HistoByte: India’s 1st Historical Fiction Contest for Teenage School Students Announced

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.