A Dubai family who crafted the world’s largest handwritten Bible will enter The Guinness Book of World Records.

A report in The National daily mentioned that they are now preparing to write another one in their mother tongue Malayalam.

The record holders are Manoj Varghese, Susan Samuel and their two teenaged children who spent up to 15 hours a day on the giant leather-bound book, which is more than 1,500 pages long and contains 800,000 words. They were monitored on two cameras installed in their home by Guinness World Records adjudicators.

About 60 pens were used to write the religious text which they completed in about five months. They used A1 paper, which is eight times bigger than A4.

It was Susan’s idea to write as she wanted to give something to their children to keep. But the family later decided to donate the book to their parish, the Jebel Ali Mar Thoma Church, to mark its 50th anniversary in 2019.

Manoj said it took around three months to get the green signal from Guinness. Since they had to choose an international language, they went for English for the record attempt.

Susan did most of the work, while the other three members of the family pitched in.

Susan has now started work on the Malayalam version in A2 paper.

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Storytel had piloted Select services with thousands of audiobooks & ebooks in Marathi language only in 2020. Now the offering is expanded to 11 languages including Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Assamese, Gujarati, Odia & Kannada to choose from, at an affordable price point of ₹149 per month. You can subscribe for the plan here

Consumers will now get two paying options –  “Select “payment option priced at Rs 149/-  with access to regional languages and another one ‘’Unlimited’ priced at Rs 299 with access to all 11 languages along with English. The aim is to keep the offer choice to people who want to listen to Indian languages only or also the premium International titles in English.

Literary enthusiasts can listen to timeless classics like Khasakinte Ithihasam, Mayyazhipuzhayude Theerangalil and Aarachar ; sought after books by Pourathvavum Deshakkoorum, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vjayan and orator par excellence Dr.Shashi Tharoor, and best-selling books in Crime like Coffee House and Poetry Killer, and even audio-first releases like Rebecca by Rajiv Sivashankar; Thrillers like Dutchu Bunglavile Pretharahasyam and Kaali Gandaki, Romances like Premalekhanam and Namukku Gramangalil Chennu Rapparkkam and several other genres written by famous authors like Arundhati Roy, Benyamin, S Hareesh, Manu S Pillai, and many more, with thousands and thousands of titles coming very soon.

Expanding Storytel Select is the next step in Storytel’s journey to offer customers options that they have been asking for, which is very much in sync with our strategy of going local and understanding customer needs better.

“Our aim is to get people more and more closer to stories and literature that stems from their roots.With expanding Select as a product, we want to give users the power to choose and pay for what they actually consume. We were seeing doubled interest in the consumption of audiobooks in languages other than English, which is when we decided to launch an India specific plan- which lets one enjoy audiobooks in their language at an affordable pricing. ” said Yogesh Dashrath, Country Manager, Storytel India.

Storytel is an audiobook and ebook app streaming service launched in India on 27th Nov 2017. The company is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden and currently present in 25 markets across the globe. In India, the app currently hosts more than 2 lac+ audiobooks and ebooks across 12 languages namely English, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Assamese, Gujarati & Kannada . Our vision is to make the world a more empathetic place with great stories to be shared and enjoyed by anyone, anywhere and anytime

Pricing: There is a subscription fee of ₹ 299. Under a monthly subscription, the subscriber gets access to unlimited stories in 12 languages( English, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Bengali, Odia, Assamese, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Odia, Kannada & Gujarati)

Availability: Storytel is available on both Google Play store http://bit.ly/2rriZaU and iOS App store https://apple.co/2zUcGkG

Storytel is one of the world’s largest subscribed audiobook and ebook streaming services and offers listening and reading of more than 500 000 titles on a global scale. Our vision is to make the world a more empathetic and creative place with great stories to be shared and enjoyed by anyone, anywhere and anytime. Storytel’s streaming business is conducted under the brands Storytel and Mofibo. Storytel’s publishing business area is carried out through the audiobook publisher StorySide and acclaimed Nordic publishing houses such as Norstedts, People’s and Gummerus. Storytel operates in over 20 markets around the globe and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

The post Storytel makes listening to audiobooks in Indian languages pocket friendly appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

The award for the best novel went to L Gopikrishnan’s ‘Njan Ente Shatru’.

Dr Anil Vallathol has won science literary award for ‘Ezhuthachan Enna Paatapustakam’, John Samuel won the best award for the story, ‘Yadhastu’. The award for anthology of poems was shared by Deshamangalam Ramakrishnan’s ‘Enne Kandumuttan Enikkavumo’ and E Sandhya’s ‘Ammayullathinaal’.

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Mokeri was in news sometime back when he was wrongly jailed in Maldives where he was a teacher and his subsequent memoirs titled Takkijja had even won Sahithya Akademi Award. In Kadalneelam, his new book, only available in audio form for the time being, Mokeri writes about his life after he was freed. For Storytel, it was the well-known Carnatic musician Rajeev Nair has read the novel.

On the other hand, a journalist by profession, Rajeev Sivasankar is an established novelist now with titles including Thamovedam, Maraporul, Praanasancharam, Nagaphanam, Deivamaratthile Ila, Pennarash, Kalpramanam and Kunjalithira. Of these, Kunjalithira, Nagaphanam, Thamovedam and Pranasancharam were already available in audio forms in Storytel. The novel was read by Sreelakshmi Jayachandran, an RJ. Rebecca is a thriller spun around an actual incident that shocked Kerala sometime back. The protagonist the novel is named after, a twice-widowed septuagenarian, lives in a remote hamlet of Punchakurinji, in her Pathekkar house flanked by high-walls with a pack of mysteries around her.

Storytel is an audiobook and eBook app streaming service launched in India on 27th Nov 2017. The company is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden and currently present in 22 markets across the globe with a subscriber base of over 1.5 million globally, hosting titles for every age group across a diverse set of genres such as personal development, history, business, romance, thriller, spirituality, horror, drama, adventure, etc. In India, the app currently hosts more than 2 lac+ audiobooks and eBooks across 10 languages namely English, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Assamese, Kannada. The Storytel app can be subscribed at INR299 per month. Under the monthly subscription, the subscriber gets access to unlimited stories in 10 languages ( English, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Bengali, Assamese, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada)

Storytel is one of the world’s largest subscribed audiobook and e-book streaming services and offers listening and reading of more than 500 000 titles on a global scale.

The post First audio first book in Malayalam released on World Book Day appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

The announcement came via Twitter as DC Nation shared a ominous artwork of an overarching Joker sitting on the throne, the gates of Arkham Asylum beneath him.

What's The Joker's next move? His own ongoing series.

The Joker #1 launches in March from the team of @JamesTheFourth and @GuillemMarch—and each issue features a Punchline story by Tynion, @DipsOff, and @Mirkand. Details: https://t.co/7AjimvM6hN pic.twitter.com/iE2O3EMW8x

— DC Nation (@thedcnation) December 15, 2020

Guillem March will look after the artwork in this new series that hits the stands on March 9, 2021, with each issue consisting of 40 pages of comic content costing $4.99(Rs 367.30)

An earlier series, started in 1975, was eventually cancelled after nine issues.

DC believes that Joker portrayals by Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Jared Leto, and Joaquin Phoenix were received well, hence the demand is there.

Joker, in his initial solo comic run by writer Denny O’Neil, hinged on the gripping storyline of his The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge.

The artwork was done by Irv Novick and Dick Giordano, while the series explored the mad man’s encounter with fellow Batman villains such as Two-Face.
The nine-issue brief series showed Joker battle Batman and fellow villains while returning to Arkham.

The latest storyline hinges upon Joker becoming a most wanted criminal globally with an aging Jim Gordon trying his luck for the last time to take him out.
The official Twitter post adds that while Gordon is on his job, there are other dangerous villains who want Joker out and wouldn’t take it lightly if Gordon slows “them down or get in the way.”

Writer James Tynion IV, who is now holding the baton of Joker, who was introduced way back in 1940 by series pioneers Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, said he was clueless about how the new series would look and read like, given the current fan following.

“The Joker War was only the beginning of the terror and mayhem we’re creating!” said Tynion.

The post Jokers gets a solo run in DC comics after 45 years appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Interestingly, the judges weren’t hesistant in choosing Douglas for the honour. Chair of judges Margaret Busby said the judges’ decision was unanimous and they only “took an hour to decide”.

The book is “challenging,intimate and gripping… anyone who reads it will never feel the same,” she said.

Stuart,44, said he was “absolutely stunned” to win.

Shuggie Bain is an autobiographical novel, about the lonely gay son of an alcoholic mother in 1980s Scotland. It was one of four debut books in this year’s shortlist.

The novel follows the life of Agnes Bain, who is descending into despair and struggling with alcohol after the breakdown of her marriage.

All but one of her children, Shuggie, have been sympathetic to her deterioration. He struggles to help Agnes while suffering huge problems of his own.

Douglas dedicated his book and his prize to his mother, who died of alcoholism when he was 16.

He said that Shuggie was “a love story looking at that unconditional, often tested love that children can have for flawed parents”.

Douglas grew up in Glasgow and lives in New York. He is the second Scot to win the prize, following James Kelman in 1994 for How Late it Was, How Late.

The writer made New York his home to start a career in fashion design. He started writing his book a decade ago.

The ceremony, broadcast from London’s Roundhouse, included contributions from the Duches of Cornwall and former US President Brack Obama.

Sir Kazuo Ishiguro, who won the 1989 Booker for The Remains of the Day, was also part of the socially distanced proceedings, along with last year’s joint winners Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo.

The judges were under strict instructions not to have more than one winner for this year’s £50,000 prize.Under new guidelines, if they could not agree on a winner, a majority vote would be honoured.

The post Douglas Stuart wins Booker Prize for Shuggie Bain appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Representative women writers of Kerala through generations are well-presented in two short story collections brought out by ‘Paridhi’.

Many eminent writers had their maiden venture published by ‘Paridhi’. Writers, literary critics and book sellers alike have praised the quality of the production by the imprint. Cover page design, page layout and every aspect of book printing is impeccable at ‘Paridhi’.

Every year, the book stall of the publishing house is a major draw during State Library Council’s exhibitions. ‘Kalam’ and ‘Z library’ are sister concerns of ‘Paridhi’.  These two wings of the publishing house bring out continued attempts of writers in Malayalam and English section respectively. Hitherto ‘Paridhi’ has achieved much repute and reliability in the field of publishing.

Book release functions organised by Paridhi have been successful literary events as stalwarts participate in them to introduce their books to the reading public. First of its kind in encouraging and establishing promising writers, ‘Paridhi’ keeps a victorious track record with immense popularity.

Those who would like to have their works published can contact 9895686526 and Paridhipublications@gmail.com for their first taste of literary success.

The post Promoting fresh talents in literature appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Roy Kapur said he intends to put together a team of international writers and show-runners to create a series that will be “path breaking in scale and quality“.“I believe that stories that are compelling, relevant and authentic have the potential to resonate with audiences across all nationalities and cultures. William Dalrymple’s epic tale of The East India Company is one such story,” the producer said in a statement.Roy Kapur is planning a big budget ,grand scale,series of adaptation of the book.

Author-historian Dalrymple,who is on board as a consultant for the project, said he hasn’t written a book more “obviously crying out to be adapted” than “The Anarchy”. “I’m very excited looking at the initial treatment note, talking about the various ways to bring this book alive and to bring the characters I’ve been living with over the last 6 years onto the screen,so that everyone else can see them in flesh and blood.It’s an incredibly exciting moment and I have high expectations of this project,”he said.

The Anarchy was recently listed by former U.S President Barack Obama as among his top 10 recommended books of 2019.

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