HarperCollins and Amar Chitra Katha announce Creative Writing Workshops for Children

New Delhi, 15 April 2022: HarperCollins India and Amar Chitra Katha today announced the launch of a brand- new carousel of Creative Writing workshops for children of the age group 7-14 years. Beginning 22^nd of April, these workshops will be available in three different formats — a short (2-hour) session, a six-day (12-hour) programme, and a 12-day (24-hour) intensive course that will also result in the publication of an illustrated e- book. The workshops will teach learners the basics of writing styles, tones, and their usage to build write-ups, character creation, nuances of plot building, dialogue, storytelling, and illustrations. Young learners will also get an opportunity to interact with successful writers and illustrators from both the publishing houses and learn from the masters on the art of creative writing in different genres.

In 2021, HarperCollins and Amar Chitra Katha launched a brand-new series of chapter books adapted from the iconic ACK comics. The first boxset of three books – the Amar Chitra Katha Folktales – collection went on to become a bestseller and a favourite among young children. This was followed by the second boxset of favourite stories – Timeless Classics from Amar Chitra Katha. Several more story collections will be published under this co-publishing initiative.

Speaking about the collaboration, Preeti Vyas, President and CEO of Amar Chitra Katha Pvt. Ltd, said, “Working with HarperCollins for the books series was a great and rewarding experience for us and so deciding to conduct workshops, especially creative writing workshops, with Collins seemed like a good extension of our association. We feel that this collaboration would help a lot of children take their first steps towards starting and enhancing their writing journey.”

Tina Narang, Publisher at HarperCollins Children’s Books India, said, “After the successful launch of the co-publishing venture to present iconic Amar Chitra Katha books in a new format for young children, we are delighted to further strengthen our association with Amar Chitra Katha with yet another endeavour. Both Amar Chitra Katha and HarperCollins have a long history of publishing brilliant stories for readers of all ages and now through a series of creative writing workshops, children will get a chance to understand what goes into making a brilliant book and story and what it means to craft a story. We do believe these creative writing workshops will not only help nurture young talent, but also inspire the writers of tomorrow.”

The purpose of these workshops is to indulge the creative mind, to take learners through the journey of story creation. These creative writing workshops are meant for aspiring writers wanting to learn to write a narrative

— one may have a story in development, one may be new to writing, or be somewhere in between. The workshops will include a mix of tools and techniques aligned to the creative and adaptive learning style. It will provide an environment for discussions, practical examples, learning videos, and session activities. Certificates will be awarded at the end of each programme by HarperCollins and ACK jointly.

Each of the three formats presented will be a complete module introducing the concept of creative writing with plenty of examples and discussion with experts. The longer formats will also include writing, editing and critiquing activities.

For more information, please visit https://pages.razorpay.com/acklearn-collins

About Amar Chitra Katha

Founded in 1967, Amar Chitra Katha is India’s leading children’s publisher, with iconic retellings of Indian mythology, history and literature, in the comic format. The brand has become a permanent fixture in India’s cultural landscape today and is venerated for its signature art style and accessible prose, reintroducing generations of Indian children across the world to their roots.

Spanning 20 languages, the Amar Chitra Katha library boasts titles across Epics & Mythology, History, Fables & Humor, Bravehearts, Visionaries and ACK Junior. With more than 1.5 million copies sold every year, their comics have secured a niche in the audience’s hearts and minds.

Tinkle has been bringing together the best of entertainment and education in one colourful package for thirty years now. Every issue contains a mix of hilarious, adventurous and intriguing one-off stories, besides the recurring adventures of iconic Tinkle toons such as Suppandi, Shambu and Tantri the Mantri and the more recent ones like ‘Defective Detectives’, ‘Ina, Mina, Mynah, Mo’ and ‘Wingstar’, among others. Along with these are fascinating general knowledge features, trivia pages, do-it yourself art and craft projects, riddles and jokes for its readers!

In the recent past, Amar Chitra Katha has made great forays in the digital space with all their books having a vibrant global readership through the Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle apps, as well as a presence on many other digital platforms such as Alexa, YouTube etc. Furthermore, the company continues to add new titles to its catalogue, with new themes, topics and adapting its iconic art style to endear the brand to a new generation of young readers.

About Collins Learning India

Collins has been publishing educational and informative books for over 200 years worldwide. As one of the fastest growing K12 publishers in the country, Collins maintains an impressive record in creating market-leading learning resources in print and digital formats, continuing to deliver up-to-date and engaging student resources and exceptional teacher support to help schools tackle new initiatives and utilise the latest technology.

As the learning division of HarperCollins Publishers, Collins strives to promote holistic development of children across all ages. To know more, please visit: https://www.collins.in/

About HarperCollins India

HarperCollins India publishes some of the finest writers from the Indian Subcontinent and around the world, publishing approximately 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalogue of more than 2,000 titles across 10 imprints. Its authors have won almost every major literary award including the Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Award, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Award, Publishing Next Award, Tata Literature Live! Award, Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India also represents some of the finest publishers in the world including Harvard University Press, Gallup Press, Oneworld, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover and Lonely Planet. HarperCollins India is now the recipient of five Publisher of the Year Awards – In 2021 and 2015 at the Publishing Next Industry Awards, and in 2021, 2018 and 2016 at Tata Literature Live. HarperCollins India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers.

For queries, please write to workshops@ack-media.com and marketing.collins@harpercollins-india.com