Avarna program for diversity in publishing

Dear friends,

In 2005, Navayana had informally lobbied for the admission of Dalits into the prestigeous Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. Today, Navayana is all set to formally ensure the presence of Dalits/Adivasis in the publishing sector. Read on, and circulate this message as widely as possible. Please print out the attachment for use on college/university notice boards. Media outfits can treat this as a press release.

Anand
 www.navayana.org

AVARNA: NAVAYANA FELLOWSHIPS FOR DIVERSITY IN PUBLISHING

Navayana seeks to facilitate the training of five dalits/adivasis through the PG Certificate Course in Editing and Publishing conducted by the School of Cultural Texts and Records (SCTR), Jadavpur University, Kolkata. Known as Edit-Pub, this is a self-financed postgraduate certificate course offered by SCTR. The four-month (January–April) course, in its fourth year now, has had a successful rate of placement (75 percent) in the publishing industry.

Given that there are almost no dalits/ adivasis in mainstream English language publishing, Navayana’s AVARNA program to train five dalits/adivasis at SCTR will be the first step towards ensuring diversity in the publishing industry’s editorial sector in India.

Applicants must be below 35 years of age. From among all the applications, 10 dalits/adivasis will be called for a screening test to Kolkata in December 2008. Five of the 10 will be selected for the Navayana Fellowship and asked to join the course in Kolkata, starting January. The five dalit/adivasi Navayana Fellowship candidates will be selected on the basis of the same criteria as other candidates.

The Navayana Fellowship will offer a stipend of Rs 5,000 per month for the four-month period. Besides, Navayana shall pay the course fees of Rs 6,000.

At the end of the course, Navayana shall make efforts to ensure the placement of the successful candidates in mainstream/ alternative publishing houses. One of the candidates shall be encouraged to work with Navayana.

Applications from dalits and adivasis must be emailed to avarna.navayana@gmail.com before 28 November 2008. Applicants must send their CV and a 300-word note on their interest in books and why they wish to pursue a career in publishing. Ten applicants will be short-listed and intimated over email/phone by 1 December 2008. They have to appear for a screening test on 15 December 2008 in Kolkata. Candidates from outside Kolkata will be given return train fare (second class). Photocopies of graduation certificate, mark-sheets and community certificate must be produced on the day of the screening test.

Course period: Mid-January 2009 to Mid-April 2009 (final dates to be confirmed).

Classes will normally be held four days a week from 6-8 p.m.

For further details log on to www.navayana.org

S.Anand
 Publisher
 www.navayana.org

Address for correspondence

Navayana Publishing
 E-92 (Second Floor)
 Saket, New Delhi—110017
 Ph: +91-9971433117