Sudeshna Shome Ghosh has worked in the Indian publishing industry since 1997. She has worked at Penguin Books and Rupa Publications where she has managed the children’s imprints Puffin and Red Turtle respectively. Currently she is the Publisher of Talking Cub, Speaking Tiger Books’s children’s imprint. She also freelances as an independent publishing consultant. She has Guest Edited and written picture books for Pratham Books. You can read her book 'A Friend for Little Goat' on StoryWeaver.

The very first time I was entrusted with a book, I was only allowed to tally corrections. For those who don’t know the long, laborious stages through which a book is made ready, this is the (mindnumbing) bit where a poor editor sits with a pile of final proof pages and matches the corrections marked on the previous set with the new one. All she/he is allowed to do is mark the ones that may have got missed out, and any glaring typos that the proofreader may not have seen. The book, I clearly remember, was Percival Spear’s A History of India, Volume 2.

Life in a publishing house, however, improved rapidly. I quickly understood the peculiar joy that comes from working on a book at every stage of its development—from the moment the manuscript lands on your desk(top) to that final moment of relief tinged with trepidation (is it full of typos? It is full of typos! I will be fired!) on sending it off to the printing press. There were ups and downs and incredible goof ups. Just one example is the time when the big boss dumped a sheaf of papers on my table and growled, ‘You will be editing this. But first do a cast off.’ I froze. A cast off? What on earth was a cast off? I dared not breathe a squeak at him, and I couldn’t anyway as he had loped off into his cabin and banged shut the door. I trotted up to a more experienced editor (now one of the top publishers in the country) and asked, ‘Umm, what’s a cast off?’  She sighed. All these young things walking in knowing nothing, she must have muttered under her breath. ‘It’s when you make an estimation of the number of words on a page, then the entire manuscript, and then use that to calculate how many pages your final book will be. A standard paperback has x number of words per page. So first you have to add, then multiply…’ Add? Multiply? Did I not come into the Arts just to get away from all that? Nope. Turns out as an editor you need to be pretty sharp with numbers, and not just for cast offs, but to calculate royalties and advances and more.

I will leave the story of the cast off calculation right there, because I do not cover myself in glory in it (according to my first calculation the book would have been 7.33 pages long).  But I mention it only to tell what kind of learning curve every book, every single line I have edited has been for me.

Once children’s publishing started getting the attention it deserved among trade publishers, I moved naturally in that direction. Penguin, where I worked, decided to revive the children’s imprint Puffin in India, and a couple of editors were assigned to commission and copy edit the books, as well as a similarly small design team. As our list grew, we learnt many lessons. How to evaluate a book accurately; how to edit it; how to design them so they looked as exciting as the imported books from the West in the stores. Some lessons I learnt while editing were: the ability to read the book both as an adult and a child, and both as an editor and a reader. We were working only on chapter books and books for middle grade to older readers, and as the editor I had to be sure that words made sense, that the story went a certain way and did not veer away into dead ends, that the complexity of the ideas, and the length of the book (even the chapters) matched the readership it was aimed at. We were particular about the fact that these were Indian books and that we were not going to create pale imitations of Enid Blytons. So how could we take the best aspects of successful Western writing for children and merge it with Indian characters and settings?

After the publication of Harry Potter, children’s publishing in India took off as well. Now, there are many more imprints, more diverse kinds of books, more experimentation, books of various genres, price points and for different age groups. It’s possibly the most exciting time to be in this area of publishing.

And it was at this time that I got the opportunity to do a completely new kind of editing—one that had been a gaping hole in my experience so far. It was the commissioning and editing of picture books. For various reasons (mostly commercial) the publishing houses I had worked at, had stayed away from picture books. My closest connection with them had been as a mother and reader, when I started reading them only after my son was a toddler. So when editors Bijal Vachharajani and Mala Kumar at Pratham Books invited me to be a guest editor for them in 2017, and commission and edit ten picture books for them, I said yes with equal parts nervousness and excitement in my heart. One part was back to being the poor editorial assistant figuring out what is a cast off, but thanks to the complete trust that Pratham Books showed, I got over those nerves.

In early 2018, all ten books are out and published (except one that is still being illustrated). These range from STEM books where I was told to concentrate on Maths concepts (What? Why Maths again? Why me?) to a beautiful book set in the Himalayas, another one in the jungles of India where a group of children who cannot see are taken on a safari, a story about trees and friends, and another about the unaccountable fears of childhood told through the person of a very unprepossessing sweet stall owner. I worked with some fantastic children’s authors on these books, people mostly with whom I had worked with earlier, and some who I met for the first time. What I learnt while commissioning and editing these books have been superbly eye opening. To put some of them down:

Clarity of idea. The editor needs to work with the author in identifying the heart of the story, and keeping that in mind at all time. In a picture book there is no space or luxury to waffle around with other bits and bobs.

Show not tell. When there are pictures that will bring the story alive, how much should the words say? To find that right balance of just the right Q5number of words and polish the quality of those few words.

Everything can be made shorter and crisper. You can tell a beautiful story in 500 words. Yes, it is possible.

Know the reader. This is true of all children’s writing, but more so for writing for younger children. How simple is simple? And does simple mean not talking about complex ideas? How to get abstract ideas into a story that will hold the attention of a new reader?

The importance of design. The writer, illustrator, designer, editor literally have to be on the same page to bring about true magic.

There can’t be any typos. OMG, is there a typo? There is a typo! I know there is one! My career is finished!

And finally, this holds true for editing books of any length, and for any sort of reader, the value of storytelling. Let the story shine through, and everything else falls into place.

 

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Every year, StoryWeaver marks International Mother Language Day (IMLD) in an effort to remind us that learning to read in one’s mother tongue early in school helps reduce dropout rates and makes education more engaging, meaningful and enjoyable for children. Focused on the co-creation of digital books in multiple languages, StoryWeaver’s ‘Freedom to Read’ campaign is now in its 5th year of giving children across the world the opportunity to read in their mother tongue. 

WHO CAN APPLY?

I belong to an organisation. Can we take part?

Yes! We welcome all organisations - non-profits, social enterprises, for-profits, ed-tech startups - committed to spreading the joy of reading in local languages and working in the spaces of education and literacy to apply to join hands with us towards this ambitious endeavour.

I'm an individual. Can I take part?

For this edition of Freedom to Read, we are looking to collaborate only with organisations who work with and can distribute books to children.

We are a group of teachers. We want to build a digital library for our school. Can we participate?

Educators across the world have created mother tongue resources for children in languages like Kora, Santali, Cebuano-Cebu and Bahasa Indonesia. So we encourage more educators to participate!

How many members should I have in my team?

You can have as little as one to as many members in your team as you can rally together. The more the merrier!

 

WHY SHOULD I APPLY?

How is participating in this initiative different from simply using StoryWeaver to translate and publish books in my language?

Selected partners will benefit in a number of ways from being a part of the 'Freedom to Read 2020' campaign. First of all, quality-assured, reviewed translations published through this initiative will carry a 'Recommended' tag and will be promoted. Secondly, organisations taking part will be listed as partners on the StoryWeaver platform. They will have their own easy to access profile page (have a look at The Ugandan Christian University's profile page) and a dashboard for tracking their library’s progress. Most importantly, participants will also have access to mentoring in translation, editing, community mobilisation and documentation.

Will participation help me connect with others taking part to translate / create storybooks in the same language?

If we receive requests from more than one organisation to translate content to a particular language, then we will do our best to connect them so that they may work collaboratively towards creating the digital library.

Is this a contest? Is there prize money to be won?

This is not a contest, rather an invitation to collaborate with StoryWeaver to help create and share digital libraries in mother languages with few or no books. There is no prize money. However shortlisted teams will receive support and mentoring from StoryWeaver in not only creating the digital libraries but also the opportunity to publish their storybooks which will be featured prominently on the platform and reach a global audience. Participating in the 'Freedom to Read 2021' campaign will be beneficial to their work in areas such as documentation, community mobilisation etc.

Is there a participation fee?

No, there is not. Teams selected to collaborate with us will not have to pay any money towards the creation of the digital library.

 

WHAT RESOURCES WILL I NEED TO PARTICIPATE?

One or more language enthusiasts or educators excited about working on this project, a WiFi connection and a laptop or desktop computer are the main resources you need to start work!

 

DETAILS OF THE DIGITAL LIBRARIES WE ARE GOING TO BUILD

We are aiming to build digital libraries that comprise of storybooks in languages which have few or no children’s books. For each chosen mother tongue, you will create a library with at least 50 storybooks.

Why are you recommending the digital library have at least 50 books?

Imagine being able to borrow a brand new book every week for a whole year, in the language of your choice! By creating a digital library with at least 50 books, you're ensuring that children have new and exciting books to look forward to, and in their own mother tongue! Children can explore a range of topics and themes and progress through reading levels, ensuring their reading skills advance. Take a look at the digital libraries in French and Gondi on StoryWeaver for inspiration!

Why only digital libraries? How will digital libraries benefit my community?

Digital libraries are easy to share with many members, irrespective of their location and books can be added to them with ease. They can help preserve your language with books for future generations to read, enjoy and share and can improve access to good quality children's literature for your community. You will not only be able to access the library online, but also by downloading PDFs of the books, or through the Offline Library feature.

I don't have the infrastructure to build a digital library. Can participating help me with that?

All you need to begin building a digital book library in your chosen language is a team (it could even just be you!) of people who are skilled and enthusiastic about working towards this end goal. A WiFi connection and a laptop or desktop computer are the only digital tools you need to start work!

Who will review the quality of storybooks translated?

We recommend your team builds in a peer-to-peer review system while creating your digital book library. You might also like to assemble an expert panel who can review the translations and share feedback with your team before you publish the books. The goal is to create a reading level appropriate, quality-assured digital library of books in the language of your choice.

We shall provide you with best practices, resources and mentorship through the entire process of translating books for children.

Will my team have its own website? If not, where will this digital library exist?

All the digital libraries created through this effort will be published on StoryWeaver, and the books can be read, shared and downloaded for free. However, you are also free to download these books and add them to your own reading platform should you wish to do so. Selected organisations will have their own profile page which they can access and share. Take a look at CGnetSwara and The Asia Foundation's profile pages.

How can readers access the library?

StoryWeaver is a digital repository of openly licensed, multilingual books for children. Anyone can read, share and download the storybooks on our platform for free!

What resources will we require to run this digital library once it is ready?

There are a number of ways you can run your library once it's ready. You can share the link to your library with your community so that they can read the books online. If internet access is a concern, you can download the books via our Offline Library and access them whenever they like. You can also use the digital library of books to create a year-long reading programme for your community. Basically, you can use this library based on the resources available to you and potential members.

We would also like to have physical copies of books we translate in our digital library. Is this possible?

Once you have published the books, you can download them in a variety of formats, and print these books should you wish to. In the past organisations like the Konkani Bhasha Mandal and Suchana have obtained third party funding to print books translated on StoryWeaver and distribute them.

ABOUT FREE-TO-USE DIGITAL LIBRARIES

How does "free-to-use" work? What is CC BY 4.0?

All content on StoryWeaver is openly licensed under one of THE most liberal Creative Commons licenses: CC BY 4.0. That means that anyone and everyone can read, download, share or repurpose the content on the platform for free. Once your library is on StoryWeaver, anyone can read and download the books, translate them into another language, or remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.

How will I/my team get credited for the books we translate?

We recommend that each member of your team create their own, individual accounts on StoryWeaver. This ensures that each member of the team is attributed for their contribution to the library. You might want to create an attribution page crediting your entire team on the last page of every book you translate, like the one in this book.

 

As an organisation with a team of translators, will the credit go to the organisation or individual team members?

Each translator will be attributed for contribution to the digital library. Organisations with participating teams will be featured on the platform as a translation partner, and will be able to access their digital library through a unique profile page.

Who other than my organisation and its members can access my digital library?

As the content comes under the CC BY 4.0 license, having a digital library on StoryWeaver means that your library will have a global audience, and your storybooks are free to read and download by anyone across the world.

LANGUAGE FOCUS

What kind of languages are you looking to create digital libraries in?

A UNESCO report on mother tongue literacy states, 'children should be taught in a language they understand, yet as much as 40% of the global population does not have access to education in a language they speak or understand'.

Our aim for 'Freedom to Read' is to build quality-assured digital libraries in underserved languages.

StoryWeaver doesn't have my mother tongue listed. Can I still participate?

Yes! If selected, your mother tongue will be added to StoryWeaver, provided there is a Unicode compliant font for your language. Write to us at [email protected] and we will initiate adding your language to the platform.

Can we translate books into more than one language?

We want to help you build a quality-assured digital library in the language of your choice. If you and your team are adept at more than one language, then you may choose to create more than one digital library.

Does "building" a digital library mean that we will only be translating existing books into our mother tongue? Can we also write our own books?

'Freedom to Read 2021' is all about translating existing work and you get an opportunity to choose from thousands of different books, for various levels of reading. You can choose books based on your children's needs and topics that appeal to you. Unfortunately, you will not be able to write your own books within the scope of this campaign.

 

HELP WITH CONTENT SELECTION FOR YOUR LIBRARY

How do I know that the books I choose don't have an existing translation in my mother tongue?

Once you sign up on StoryWeaver, click on Translate, choose your language, and you will see the books that don’t have translations. Our content team can also assist you in curating a list of 50 books across themes and reading levels, as per your needs. The books encompass a gamut of reading levels and themes, including Early Readers, Bilinguals, STEM, as well as the Curated Reading Programme. With your help, we will be making much-needed children’s books available in more languages.

You can also click on Read and choose your language from the filter. This will show you all the books on the platform in your language.

What if the book I choose has an existing translation? Does my contribution still count?

Yes, it does!

Will we receive help from StoryWeaver in choosing books which can be used in classrooms/storytelling sessions?

You and your team have the freedom to choose your own books, but StoryWeaver will lend its expertise in book selection, if you need any help!

 

Application timelines and guidelines

• The last date for applications: March 7, 2021 

• Pratham Books reserves the final rights to select partners.

• Selected partners will sign a letter of understanding with Pratham Books.

• Only selected partners will be eligible for translation support and mentoring.

• Applications for building digital libraries in languages with few or no books will be given preference over those in mainstream languages or languages that already have a digital library of 100 storybooks on StoryWeaver.

• Applicants with basic digital infrastructure and language resources to create a local digital library will also be given preference.

• All content created and published by you / your organisation on StoryWeaver as part of the 'Freedom to Read 2020' campaign will by default be licensed under CC BY 4.0.

 

APPLY NOW

If you have any further queries, write to us at [email protected].

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Radha Rangarajan, author of Keya's Day at the Beach, is usually found lost in either a forest or a book. A photographer, Radha dabbles in filmmaking, art, and writing. She's a natural history buff and is partial to elephants, fungi, owls, and trees. She posts as @radharangarajan on Instagram.

 

Photograph by Arati Kumar-Rao 

 

Fans of her beautiful photographs of various intriguing animals, and her children's book on different kinds of crabs, we sent her some questions to answer. 

 

                                                      

 

Read on to know more about Keya – the central character in Keya's Day at the Beach – and how she came into being. 

How was Keya’s Day at the Beach conceived?

I took a fancy to photographing crabs after a trip to the Andamans in early 2013. Later, I had to visit Devbagh Island in Karwar for a story on mangrove plant species. What I saw there left me astounded. There were several thousands of Soldier Crabs out on the beach at low tide everyday. Along with them, I saw hundreds of  Ghost Crabs, Fiddler Crabs, Sand Bubbler Crabs and many more. I ended up spending all my time wandering about the beach at low tide, observing them. At the time, I wanted to try my hand at filmmaking and decided to work on a short film on crabs for JLR Explore. I went back to Karwar with two friends and we spent some glorious days filming and photographing crabs.

Bijal Vachharajani happened to watch this short film, Crabs of Karwar, at the Moving Waters Film Festival here in Bangalore and suggested that I write a book for children. That is how I ended up writing about crabs!

All the research and photographs for Keya’s story came from my filming and photography project. I didn’t have to do any extra/specific research while writing because a lot of work had gone into writing the script for the film.

 

                       

 

What kind of reactions do you hope this story will inspire in children?

When one says ‘crabs’, the first thing that most people think of is seafood. This instant recall is very hardwired into us, and that is what I wanted to challenge, with my film and now this book. Before they are thought of as a form of food, I would love it if they are thought of as wildlife, as wild as a spider, a fish, a bird or an elephant - that they have specific behaviours, mannerisms, seasonality, etc. And I hope that children who read this book will try to relate to them as wildlife first.

What qualities do you think children will notice in Keya?

Keya is a bright, curious child and asks many questions, just like all the children we know! I think and hope that they will be able to associate these qualities with her.

 

 

What are some wildlife books for children that you have enjoyed?

M Krishnan’s Book of Beasts: An A to Z Rhyming Bestiary is one of my all time favourite books for children; the verses are simply delightful.

I happened to read Charlotte’s Web very recently and I am fascinated by how beautifully EB White describes Charlotte, the spider’s webs and her behaviour.

The Harry Potter series has some of the best and detailed narratives around animals - imaginary or not. Dragons, phoenixes, hippogriffs, blast-ended skrewts, unicorns, basilisks, thestrals, nifflers, pygmy puffs, acromantulas - it is an amazing world. And apart from all these magical creatures, there are so many owls!

What advice would you give to children who want to be a wildlife photographer like you?

Wildlife and nature photography is a wonderful hobby and is an enriching experience. One doesn’t have to go far to find wildlife, because there are many forms that live around and among us. A simple walk in the garden can be a lesson in natural history if one pays attention to every leaf, twig, stone and sound. And this is most important because a good understanding of the subjects we intend to photograph makes the photographs better and more meaningful.

 

                    

 

Do you have a favourite crab? 

I absolutely love and adore hermit crabs. They are the crabs I first observed and photographed when I went to the Andamans and my crab-journey began from there. Hermit crabs are not true crabs - while other crabs have a fixed, hard shell, hermit crabs have soft shells. To protect themselves from heat and predation, they use shells that have been abandoned by other molluscs and wear them like armour; it is as if they are walking around with portable homes on their backs. Not only do they look cute, their behaviour when they are with fellow hermit crabs, and when they are looking for bigger and better shells to fit into is very very interesting.

 

                      

You can read Keya's Day at the Beach on StoryWeaver for free. This story is also available in Kannada, Marathi, Tamil and Hindi. 

 

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