Where a book finds a shelf

There are many of us who dream of being published authors. However, in a world of mass production, there is little one can do to ensure that one’s books are seen on the right shelves and picked up by the right people. Unless of course, one has a lot of money.

Aware of this conundrum that budding authors often find themselves in, Pune-based Lavanya Khare has come up with the perfect solution — a not-for-profit publishing body that will promote books through events. The first book launch and promotional book event for the publishing body, named River Books, is on November 19.

“The most essential part of this is that it’s not-for-profit. These books will not be available anywhere but at the event. Here, they will be given away for free. Anyone who wishes to donate some amount is also free to do so,”explains Lavanya, who is a special educator by profession.

Lavanya Khare

The idea to create a platform for authors had been germinating in Lavanya’s mind for quite a while. However, it took time to turn those thoughts into action. “I studied literature in college and then creative writing during my MA. So I always knew I wanted to do something to do with writing. The idea to create a not-for-profit platform for authors came to me last year. But, at the time, it would have been difficult to juggle it with my career. I’m at a better place now, so I can give this project more time,” she explains, adding that she will be dedicating time to each individual author on a one-on-one basis.

River Books has partnered up with Gyaan Adab, a cultural organisation based in Pune. Lavanya says that this was the most natural collaboration. “We have the same goals — to promote budding artistes from every field and to give them a platform. Though the author and poet that we are featuring for our first event,  Randhir Khare, is quite an established author, we will be working with new authors soon,” she promises.

The event itself will not only have the launch of the book and speeches but also a jugalbandi of sorts between Randhir, and Urdu poet Jawad Aksari responding to the poetry that Randhir reads out. “It may be that we have a lot of people turning up, it may be that we have nobody turning up. Let’s see how it goes, and then we can plan for future events,” Lavanya signs off.