The popular writing festival that lets readers learn, interact and win books is back! Yes, it's #BlogchatterWritFest in Season 7 with a host of FB sessions, open-to-view panel discussions and exclusive workshops on registration. 

Now, you can indulge in your love for books, get to listen to your favorite authors, getting an insight into what makes them write what they do and learning skills that can help you get your own writing to be a better level. 

Add to this, the chance of your own writing being in the spotlight with #BlogchatterBlogHop prompts and Featured WritFest category in BlogRolls, this month is as much about other authors as your own writing journey. 

Winning books is the added cherry on the cake because attending the sessions, sharing on your socials, interacting with authors, all make you eligible to be considered for the giveaways. 

There are more chats around the authors and the sessions so keep checking our IG as well. 

Read on to know about the FB sessions, which are open to everyone. We also have in-depth, writing advice oriented workshops for which you have to register. 

Panel Discussions

Writing for a Modern Audience on May 5

How do contemporary fiction writers connect with their readers who are aware and have strong opinions on social and political issues.

Tanushree Podder is a well-known travel writer and novelist. She has written several non-fiction books before moving to fiction, and has now published seventeen novels. Three of her books, Boots Belts Berets, A Closetful of Skeletons, and The Girls in Green, are being adapted into web series. 

Riva Razdan is an author and a screenwriter for Anil Kapoor Films and Saffron Films. As a writer, she creates romantic-feminist fiction that encourages, supports, and comforts young Indian women. Her work has been featured in The Hindu Business Line, Grazia India and The Telegraph. She has published 2 novels. 

Aayush Gupta is an author-screenwriter. His debut novel, Toppers, a YA political thriller, was published by Penguin Random House. Since then, he's been a part of Eros, Zee, and Yash Raj Films. He's written for Sony's iconic cop show, CID, and operates his production house in Delhi, specialising in non-fiction content. MY NAME IS NOT DEVDAS is his second novel, a dark, subversive, and contemporary retelling of Saratchandra Chattopadhyay's Devdas.

Queer representation in pop culture on May 12

Popular culture has an impact on the way society views LGBTQ population. As writers, we are responsible for getting the representation right through characterisation. 

Dr. Minita Sanghvi is a politician, author and a tenured professor at a nationally ranked college in the US. Her research centers around gender and intersectionality in political marketing. She writes both fiction and non-fiction. Happy Endings published by Harper Collins is considered to be the first lesbian romance novel to be published in India.

Aniruddha Mahale Having created popular gay culture blog @theguysexual back in 2016, Aniruddha is a queer writer/author with bylines in multiple publications including Buzzfeed, FirstPost, GQ, VICE, Hindustan Times, HT Brunch and Huffington Post. Based out of Mumbai, he's currently working on his first full-length fiction novel.

Plotting and pacing in thriller books on May 19

It takes special plotting to create thrillers that grip you, excite you or scare you but have you coming back for more. 

Mansi Babbar is an author and podcaster. After becoming a top contestant in Write India Season 1, she started her journey with her podcast 'Horror Originals' on Spotify. Her books Evoked and Body of Work are in the thriller genre. 

Nidhi Upadhyay is the bestselling author of That Night. She is an engineer, a headhunter, and a consumer of black coffee and dark chocolates. She is often found hiding her current search history from her boys. If not busy researching a way to kill, drown or dispose of bodies, Nidhi can be found reading thrillers or screaming at her boys.

Kanchana Banerjee enjoys writing thrillers, reading about cold cases, true crime events and these often serve as inspiration for her stories. She’s the author of – Until I Find You (2023), Eye on You (2021), Nobody’s Child (2019) & A Forgotten Affair (2016). Nobody’s Child has been optioned for a web series on an OTT platform.

Storytelling in Non fiction books on May 23

A cohesive theme and a thread of narrative seamlessly woven through facts? That's impressive non fiction for you.  

Ashdin Doctor is a Mumbai-based popular habit coach who has been transforming the lives of many who feel stuck by creating habits that can be easily incorporated into daily life. He is the founder of Awesome 180, a habit coaching programme. He also hosts a popular podcast, The Habit Coach.

Reema Ahmad is an NLP life coach, trauma and relationship counsellor. She started her career as a sexuality educator and child sexual abuse prevention advocate. In 2017, she co founded Candidly, a platform to explore issues of gender, abuse, sexuality, media and how these manifest through culture. She is a two time TEDx and Josh Talks speaker. Reema is also a poet, editor and author.

Why should everyone read children's books on May 26

Everyone is in love with things that remind them of childhood. Writing books that evoke adventure in children and making sure they cater to a specific age group is a special talent.

Sonia Mehta is a children’s author whose body of work ranges from creating one of India’s first dedicated children’s newspaper sections; to conceptualising the Bournvita Quiz Contest for television; to writing books, songs, poems and stories for publishers in India, Africa, USA and UK. She has also co-founded Podsquad, a company that creates learning tools for children.

Sohini Mitra is a publisher with over 14 years of experience. She's passionate about children's books and has collaborated with literary giants for content. She heads the Children's and YA list at Penguin Random House India. 

Exclusive Workshops

Writing Mythology with Satyarth Nayak on May 8

Stories from long, long ago still get the hearts and imagination of readers. You can learn to write mythological fiction with this workshop. 

Satyarth Nayak is an author, journalist and screenwriter. He was formerly a SAARC award-winning correspondent with CNN-IBN. He has written multiple books. Emperor's Riddles and Mahagatha (a national bestseller) cover aspects of Indian mythology.

Writing for Children with Aditi Krishnakumar on May 16

Books for children have to cater to their immense imagination and curiosity. Know what goes into creating books that become beloved friends for kids through this workshop. 

Aditi Krishnakumar worked in the finance industry in Singapore, where she lived for ten years before moving back to India to focus on writing and maths. She won the Scholastic Asian Book Award in 2016. 

Check out the overview of #BlogchatterWritFest.

Don't forget to follow the hashtag #BlogchatterWritFest on our socials for fun chatter around authors, their books and writing learnings.