Wednesday, July 9, 2014

THE CARAVAN AND WRITERS OF INDIA FESTIVAL COMPETITION

THE CARAVAN AND WRITERS OF INDIA FESTIVAL COMPETITION

The Caravan joins hands with the World Writers’ Festival, an initiative of Columbia University and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, to call for young Indian writers to apply to participate in the Writers of India Festival, taking place in Paris between 18–21 September 2014. The festival will feature writers and critics such as Akeel Bilgrami, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Vikram Chandra and Kiran Desai. It hopes to foster  connections between students and early practitioners of creative writing from India and around the world, and be a fruitful meeting ground between new and established writers.

The organisers will select five previously unpublished writers of fiction or poetry to travel to Paris and attend the festival. These writers will be matched up with five students of Columbia University’s MFA in creative writing program, to allow for exchanges between their worlds and their work, and hopefully to form personal and professional bonds which will nourish their writing, both now and in future.

If you are an unpublished poet or writer of fiction with a manuscript in progress, please write to us at caravanwoif@gmail.com with the following:
– A cover letter introducing yourself and your work
– A sample of up to 3000 words from your manuscript or work in progress
– A statement that your submission is your own work and previously unpublished
– A scan of the last page of your passport (which contains your identity information and its date of expiry)

Should you be selected, the festival will cover the costs of airfare and stay, and provide unrestricted access to all events at the Writers of India festival.

The last date for entries is 25 July 2014. The entries will be judged by a jury jointly associated with The Caravanand the World Writers’ Festival. All participants will be notified via email of the status of their application by 5 August 2014.

The criteria for eligibility in the competition:
– You must be an Indian citizen, resident in India
– You must be at least 18 years old
– You must have a valid Indian passport
– You must not be affiliated with The Caravan or the World Writers’ Festival in any official capacity

Please bear in mind that we will be unable to consider applications attached to non-fiction or journalism of any kind.