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SAIL Fest launches to celebrate South Asian Children's book community
SAIL Fest is launching as the first of its kind in the UK, and is dedicated to celebrating South Asian children’s children’s authors, poets and illustrators. Perminder Mann will give the keynote speech.
The festival - which will be free to attend - aims to bring together the South Asian children’s book community across the country from publishers and booksellers to aspiring creatives, teachers and librarians.
The inaugural festival will be held at the British Library on 6th September 2024 from 10am to 5pm and will delve into the diaspora—featuring thought provoking discussions that explore our rich cultures and the significance of our history. Mann, chief executive of Bonnier Books and president of the Publishers Association, will deliver the keynote speech.
Sessions will include The Art of Storytelling and how it intersects with your culture, The Joy of Picture Books and Visual storytelling, The Craft of Imagining Fantastical and other Worlds, Writing the Contemporary vs Writing Historicals and Demystifying the Publishing of South Asian Literature.
SAIL festival is created by a collective of South Asian women working in children’s books in the UK: the owner of the Children’s Bookshop in north London, Sanchita Basu De Sarkar (winner of the Children’s Bookseller of the Year and Best Book Retailer of the Year at the 2024 British Book Awards); award-winning author and creator Chitra Soundar; and freelance PR consultant Sinéad Gosai.
Basu De Sarkar said: "We’re so excited to be bringing together South Asian talent across the children’s literary world in the UK. We’ve come a long way over recent years, so this will be a real chance both to celebrate the new books coming out while creating a platform for a still very underrepresented group. Our aim is to harness our collective power to help create real change for South Asian creatives, and we hope SAIL Fest can unite the community, create more lasting opportunities and provide a safe space to achieve this.”
Mann said: “I’m honoured to be delivering the keynote speech at the inaugural SAIL Fest, a groundbreaking event in the UK dedicated to celebrating and uplifting South Asian talent within children’s literature. The creation of a platform to harness, champion, and develop South Asian talent in UK children’s books is long overdue.
“I believe SAIL FEST will be a pivotal force in driving positive change for all readers and industry professionals. I am hopeful it will make a lasting impact and inspire the next generation of storytellers."
For details on how to register visit sailfest.org.uk. Attending the event in person is free, it will cost £5 to access the livestream.
