Books by HWR Alumni
Newtness
Pi-Chart
Butterfish and Gheefish and other Nonsense stories
How the Eland twisted its horns
Contests won
Vishwajeet Deshmukh (Creative Writing Workshop, Oct ’20)
Vishwajeet has won the Tata Trust and 1947 Partition Archive Grant 2021 for his research on Partition.
“My experience with Chetan Mahajan and Himalayan Writing Retreat was absolutely inspiring and knowledgeable. The Boot Camp involved exercises that made me realize my strengths and weaknesses as a writer. The program massively helped me to understand the view of an editor and publisher. By the end of the Camp, I could noticeably view the change and clarity in my ideas and thoughts.”
Subi Taba (Short Story Writing Workshop , Oct ’20)
Her short story “A Night with the Tiger” is one of the winners of the New Asian Writing Short Story Competition 2020.
She has also won the South Asia Literary Mentorship-2020 where she will be working with acclaimed author Aruni Kashyap on her collection of short stories set in Arunachal Pradesh.
“I wrote this story during NaNoWriMo just after attending a short story workshop by HWR in Oct 2020. So lots of thanks to Chetan and Kritika for the wonderful workshop and each of the participants for your constant inspiration!“
Lahari Mahalanabish (Short Story Writing Workshop , Oct ’20)
Her short story Newly Weds was Long-listed for the Short Story Prize by the Grindstone Literary.
“I have been writing for a long time, but it was in the Himalayan Writing Retreat that I was introduced to the technicalities of writing like structural unity and degrees of dialogue. It was also an opportunity to connect with like-minded people who are passionate about writing. Himalayan Writing Retreat is a must for those who take their writing seriously, especially those like me who have not studied literature as a subject in college.“
Janani Janarthanan (Online Bootcamp, July 2020)
Winner of the September 2020 – Muse of the Month, Women’s Web.
“I attended HWR late July this pandemic year and it has been one of the most revelatory creative experiences. There’s something alluring about sharing a virtual space with a small community of writers who are locked in on a mission to get the creative juices flowing. It brings out the writing vigour from its dormant corner which is exactly what the workshop did for me. Chetan’s warmth and the meticulous structure of the workshop helps break down the daunting task of writing a novel/short story into simple bites, all the while maintaining the individual’s writing goals in focus. I wholeheartedly encourage people to experience HWR and take away the renewed sense of direction I did. I would also like to thank the team for giving me an opportunity with the scholarship. “
Matangi Jayaram (Bootcamp, Nov ’19)
1st runner up, eShe Poetry Contest
Mohana Talapatra (Bootcamp, Nov ’17)
Published one chapter in “Write with Chitra” contest by Harper Collins
In April 2020, Harper Collins India hosted a contest called #WritewithChitra – a crowdsourced novel where best-selling author Chitra Divakaruni Banerjee wrote the first chapter taking which as a prompt, participants were supposed to write the subsequent chapter. The winning chapter will be a part of a book that will be published by Harper Collins India. In total there will be 16 chapters, one from Chitra Divakaruni Banerjee and one from another guest writer (unannounced as of now). The rest 14 chapters will be selected from this contest and Mohana’s winning entry will be Chapter 6 of that novel.
Hemanya Vashishtha (Teens Writing Workshop, Jun’ 20 and Poetry Workshop with Jonaki Ray, Jul’20)
Published in Inkspire Magazine and won INR 7000 for an essay contest.
“I’ve come quite some distance from where I was during the retreat- I’ve started blogging on a website, will soon make my own blog, working on it, won a 7000 cash prize for an essay contest, and been published in Inkspire, one of the magazines here. Tell me if you’d like the links to it, that is, the average writing of a thirteen-year-old. The blog posts are absolutely wonderful and I really want to thank you for organizing such a beautiful retreat. It changed me.“
Arijit Nandi (HWR Creative Writing Workshop, Jan’ 22 and Short Story Workshop, Feb’22)
Chosen to presnt his manuscript at Bangalore Literature Festival
“I don't know what the outcome will be. But it's a boost I needed. And thank you Chetan. Without HWR I would never have reached reached this point.“
Antara (Participant in First Draft Club #8)
Manuscript 'The Dancing Lark' selected for a mentorship program by AWW
“I had to submit 10,000 words of my manuscript and Sonali Chanchani of Folio Literary Management, US selected it for a consultation. What is incredible, this is the same manuscript I was editing during FDC #8. Really must thank you for keeping us on track.“
Mohua Chinappa (Creative Writing Course Feb'19)
Her book "Nautanki Saala and Other Stories" announced as best book of the year 2022 by The Daily Guardian
Her book also won PVLF 2023 best debut non-fiction award.
Smita Das Jain
She won the 2023 Bharat Award International for literature for her short story "Purchased Love."
Online Publications
Priya Kalpesh Astik (Online Bootcamp, May ’20)
Published an article ‘Leadership Lessons from the Rava Dosa‘ in Economic Times (August 18th, 2020)
Namita Aavriti (Masterclass, Dec ’19)
Published an interview with author Manjula Padmanabhan ‘How taking off for Europe on a risky trip gave Manjula Padmanabhan a book‘ in Scroll (August 16th, 2020)
