Be Bold Stay Real: India Non Fiction Festival: Asia’s first ever Non Fiction Festival announced in Mumbai

~The India Non Fiction Festival is an event with a host of renowned speakers
specializing in a wide array of genres and about all things non-fiction~

The commercial capital of India shall witness Asia’s first non-fiction festival this June. A genre that is a mirror for viewing the world around us, dealing with facts about people, places, issues and events, will have one of the world’s few non- fiction events called the  India Non Fiction Festival. Centered on the theme,  Be Bold Stay Real, the festival will deal primarily with non- fiction writing and will see experts across sectors come together to disseminate their wisdom and insights. The event makes its first appearance in Mumbai at the Nehru Centre at Worli from the 21 to 23rd June 2013.

The non-fiction festival caters to a vast range of genres such as  business, management, leadership, health, fitness, media, cinema, cookery, lifestyle, politics, economics, globalization etc. The festival’s format consists of parallel sessions in two conference halls consisting of engaging panel discussions, interesting keynotes and one on one conversation with eminent authors; another hall will be accessible with books for sale and book signing sessions.

The three days are packed with interesting and stimulating sessions from established authors and eminent personalities in their respective genres. The authors and writers conducting the sessions are Indian mythology guru  Mr. Devdutt Pattanaik, sports writer  Mr. Makarand Waingankar, director  Mr. Sanjay Gadhvi,

experts  Mr. R Jagannathan, Mr. Vivek Dehejia and  Ms. Rupa Subramanya,

US Consul General Mr. Peter Haas, spiritual guru  Swami Sukhobodhananda, alternate sexuality crusaders  Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil,  Mr. Roy Wadia, the ex- police commissioner of Mumbai Mr. D Sivanandan, political author and journalist Ms. Tavleen Singh, professor of corporate strategy and policy area at IIMB Prof. Rishikesha T Krishnan, social commentator Mr. Santosh Desai, former Chairman of Microsoft India,  Mr. Ravi Venkatesan, banking editor and writer Mr. Tamal Bandyopadhyay,  management and market research consultant Ms. Rama Bijapurkar, writer and editor Ms. Raksha Bharadia, food writer Ms. Tara Deshpande, youth expert and writer Ms. Rashmi Bansal, corporate lecturer Ms. Anita Bhogle along with other renowned non- fiction personalities.

Among the books to be launched will be, My Stroke of Luck by author Mr. Vijay Santhanam, which will be launched by Mr. Gautam Kiyawat, CEO Madison Media & RK, Neo Sports.

Directors Cut: 50 Major Filmmakers of the Modern Era by the author Mr. K Raghavendra which will be launched by renowned director Mr. Mahesh Bhatt.

Beyond non- fiction, the festival will also act as a platform to create awareness and discuss neglected social issues such as promoting philanthropy, LGBT in society along with other pressing issues.  The festival targeted at students, business professionals, scholars, homemakers, health & fitness enthusiasts, homemakers and just about anyone interested in the many genres within Non Fiction.

Speaking about the occasion  Kumaar Bagrodia, Festival Director, India Non Fiction Festival said, “I have always been a great enthusiast of non-fiction as this is the format that mirrors real life happenings, circumstances; connecting the reader to reality. Formerly, there was no festival solely dedicated to non-fiction works and so I decided to give the genre its due and share it with the citizens of Mumbai. The festival is a culmination of all our efforts and love for the genre and I would like to thank our partners and speakers for making it possible. We are very excited and eager to see the response of our festival among our visitors.”“Nonfiction as a category, save in some niches such as self-improvement books, has not received sufficient attention in India. The initial response to this conclave shows that its time has come” said, Mr. Parthasarathi Swami, Managing Editor, India Knowledge @ Wharton

Mr. Vinay Hebbar, Managing Director India, Havard Business School Publishing,  said, “This festival with a unique focus on non-fiction is a welcome initiative that would promote non-fiction authors, and their ideas in India.   This will give readers an opportunity to listen to, learn and engage with top Indian and international minds.”
“I feel that this first serious attempt for a Non-Fiction festival must be lauded and encouraged. I’m sure this is something the academic community and non-fiction writers should welcome.

SAGE is proud to be associated with this initiative” said, Mr. Vivek Mehra, MD & CEO, SAGE Publications.

“We at Jaico are very excited about this unique and much-needed event. The India Non-Fiction Festival is a big step in the right direction” said, Mr. Akash Shah, Publisher & Owner, Jaico Publishing House.

The partners of the India Non Fiction Festival consist of: Knowledge@Wharton, The American Center & Library, Harvard Business Review, Crossword Book Stores, IndiaSpend, Harper Collins, Sage, Jaico, Random House, Hachette, Penguin, Aiesec, Westland and the British Council.