On 4th and 5th February 2011, OLE Nepal organized a writer's workshop to create Young Adult (YA) novels for Nepali youths. The two-day workshop took place in Nagarkot Farmhouse, Nagarkot, and had twenty-one participants. The workshop was facilitated and moderated by OLE Nepal's E-Pustakalaya advisers Churamani Bandhu, Dhurva Ghimire, Geeta Keshary, Hiranya Kumari Pathak, Rambabu Subedi, and Vinaya Kasajoo. Prof. Dr. Mahadev Awasti, representing the National Academy's Children's Literature wing, was also present as a member of the Editorial team. The rest of the participants were young aspiring authors who had mainly written for children and occasionally tried writing for adults.
As Young Adult literature is a new genre in Nepali literature, the workshop began with the accepted definition of the genre in foreign countries. Then, the discussion shifted to what "youth" means in the Nepali context, encouraging a deeper understanding of the target audience. After summarizing the materials collected during the seminar on 22nd December, a slideshow presentation of newspaper articles highlighting problems and concerns facing young adults in Nepal was shown.
After discussing several famous YA novels, a brainstorming exercise was conducted where each participant recalled a moment from their adolescence that symbolized being a young adult. Many experiences involved suicidal thoughts due to low exam grades (often hidden due to unpaid tuition fees), rebellious phases with drug experimentation or stealing library books, tales of teenage love and heartbreak, and even memories of sexual exploitation. These memories were so vivid that they could be turned into short stories. The discussion also revealed that, despite changing times, the core challenges faced by adolescents remain similar.
After lunch, participants were shown video clips from R. K. Narayan's Malgudi Days and S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders. The Outsiders is widely considered the first YA novel after the genre was clearly defined, while Malgudi Days, though featuring a younger protagonist, provided insight into South Asian character representation. Further discussions explored how these novels developed the adolescent first-person narrator, adding authenticity to the YA genre. The participants then formed small groups to discuss appropriate themes for their novels. Some authors also used the XO laptop to read and visualize how their finished work would appear in the digital library.
After a night of organizing their thoughts, the next day brought a remarkable number of written stories and ideas. Character development, plot lines, style, and tone were discussed. Importantly, participants explored how to transform their short stories into longer, cohesive novels. Writing a YA novel is crucial since, while many short stories exist for young adults, a novel allows for the steady depiction of changes and challenges an adolescent faces, offering guidance on navigating these obstacles. This concept of "safe landing" is vital for any work to be considered part of the YA genre.
Apart from featuring an adolescent as the main protagonist, the workshop aimed to encourage a broad spectrum of fiction among the participants. In concluding Phase I of the workshop, participants were given the target of writing around 100 pages of literary material before the next phase. While the qualitative aspect of the work was promising, the quantitative outcome would only be seen in the next session.
Phase I of the workshop was highly productive in terms of inspiring writers to create YA literature, brainstorming themes, and establishing a strong support system. Phase II, scheduled for two months later, was anticipated to feature some captivating stories.