AnankeWLF
About Us
The Women in Literature Foundation is a collective launched by Ananke – a new media and development platform creating inclusive conversations in the digital realm. Under the umbrella of Ananke Labs, the Women in Literature Foundation is an acknowledgment of the literary genius, creative journeys, and diverse lived experiences of women and girls in the majority world.
The organization aims to spark conversations at the cusp of gender equality, intersectional feminism, women’s rights, migration, politics, and society in literature. Ananke WLF envisions initiating thought-provoking conversations about how literature produced by women can be highlighted, promoted, and celebrated globally via digital documentation, dialogue, and more.
AnankeWLF strives to celebrate the creativity of female fiction and non-fiction writers as well as small and independent publishers, it is to highlight female literary history and showcase invisibilized women writers across the literary landscape.
Core Values
The common thread in all our current, as well as future endeavors, would be an attempt to provide a balanced and unbiased platform that welcomes and celebrates diverse opinions and voices, heterodoxy in pursuit of a common truth, and freedom of speech for all those who want to engage in nuanced and meaningful conversation. While striving to be a safe space for the marginalized who need it, we will do our best to not become silos that further factionalize the world and alienate one another. We believe that the best solutions to the problems our world faces would come from truly open and inclusive platforms that afford a latitude for all ranges and levels of opinions, as long as the objective of the discussion infrastructure is met – which is finding balanced and practical solutions and answers.
Mission
We aim to create an inclusive space that aspires to democratize the publishing and literary landscapes – digitally and otherwise. Celebrating small and independent publishers, our aim is also to strengthen women’s creative voices, through an array of initiatives, events, and engagements and encourage them to avail all learning opportunities presented.
Ananke Women in Literature Festival
One of the foundation’s flagship events is the Women in Literature Festival (WLF) – a first its kind digital celebration focusing the Global South, gender and the written word. The first edition took place in 2021, taking a deep dive into patrilineal cultures and their impact on the diversity and creativity of women writers.
The second edition of the celebrated WLF, with the theme Rethinking Paper, Ink & Gender, took place on March 31-April 1st, 2022 and opened up dialogue on publishing and the written word at the intersections of gender, feminist literary activism, innovation, biases, disabilities and sustainability.
Ananke’s Women in Literature Foundation serves as a vehicle to celebrate, nurture, and amplify voices that may otherwise not find safety and security to be brave, and that our fundamental value system is driven by principles of inclusion, non-violence, intersectionality and dismantling systemic violence. Board Of Advisors: Urvashi Butalia, Naveen Kishore, Arpita Das, Archna Sharma, Naima Rashid. (images attached for board of advisors)”
AnankeWLF Board of Advisors
Urvashi Butalia
Naveen Kishore
Arpita Das
Archna Sharma
