This year, Daastan completed 5 years of bringing good literature to Pakistani readers! Starting in 2016, with only a vision and an intense passion, Team Daastan worked tirelessly, day and night to revamp the literary community and bring the love of reading and writing back.
Now we’ve finally reached the 5 year mark and it called for celebration! We at Daastan threw a Literary party to celebrate a milestone in our journey towards creating a better informed, enlightened and learned society. On the very first day of the new year, when hopes and dreams fly as high as the sky, the founder of DaastanMr OmmerAmer along with his team celebrated the efforts that shaped what Daastan is today. At this memorable occasion, people were invited to showcase their talent through performances and interactive talks were held to further our vision. Let us have throwback at an unforgettable memory!
Mr. Ommer Amer at Daastan’s 5th Birthday partyGuests for our Literary party
Party Itinerary!
Held at the National Incubation CenterIslamabad, Daastan’s fifth birthday was an enjoyable interaction between the representatives of Daastan, authors, students and journalists. The event began with reminding our spectators, the vision behind Daastan, our journey from where it all started, the hardships we faced and the position we now hold at a local as well as global level. A fun online quiz based on contestant’s knowledge of Daastan was also played. Mr. Ashraf, one of our panelists, won the quiz!
In an attempt to promote local languages and talent, we encouraged our participants to perform in their local languages. Some immensely beautiful songs were hummed and the variety showcased was commendable. Our newly launched OST Rabba was also played to acknowledge the efforts of our diverse team.
A discussion was held on the ‘Past, Present and Future of Publishing in Pakistan’, our esteemed panelists Mr. Ashraf Baltistani, Mr. Abdul Samad Ms. Aleena Khan and Ms. Khunsa Naseer, contributed considerably. It was discussed how the influence of this revival of Publishing in Pakistan had an impact in the respective fields of all the panelists. Daastan’s role in this revival of the publishing industry and the future prospects created henceforth, were highly congratulated and acknowledged.
Happy 5th Birthday, Daastan!
Daastan’s Birthday Cake
What’s a birthday party without cutting a delicious cake, right? Ending on a sweet note, our Founder Mr Ommer Amer cut a cake and everyone got a chance to personally interact with our team, the authors and the spectators. We hope to keep growing and sharing this bond created on and through the love of Literature. If you share our passion and want to contribute with us on this vision in any capacity, sign up with us at Daastan and become a part of our journey!
Daastan launched its very first Literary Fellowship program in the fall of 2016, which turned out to be a huge success and an instant hit. This not only benefited the fellows, who were given multiple opportunities and exposed to a plethora of resources and networks, but it also helped the team of Daastan meet a very cool bunch of people seeking to improve the landscape of the literary industry in Pakistan. Upon their graduation some of them were also be taken on board – especially those who wanted to join in the cool happenings of our space.
The Second Batch:
With another year coming to a close, the team decided to make the Fellowship a recurring one, so as to spread the message of the revival of literature, by enabling people who were interested to come see it first hand and become a part of it as well. With the announcement of Batch Two of the Literary Fellowship program, submissions rolled in by the dozens. This time around, the team received more than a hundred applications, double the amount received for the debut batch. The applications were screened thoroughly, and around 40 people were shortlisted and called for an online interview session. A friendly discussion was carried out with each to determine their passion for literature, their willingness to work for the achievements of their dreams, and their past involvements in our field. It was an even harder job to screen for and select the bunch that would be joining Daastan for the next three months, but eventually 25 people were chosen to comprise the second batch of the Literary Fellowship. The selection was made on the basis of their clarity of vision, their justification for the claims they provided in the application form, as well as their relevant experience.
Poster for the Second Batch of the Literary Fellowship
The Literary Achievements of the Fellowship:
This time around, the fellowship
was divided into four categories, i.e. Marketing, Editing, Digitizing and
Design, and each fellow was made a part of the module they favored and/or the
module best fit for them according to their experience. What came together was
a group astounding in abilities which, after being groomed, bagged multiple
prizes. Two of the fellows, Ms Maham Syedain, and Ms Arooha Arif won
Silver and Bronze in US Story Writing competition, and Ms. Nadia won
an
Urdu writing competition on The Ancient Souls. Several of the fellows were
featured all over the digital media for their different achievements, and a big
bunch of them went on to graduate as well. Chief among them was Ms. Fatema Bhaiji, who launched a
Queer-Lit magazine designed specifically for literature focused on the LGBTQ+
community named “Outcast”.
Another fellow, Ms. Arooha Arif, launched a book club in her
hometown to encourage readership and connect like-minded people, and yet
another graduate Ms. Sameen Aziz launched a digitizing company by the name of “Harf Nagar”, focused on
providing digitizing and bringing handwritten content to print ready form. Many
of the graduates were hired into the team and given various positions. The
highlights of the second batch’s achievements can be viewed here.
As the winter of 2016 rolled in, with the Qissa self-publishing up and running and Daastan’s founder Syed Ommer Ammer enrolled in Telenor’s Velocity Program looking to scale the company and redefine the industry as per Daastan’s vision, the team decided to kickstart a fellowship program. The program, dubbed the Literary Fellowship, would enlist and take on fresh minds who were seeking to disrupt and change the game in the literary industry, but were lacking the opportunity or the proper guidance to do so. The team, having many such obstacles while trying to reach out to the public themselves, wanted to pave the way and make it easier for those who wanted to follow in their suit, and equip them with cheers and support rather than rejections and sneers.
The Launch and Subsequent Response:
The call for submissions for the debut batch went out in the September of 2016, and to our surprise more than 50 people applied for the program. Each submission was carefully pored over, to make sure the group that would be a part of the team in the upcoming three months were doers and believers who could push past their comfort zones. They were initially shortlisted to a group of almost 25 people, and after an interview session, the number was reduced down to the final 15, and that is when the magic began.
Literary Fellows of the Debut Batch
The Course of the Fellowship:
Over the next three months, the mentors from Daastan laboured day in and day out with their assigned mentees. Each fellow was given tailor made tasks to enhance their specific skill set, along with targeted guidance to help them do their work efficiently. The fellows were encouraged to come up with projects of their own, which Daastan would help them develop, launch, market and scale so at the end of the three-month period they would have a sustainable venture of their own to build on. After a few months it became clear, the fellowship program had become a huge hit.
Success Stories:
The success stories of the debut batch included Ms. Mahnoor Naseer, who co-founded a global digital publishing platform by the name of The Ancient Souls, and also helped us set up operations in India. She went on to become an Editor in Chief at Daastan, and train the next batch of fellows. Another graduate, Ms. Aroosa Mushtaq Malik, was video interviewed live on PTV World. Ms. Armin Bilquis, the youngest fellow of the batch, brought her poetry book to Qissa, and Daastan helped raise funds to bring “Melted Kaleidoscopes” to print. Order a copy here to support the author.
