Abhishek Shinde

Paro Anand can’t stop writing books for children, young adults and adults, although many people tell her she should slow down. She also works with children in schools and NGOs, through her programme Literature in Action. She is a world record holder for helping children
make the World’s Longest Newspaper. She has been awarded for her contribution to children’s literature by The Russian Centre for Science and Culture. On Republic Day 2007, Dr Kalam, the President of India, honoured her for her writing. Her book, No Guns at My Son’s Funeral was on the IBBY Honour List and The Little Bird who Held the Sky Up with His Feet was one of three books from India selected for the 1001 Books to Read Before you Grow Up , a listing of the gold standard for children’s literature worldwide.

Paro Anand

Paro Anand writes for children, young adults and adults. She won the Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puruskar in 2017 for her anthology Wild Child (now published as Like Smoke). She has spoken about and written extensively on children’s literature in India. She headed the National Centre for Children’s Literature, The National Book Trust, India, the apex body for children’s literature in India. She also runs a podcast on HubHopper called Literature in Action and was an invitee to the India Conference at the Harvard University in 2018. She was awarded the Kalinga Karubaki Award for fearless writing, 2019. She is on the visiting faculty of Riyaaz Academy for children’s illustrators.
She is well-known for her work with children in difficult circumstances, including those impacted by violence in Kashmir, and has written extensively on the subject.

Priya Kuriyan is a children’s book writer-illustrator and a comics maker. In an earlier avatar as an animator, she directed educational films for the Sesame Street show (India) and the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI). She has illustrated numerous children’s books for publishers like Tulika Books, Penguin, Scholastic and Hachette to name a few. In 2019, she was the recipient of the Big Little Book award, instituted by Parag, an initiative of Tata Trusts, in recognition of her contribution to Indian children’s literature. She lives and works in the city of Bangalore.