There are a lot of communities in the Delhi-NCR that aim to revolutionise the culture of poetry, literature, the arts and open mics. It is interesting to see how these platforms are creating a difference and people are coming forth to put up their skills on display. There has never been such a pool of talent before.
Setting one such trend is a publishing house based in Delhi that is known for its penchant for the written word. They give a platform to budding writers to get their work out in print, and at the same time, they are creating an offline space for artists. Half Baked Beans was founded four years ago as a quintessential publishing house, but it has expanded as a reading and writing community in these four years.
They not only publish books but also curate events where artists perform and exhibit their literary skills. They curate theme-based literary meetups to gather writers and poets where they can exchange their thoughts and engage in interesting discussions.
One such event happened last year at Kunzum Travel Cafe, where authors and readers came together to talk about the different aspects of writing. The discussion then moved on to the difference between self- and traditional-publishing, the pros and cons of selecting an established versus an evolving publishing house, followed by the best marketing practices.
This year too, they held a poetry meetup in the month of February and called out poets from the city to recite their work. With such meetups, they ensure that the young talent from the city gets recognition and visibility.
They conduct storytelling open mics in the city and invite storytellers to perform. There is no registration fee or hidden charges. It is free for all, so that people can freely participate in such events. Promoting literature and the arts in the city has never been so cool!
Especially for a publishing house, doing such events is quite rare. This is how they are breaking the stereotypes attached to publishing. In their attempt to bring out new things, they are conducting an event in Mumbai this weekend. The event – Letter Earthlings – is based on the ideas of a little bit of kindness and human connection, through the good old art of handwritten letters.
In collaboration with The Goodwill Tribe, they have created a special event dedicated to aspiring/new writers and authors. In this edition, they are going to write to authors and writers to encourage or appreciate them. How nice it will be for writers to receive thoughtful pieces of writing, written especially for them by absolute strangers!
You may check out their events here.