New Delhi [India], March 7: Anecdote Publishing, a fast-growing publishing house dedicated to fostering a love for reading and writing, announced that it was launching HistoByte, India’s first historical fiction writing contest for teenage school students. The contest is the brainchild of sixteen-year-old Aaditya Sengupta Dhar, a bestselling teen author, who is curating this contest in collaboration with Anecdote Publishing. This innovative contest invites students from any school in India who are between the ages of 13-18 to submit ‘byte-sized’ fiction (of less than 500 words), written in the first person to give voice to any character from Indian history.
Mr. Sagar Azad, CEO of Anecdote Publishing, commenting on this announcement, said, “At Anecdote, we want to not just publish books but encourage the younger generation to develop a love for writing. This contest is a fantastic and innovative way of doing that. When Aaditya shared this idea with us, we were very excited to be part of it and to build it together with him.”
Aaditya Sengupta Dhar, who studies in Class XI at Mumbai’s Ecole Mondiale World School, has long had a passion for storytelling and using his writing to make a difference and is the published author of six books. His fantasy novel, Kaalchakra, was an Amazon bestseller and aimed to bring Indian teens closer to their cultural roots and heritage while his non-fiction book, The Teens Guide to Saving the World, inspired teenagers to make a positive difference, winning accolades at three international awards, including The Teen Reader’s Choice Awards in the US, the only national literary award in the US decided through voting by teens. For his role in creating a positive impact through his writing, Aaditya won the Young Achievers Award in 2024, a national recognition for young changemakers.
Aaditya says that the idea for such a contest came to him when he was helping fellow students prepare for essay and writing competitions as part of his school’s Literary Club, which he founded. “It struck me that there aren’t too many writing contests for teens in India. I thought of combining my passion for history and writing to create this as a way to encourage teens from schools across India to explore creative writing while learning more about our nation’s history.”
Aaditya hopes that this contest serves a larger purpose than just inspiring creativity. “I am a passionate student of history, and I know many school students feel history is just memorising facts and dates. I hope HistoByte helps more of them understand and be inspired by our rich history through the realisation that history is, at its core, the story of people’s lives.”
The interesting combination of history and literature in a contest aimed at teens makes Histobyte an exciting prospect for budding writers and history buffs alike. HistoByte is open to entries till April 1, with contestants competing in two categories, Junior (ages 13-15) and Senior (ages 16-18), with final results on April 14. Contestants can register online for Histobyte at https://forms.gle/aeKze9iA6dxXWH7T8
