Penguin is celebrating 30 years in India by organising The Penguin Readathon and Book Gifting Journey in 30 places across the country. As the name suggests, the journey involves reading sessions and library contributions. For this, the publication house has joined hands with a range of partners – from community libraries, shelter homes, informal schools, independent bookshops, organisations working with people with disabilities, an environment documentation centre, prisons and more. The company hopes that this initiative will help it “to expand the reach of books and reading to diverse communities and audiences.”
“There is no greater joy than to spread the love of reading, and Penguin’s 30th anniversary theme is Keep Reading – the mantra for the celebrations through this very special year. With this journey, we hope we will able to spread this joy to many more readers around the country,” said Hemali Sodhi, senior VP, marketing and publisher, children’s books.
As per the company, the partners “have been selected in acknowledgement of the role they have played, and continue to play, in facilitating new and ever-expanding paths of discovery in their communities. All partners are involved in non-profit initiatives with a well-established reputation in the places they work in.” The 30 partners are:
- 100 story house, Tura, Meghalaya
- A Native Tongue Called Peace, Imphal, Manipur
- Artsphere, Pune
- Ashray Akruti, Hyderabad
- Avalokiteśvara Trust, Dharamshala
- Bebook Library, Calangute, Goa
- Bethany Society, Shillong
- Broadleaf Health and Education Alliance, Darjeeling
- Chhaap Foundation, Vadodara
- Children’s Home for Girls, Madikeri, Karnataka
- Conflictorium, Ahmedabad
- Edith Wilkins Street Children Trust, Darjeeling
- Go Book Bank, Bengaluru
- Hippocampus, Bengaluru
- Noida Deaf Society, Noida, UP
- Pratidhwani, project in prisons in Assam
- R&R, Mumbai
- Rachna Bookstore, Gangtok
- Studio Nilima, Guwahati
- The Community Library Project, Delhi
- The Den@ThinkArts, Kolkata
- The Green Hub, Tezpur
- The Pocket Company, Dharamshala
- TIFA Working Studios, Pune
- Transforming M-Ward Project, Mumbai
- Walking Bookfairs, Orissa
- Writer’s Cafe, Chennai
- You & I – Arts Café, Shillong
- (TBC), Delhi
- (TBC), Gurgaon
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