LOL- love of literature - Platform for authors, writers, readers and literary enthusiasts.

  video Januli Bandara is the founder of The Literary Lounge (a book club) and The Literary Gazette (a literary and arts magazine). She works as an SEO content writer for Australian clients while managing monthly book club events, and spends her free time reading, drawing, working out, and staying active with her favorite playlists.

  episode 02 Eric Tinsay VALLES has published the poetry collections A World in Transit and After the Fall: dirges among ruins in English and Spanish translation as well as co-edited Get Lucky: An Anthology of Singapore and Philippine Writings , Sg Poems 2015-2016, Anima Methodi, The Nature of Poetry, The Atelier of Healing, A Given Grace and Finding God in All Things. He has won a Goh Sin Tub Creative Writing prize as well as the Illumination, ELit and Catholic Media Book Awards. He has been invited to read poetry or commentaries at Baylor, Melbourne and Oxford Universities. He is a director of Poetry Festival (Singapore).

 episode 01 GUEST Sachinthani Ketakumbura is the Editor-in-Chief of The Literary Gazette. She is currently a third-year student at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, studying International Studies. She has experience in editing, content writing, and journalism through her previous work. Apart from the magazine, she is also the Co-Founder and Co-President of Poe3LK, a growing poetry network based in Sri Lanka. She is actively involved in various other creative and community initiatives as well.

 episode  3 video Part 1 Part 2 Dr. Aparna Salvi Nagda is a consulting homeopath by profession and writer by passion. She earns her bread and butter through medical practice in Mumbai. Her short stories have won a place in around ten anthologies, while her blogs have found a home on websites like Mompresso, Youth Ki Awaz, The She Saga, WomensWeb and also the The Times Of India Readers blog. The Labyrinth Of Silence is her first full-length novel published by Vishwakarma Publications. Previously, she has self-published a novella called Not So Grave on Kindle and also has been a part of a short story collection La Javvaab Pizza published by Vishwakarma Publications.  She wishes to write till the last drop of ink in her pen and her last breath.

  episode 2 video PART 1 PART 2 Sreya Sarkar is a public policy analyst, journalist, and author. She did her undergraduate studies in Political Science at Kolkata’s Presidency College and post-graduation from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. After a short stint in The Times of India and as a college lecturer in Kolkata, she set off to the US for her second Master’s in Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She worked in public policy research and advocacy in U.S. think tanks and non-profits such as Cascade Policy Institute and Heartland Institute before turning into a freelance writer with her fingers dipped in multiple fiction and non-fiction projects. She contributes political and social articles for Indian and U.S. news magazines like The Wire, Scroll, Karvaan India, and American Kahani. She writes columns on Indian American issues for The Quint and Dainik Bhaskar. Her short stories have been published in Indian literary magazines including...

 Episode 1 Chyrel J. Jackson and Lyris D. Wallace are Literary visionaries and two-time #1 Ranked Best Selling Amazon Authors. Reared and raised in the South Suburbs outside Chicago. African American Literature influenced their writing and is one of their favorite genres. Both writers write in the spirit of their past great Literary ancestors. Chyrel and Lyris both were Pushcart Nominees in 2021-Poem Love Unspoken, Heartbeats Anthology and 2023, Poem- No Justice for Breonna, Published in Social Justice Inks Anthology. This edgy writing duo is featured in numerous poetry anthologies, Literary Journals, and International Global Magazines. Chyrel and Lyris have published SistersRoc’N’Rhyme Presents Poems in the Key of Life, Mirrored Images and Different Sides of the Same Coin. You will find them always writing. Creating written legacies one book at a time. These two writers have found their voice and can be found on Sistersrocnrhyme.com. VIDEO PART 1 PART 2

 episode Alka Joshi is the internationally bestselling author of the Jaipur Trilogy: The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur and The Perfumist of Paris. Her debut novel, The Henna Artist, immediately became a New York Times Bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon Pick and was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. It has been translated into 29 languages and is currently in development at Netflix as a tv series. Joshi was born in India and came to the U.S. with her family at the age of nine. She has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts.  video

  episode  video Joy Mast is a speaker, teacher and author who enjoys writing on faith topics. She lived in Spain and in Washington, DC before returning to her home state of North Carolina where she currently resides. After she experienced healing from compulsive overeating in her early 30’s, Joy wrote a course for women called Releasity, which helps women break free from emotional overeating. Her first book, Set Free & Satisfied, is the book form of that course and was released in the fall of 2023. To learn more about the book and course, visit her website at www.joymast.com. Joy graduated from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Communication Studies. She enjoys reading, bringing friends and family together, the Spanish language, and laughing. Joy and her husband, Steve, a graphic designer, have two daughters.

episode 10 Radhika Iyengar is the author of her debut book, ‘Fire on the Ganges: Life Among the Dead in Banaras’. She’s a graduate of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, New York. Radhika won the Red Ink award for Excellence in Indian Journalism (2018), and has been a recipient of the Charles Wallace India Trust Fellowship, the Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellowship and Sangam House Residency. video

 episode 10 video Zaid Hasan is an aspiring author, currently editing his debut novel. It’s an epic adventure story in the High Fantasy genre with elements of Sci-Fi mixed in. Zaid is a proud Muslim-American, born and raised in New York, hoping to explore deep themes and offer new perspectives through his art.

 episode 8 video Lalitha Ramanathan is a Finance Manager turned writer. She is an avid blogger and has published her stories with many online platforms and anthologies. She is a 2022 Orange Flower Award Runner-up. Her upcoming debut book on parenting humor will be published by OM Books International. Lalitha lives with her family in Singapore. When not writing, she loves to read, play the violin, and design Rangolis, all the while gathering ideas for her next plot. She loves writing stories with a pinch of humour!

 episode 8 video Natasha Sharma is a freelance software developer who moonlights as a writer. She has been a voracious consumer of the written word since her childhood and is never without a book (or a Kindle) by her side. A true blue feminist, she is passionate about creating awareness on gender inequality and other social issues. At the same time, her work displays a characteristic streak of cleverness and wit. Her stories have been published in several online magazines like eShe, Reading Frame, Thinking Pen, eFictionProject, and Penmancy, amongst others. Her op-ed pieces and other articles can be found on leading web portals such as MoneyControl, SheThePeople, and Women’s Web. Her stories have been printed in several anthologies like Everything Changed After That, Musings Mundane and Mortal, Existing Loudly, The Runner’s Tribe, TMYS’s Review: Food and Drinks, Dancing Gold Flecks, An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove, amongst others. In 2022, in association with Tell Me Your Story, Yor...

  episode 7 video Veena Rao is an award-winning Indian-American journalist and author. Purple Lotus, her debut novel, is a 2021 American Fiction Award winner, a 2021 Georgia Author of the Year finalist, and an award-winning finalist in the multicultural and women’s fiction categories of the 2021 International Book Awards. She is the founding editor of NRI Pulse, an Atlanta-based news publication. She has been recognized by The Limca Book of Records (the Indian version of the Guinness Book of Records) as the first Indian woman to edit and publish a newspaper outside India. When she is not writing or meeting press deadlines, you will find her meditating or gardening. To find out more about Veena, visit her website www.veenaspulse.com.

 episode 6 video Kerry Kriseman is the author of Accidental First Lady: On t he Front Lines and Behind the Scenes of Local Politics, published by St. Petersburg Press. The memoir recounts her 22 years as a political spouse to her lawyer-turned-politician husband, Rick Kriseman, St. Petersburg Mayor from 2014-2022. Historical dramas, traveling, scratch cooking, drinking wine, and daily walks are her interests. The St. Petersburg native is a graduate of University of South Florida with a B.A. in Mass Communications/Broadcasting and has worked in print media for the St. Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times) in various positions in the Newsroom and Marketing Department. She volunteers in the community and serves on multiple non-profit boards. She joined Creative Clay as the public relations manager. The non-profit creates equality through art with programs for individuals with neuro-differences. She has served as mentor with the 'Take Stock in Children' program in Pinellas County ...

episode 5    video Anne Marie's debut collection of poetry, Survived By: A Memoir in Verse + Other Poems, was accepted for publication by Curious Corvid Publishing and is scheduled for release in April of 2023. Her chapbook, Mother, (v), won the 2023 Cinnamon Press Pamphlet Contest and is scheduled for publication in Spring 2024. She won the 2023 Jackson Hole Poetry Box Contest, the 2023 DC Public Library Haiku Contest, the 2023 Maryland Writer's Association Poetry Contest, and was one of 120 poets long-listed out of 15,000 entries for the international Erbacce Prize. Anne Marie was a finalist for the inaugural Emma Howell Rising Poet Award, was the winner of the 2021 Crow House Press Poetry Competition, and earned the 2021 Peter K. Hixson Memorial award in poetry, which was presented by Writer's Relief. She received the 2020 Milestone Award presented by Wyoming Writers, Inc., and the 2020 Rising Star Award presented by the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce. She was a 2021 W...

 episode 4 video Kathryn P. Carter is an educational consultant, children’s book author, and speaker. Her goal is to elevate, energize and encourage children to become reading rockstas. She is the author of The Lizzie B. Hayes children’s book series about a precocious eight-year-old and three generations of her colorful family. Her historical fiction series is just right for children ages 8-12. Through her Ten Steps to Reading Success © parent workshop, participants learn tips and strategies to support children on the journey to success in school and in life. Kathryn is available to speak about children's literacy development and tips for aspiring authors. #authorlife #writerslife,  #lol, #loveofliterature, #aspiringauthors, #tipsforpublishing, #sredhanea, #jayanthisankar, #jaysre, #allunderoneumbrella, #writingjourney, #becominganauthor, #editimanuscript, #literaryagents, #editors, #publishers

 episode 2 video Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin, an Amazon-bestselling crime novel, which has been optioned for screens by Endemol Shine. She co-edits the The Forge international literary magazine. Her next, The Blue Bar, published by Thomas & Mercer received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly.

 episode 2 video Winnifred Tataw Winnifred, or as most know her by Winnie, is an artist, entrepreneur, and Amazon Bestselling author of her debut series: The Gods’ Scion. Winnie has had a lifelong love of literature and art. She wants to create a beautiful fantasy world with compelling and intriguing characters as a writer. Winnie loves to spread positivity and joy to those around her and look at the world through a glittery pink lens.website- https://winsbooks.blog/

 episode 1 video Ankush Bharti Ankush Bharti is the Chief Operations Officer of Writers' Kalam, India's latest knowledge-based education venture. Also, the Editor-in-Chief of The Holistic Pine, the independent monthly lifestyle international journal released by Writers' Kalam, Ms Bharti, keeps an open mind towards the possibilities of content creation in the new media. She is trained in content writing and content marketing. A writer with experience in the publishing industry, Ankush Bharti has coauthored several books. Previously, she worked as a content reviewer for a prominent organisation. She was also the co-founder of a content writing company. An avid reader, she spent hours of her time as a youngster in the libraries of Shimla. This experience proved crucial in providing her with the necessary material for the writer in her. Known as a prodigy since an early age, she has won many national and international competitions in writing. She writes fiction, nonfiction, poe...

 episode 24 video Rajni Mala Rajni Mala Khelawan is an Indo-Fijian Canadian writer and researcher. She has given numerous inspirational speeches and public readings in Canada and in the Fiji Islands. In addition to being a visiting writer at the University of South Pacific, Fiji Islands in 2011, Khelawan was profiled on hit TV and radio shows such as Bollywood Boulevard, CBC Radio, Omni News, NUTV, and Asian Magazine TV. She was the Writer-in-Residence at Fiji National University in 2014. Her short story “Bucket of Cherries” was a winning entry for New Asian Writing Journal; and "Still Standing" was published in The Voice Magazine. Khelawan's two novels are Kalyana (2016) and The End of the Dark and Stormy Night (2008). Her third novel In the Shade of a Bougainvillea Hedge is forthcoming. Khelawan holds a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Toronto. Her SSHRC-funded research entitled "Gender and Ritual among Fijian Hindu Women" studied gender and Hindui...