Overview

WRITERS WORKSHOP was founded in 1958, consisting of a group of writers headed by Professor P. Lal who agreed in principle that English had proved its ability, as a language, to play a creative role in Indian literature, through original writing and translation. Its task was of defining and substantiating the role by discussion and diffusion of creative writing and transcreation from India and other English-using countries. Discussions were held on Sunday mornings at 162/92 Lake Gardens, Kolkata 700045, and diffusion done through books issued under the WRITERS WORKSHOP imprint and a periodical, The Miscellany. Since 1970 the WORKSHOP laid increasing emphasis on its publishing programme, and has over 2500 titles to its credit, including the early works of many now-established authors of Indian writing in English, like Nissim Ezekiel, Kamala Das, Ruskin Bond, Asif Currimbhoy, A K Ramanujan, G V Desani, K R Srinivasa Iyengar, Shiv Kumar, Adil Jussawalla, Keki Daruwalla, Jayanta Mahapatra, Pritish Nandy, Shashi Deshpande, Meena Alexander, Lakshmi Kannan, Agha Shahid Ali, Mamang Dai, Temsula Ao, Maggi Lidchi-Grassi, Hoshang Merchant, Jug Suraiya, Sukanta Chaudhuri, Chitra Divakaruni and Vikram Seth. The WORKSHOP also pioneered the systematic publication of such classic translations from Indian regional languages into English as P. Lal’s Mahabharata and Maitreyi Devi’s It Does Not Die. It gives preference to experimental work by young and unpublished writers, its two chief criteria for selection being high imaginative awareness and mature technique. It is non-profit and non-political. For further details, contact us at writersworkshopkolkata@gmail.com.