- 16Leaves

16 Leaves had its first book launch on September 24^th, 2016. This book launch was surely different from one that most people are familiar with. That’s because all the authors were children and young adults. The 10 publications that were proudly launched were written by individuals between the ages of 9 and 21. It was a proud moment for not just the authors but also their parents, teachers, friends and well-wishers. Let’s take a look at the publications.

When I Was Deserted On An Island – Jyotika Jayaram
Moments Of Joy – Nethra Dhamodaran
Big Bad Wolf – Sanjhana Ramesh And Ashwin Ramesh
In You – Aparna Anoop
Words Of The Wise – Aishwarya Karanam
The Hunt – Rithika Anand
The Adventure Of A Pirate – Kevin John
The Adventures Of Sanaya – Sanaya Manglic
Food For Thought – H. Abhirami
Failure, Not The End… Just The Beginning – C. M. Uthara

The book launch began with the chief guests, Rohini Molleti, Janaki Sabesh and Aysha Rau lighting a kuthuvillaku along with Bharath Parthasarathy (founder, 16 Leaves) and his wife. This was followed by a welcome speech by Bharath where he addressed the audience, guests and media. The chief guests received potted plants as a token of appreciation for their attendance and each of them went on to address the gathering. Rohini Molleti, an ace actor and producer is also an AIDS activist. Janaki Sabesh is a media professional and a trained storyteller. Aysha Rau is a performing arts expert who is the founder and manging trustee of The Little Theatre. Each of them have associated with children and youngsters in some way and provided lovely insights about their experience. They were sure to mention that a platform such as 16 Leaves only enriches the experience of childhood for those who truly want to pursue their dreams.

Each of the chief guests unveiled 2 or 3 books from the 10 publications and offered a piece of advice and encouragement to the respective authors. Once the launch was complete, the young authors proudly posed for pictures along with the chief guests and the 16 Leaves team. We had the privilege of hearing some of the authors and their parents talk about their experiences. Some of the authors such as Sanaya Manglic and Nethra Dhamodaran who could not be present at the event sent in their videos as a virtual treat. A surprise book launch was conducted for an anthology that contained 10 stories and a poem written by students from the G K Shetty Vivekananda Vidyashram. This book came as a big surprise for the principal of GKSVV who was present at the event. A cake cutting was conducted towards the end where all the children and the chief guests were happy having experienced a pleasant and meaningful event.

The event enjoyed a large presence of media personnel who aptly covered the proceedings. The launch subsequently featured in 4 print articles and around 12 online articles.

The New Indian Express wrote a piece called ‘A platform for little fingers to achieve big dreams’. The article shows a picture of one of the child authors, Kevin John, holding his book. It speaks about how 10 budding writers had a unique experience in their association with 16 Leaves in that they could slowly see their literary dreams coming true. A true motivator of an event, it has really pushed the children to take up writing seriously. The article is also available online at http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/A-platform-for-little-fingers-to-achieve-big-dreams/2016/09/26/article3629622.ece

News Today’s feature shows a picture of chief guests Janaki Sabesh, Rohini Molleti and Aysha Rau along with Bharath Parthasarathy (founder, 16 Leaves) and the child authors. The article quotes Bharath Parthasarathy saying “16 Leaves is a service provider helping aspiring child and young adult writers produce and publish their works. With a special focus on children, 16 Leaves upholds quality and follows an author-centric approach rather than relying on technology.” The article also quotes the chief guests who addressed the children and audience providing snippets of their own experiences and how wonderful this initiative truly is. The online feature is available at http://newstodaynet.com/chennai/eleven-young-authors-weave-their-tales

Remarkably, the event also featured in 2 regional newspapers: Mathru Bhumi–a leading Malayalam newspaper and Sakshi–a Telugu daily. Mathru Bhumi shows a picture of the cake cutting that took place during the event with the children and chief guests in tow. Sakshi shows a picture of the 16 Leaves team, the chief guests and the proud authors with their books.

The online coverage for the book launch event was also tremendous with India education diary, pocket press release, scoop it, Chennai patrika, India news reel, Chennai live news, Puducherry live news, nba Chennai and Valgan television. Where each of the articles spoke about the vision of the founder of 16 Leaves, Mr. Bharath Parthasarathy, and the chief guests, the stars of the event were the young writers with their books. Many of them came up to the stage to give us an insight into what inspired them to write and what they hope to achieve in future. It was surprising to see the confidence with which these children conducted themselves. Not only did they carry a great sense of achievement, they became famous with people asking them to sign copies of their books. Pride shone brightly on the faces of their parents, teachers and others present. 16 Leaves aims to continue being a platform for children to express their talents through books. 16 Leaves hopes that creative pursuits drive children that are not only technology-oriented but involves a varied mix of mediums and that 16 leaves can be instrumental in bringing these creative works to a global platform.

Following are links to the online features of the event.