Bengaluru to host 3rd Neev Literature fest for kids

Bengaluru (IANS): It is that time of the year again when children, parents, and teachers come together to experience the magical world of books and share a common love for the written word as the Neev Literature Festival (NLF 2019) for children turns another page with its 3rd edition here next month.

With another year of reading, conversation between children, adults and authors, workshops, book launches and a curated book exhibition of over 1,000-plus titles, the much anticipated Neev Book Award, this edition will see exclusive workshops for parents.

This year's Neev Book Award will include 4 distinct categories - Picture Books, Emerging Readers, Junior readers and Young Adults, the organisers said in a statement.

What is new this year is that the jury will also consider the voice of children while deciding the winners.

NLF2019 will host more than 50 celebrated international and Indian authors, illustrators and academicians such as Devdutt Pattnaik, Paro Anand, Veera Hiranandani, Ranjit Lal, Nandana Dev Sen, Bhakti Mathur, Susan Perrow, Katie Smith Milway, David Melling, and Samhita Arni, to name a few. The authors will be part of the festival to meet and interact with the children.Some of the fascinating topics of discussion in 2019 will be the digital brain vs the text brain, impact of languages on children, the ever-pressing subject of visual communication vs text, how does missing stories from history impact the world view of children, the complexity of teaching and writing history in India, the ongoing debate of why history needs to be captured only through books, the need to discuss and break down topics such environment and sustainability for children, the kind of superheroes the modern generation is looking for, among many more thought evoking issues.