with freedom, emotion, love, rage, enthusiasm and year after year, the nuance and depth of women’s voices enriches us and teaches us new ways of listening,” opined Founder Zubaan Books, Urvashi Butalia.
Engaging sessions with another long time event partner, Seagull Books, include a fireside chat with the publishing house’s founder Naveen Kishore as well as author Tathagatha Bhattachariya. These will be livestreamed on Day two and Day three.
Seagull Books (established in1982) has been crafting books with an eye to both exceptional content and radical design. What began highly risky business of publishing books-books on alternative cinema, philosophy, culture-continues to be a passionately felt need of the hour: manuscripts that need to see the light of day, instinctive and theatre, visual arts, to reach a readership, to stimulate minds, to change outlooks. Read More
Founder, Naveen Kishore is also on AnankeWLF’s advisory board.
Yoda Press, award- winning publishing house, will be celebrating its 20th anniversary at the festival. The session will be helmed by its founder, Arpita Das who will also be officially opening the festival with a keynote address. Both sessions are slated to be held on April 23rd, 2024. Arpita Das is also on the AnankeWLF advisory board.
Yet another long time partners, Readomania, will be bringing highly engaging discussions focusing on future, heritage, short story writing in South Asia and more. The first, as an independent publishing house. Readomania boasts of multiple imprints across various categories – fiction, nonfiction, children to name a few. An eclectic mix of content for its readers, when you read a Readomania title, you enter a world that’s yours, supported by unique and quality narratives.
Partners Neem Tree Press and eShe sessions include enlightening conversations around South Asian writing and Romance and the female gaze respectively. A special session with eShe Founder, Aekta Kapoor will center on her immense body of work.
Launched in July 2017, eShe is a platform for women leaders from all fields with a vision for peacebuilding. In 2021, eShe hosted an Indo-Pak Peace Summit Led by Women, bringing together eminent women from around the world to discuss solutions for peace in South Asia.
The organization also launched a nonprofit platform, South Asia Union and hosted South Asia Union Summit Led by Women, with 50 speakers from 13 countries.
“It’s an honour to be part of Ananke’s Women in Literature Festival once again as it grows from strength to strength, creating new avenues for women writers, readers, critics and editors to come together across South Asia, the Middle East, and beyond,” said founder, Aekta Kapoor.
Neem Tree Press is a vibrant, independent publisher of books that change and broaden perspectives. We seek out and amplify captivating and crucial voices, wherever they come from.
Based in London, we collaborate with an eclectic group of British and international authors, illustrators, and designers. We were recently awarded an English PEN grant, a prestigious literary award for translated fiction.
Talking about Ananke’s latest alliance with Sapan,co-founder of the South Asia Peace Action Network (Sapan), Beena Sarwar said:“I’m so excited and honored to be part of the Ananke Women’s Literature Festival. Never has there been greater need for such a platform that brings together women’s wisdom and voices and a space for healing. Solidarity and strength! Onward!”
Talking about the event as well as the long term alliance, Reverie Publisher‘s founder and celebrated author, Safinah Danish Elahi said: “Ananke is a torchbearer in this region. A festival that is true to its words words in terms of inclusivity, togetherness and giving voice to so many people that require a platform. Truly one of its kind, a fabulous labor of love by its founder. We are proud to be a partner.”
Reverie Publishers was founded on the premise of expanding publishing in Pakistan, focusing on Fiction Writing. It provides a platform for aspiring and established writers of the country to be able to produce and sell their work.
‘Reverie Publishers’ envisions to provide expertise in producing a book as an end-to-end solution. It aims to publish books under a self-publishing line, ‘Moringa Books’ and traditional publishing line ‘Reverie Publishers,’ the parent label. Not many fiction novels are published in Pakistan therefore hindering creativity and forcing writers to publish content without much guidance.
NADJA Media, the digital platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of women and underrepresented communities, also recently announced its partnership with Ananke’s Women In Literature Festival. This collaboration marks a significant stride towards fostering dialogues and narratives that drive positive change and celebrate the literary and creative achievements of women and girls globally.
NADJA Media, with its commitment to inclusivity and diversity in storytelling, aligns perfectly with the festival’s objectives. “We are proud to partner with Ananke’s Women In Literature Festival, a platform that is dedicated to mobilising change through cross-cultural dialogue and champions the cause of gender equality and social justice,” says NADJA Media co-founder Alia Chebbab. “Together, we aim to amplify voices that are often sidelined, ensuring their stories and perspectives are heard and valued.”
The partnership will leverage NADJA Media’s expertise in media to enhance the festival’s reach and impact. By doing so, both organisations aspire to create a more equitable and tolerant society through the power of literature and creative expression.
Amplifying reach and scale, social media and podcast partners, Bookbots India is on a mission to revolutionize the world of publishing by making marketing and publishing services transparent and accessible for authors.
Through their innovative podcasts and tailored services, they empower authors to take charge of their careers, gain invaluable insights, and make informed decisions to achieve their goals.
Through their innovative podcast the Bookbot Theory, they free learnings and guidance on Book marketing in South Asia to authors. With unique case studies, discussions with literary experts, and easy-to-follow guidance on how to market your book, they encourage an author to take charge and become an authorpreneur.
Talking about the alliance, Founder, Namrata said: “At Bookbots India we are elated to collaborate with the esteemed Ananke Women in Literature Festival as their official podcast partner. Our aim has been to make publishing and book marketing transparent and accessible. Ananke WLF brings together all our causes to create a space where writers from global south can share their experiences, insights, and creative journeys, empowering listeners and fostering a deeper appreciation for literature.”
“Collaborating with Ananke WLF allows us to further our mission of promoting diversity and inclusivity in the literary world. We plan to celebrate the rich tapestry of diverse voices, highlighting the beauty of cultural heritage, the resilience of the human spirit, and the universal themes that connect us all together.”
She added: “This also demonstrates our shared commitment to championing writers and creating opportunities for their voices to be heard and valued. I am honored to embark on this collaborative journey with Ananke WLF and look forward to the meaningful impact we will make together.”
The festival has also forged another brand new alliance with Trace Press, bringing an important conversation into the foray. The festival will showcase a fireside chat with founder-director Nuzhat Abbas as well as a session titled RIVER IN AN OCEAN: decolonial feminist practices in translation. The session will center on what are the histories, constraints, and possibilities of language in relation to bodies, origins, land, colonialism, gender, war, displacement, desire, and migration? Moving across genres, memories, belongings, and borders, the luminous texts gathered within River in an Ocean: Essays on Translation (trace, 2023) invite us to consider translation as a form of ethical and political love – one that requires attentive regard of an other – and a making and unmaking of self.
Founder and Executive Editor Ananke, said: “The best way to amplify marginalized voices is to work as a collective. It is high time we do away with hierarchies, silos; come together by initiating positive, inclusive narratives and mobilizing change.”
The Women in Literature Festival 2024 will feature a lineup of distinguished speakers and thinkers. Participants can look forward to a rich program of discussions, workshops, and presentations that not only celebrate women’s contributions to literature and arts but also critically examine the challenges they face in the modern world.
For more information about the festival and how to participate, visit anankemag.com
