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Eklavya Foundation

Production Residency

Residency brief

Eklavya Foundation is a non–profit, non-governmental organization instituted in 1982, with an active publication programme established in 1996. Their literature for children spans fiction, non-fiction and diverse formats such as picture books, chapter books, big books, brown books, accordion books and most recently board books and animated board books. They have more than 500 titles in their backlists and now actively add on an average of 45 titles per year. The majority of their publications are in Hindi, while English books comprise 25% of their catalogue. They also publish books in other Indian languages as collaborative projects and also publish books by children.

As a part of the outreach activities of their publication programme, Eklavya works with communities to establish libraries and reading centers for children and young adults. They host and organize regular workshops within their space and produce a monthly magazine.

The resident should be willing to explore and interact with the diverse cultures of Madhya Pradesh, a state comprising multiple indigenous communities and a very rich heritage, both tangible and intangible.

  • Thematic focus Children’s Literature (Writer-illustrators and writers are encouraged to apply)
  • Location Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)
  • Dates October - December 2026 (flexible joining and completion within this time window)
  • Length of stay 2 Months, extendable to 3 months

Our Space

Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh is known for its lakes, gently undulating topography and interesting mix of historic and modern built heritage. It is situated close to the World Heritage sites of Sanchi and Bhimbetka and close enough for weekend getaways to wildlife reserves. Bhopal is also home to several great museums such as the Tribes Museum, the Bharat Bhavan or the Indira Gandhi National Museum of Man.

The Eklavya Foundation is located on the outskirts of Bhopal in a contemporary building designed by the famous architect Chitra Viswanath of Biome Environmental Solutions, Bengaluru. It comprises a bookstore on the ground floor, administrative quarters on the first floor, and housing and workshop facilities on the second floor. Balconies with home-grown vegetables are running on both sides of the building whose facade and walls are in raw cement, in order to keep the interiors cool. The Eklavya Foundation team comprises about 30 people working full time, in addition to which regular visitors are coming to participate and host workshops and seminars. Commuting into the city is possible using bike/car taxis and the resident will be assisted in getting independent for booking the same.

Cheyenne Olivier

Illustrator

During my residency at Eklavya Foundation, I intend to develop a picture book that I think of every time I travel across India, about the sheer range of modes of transportation simultaneously visible on a single road. Not just a book about cars and carts: vehicles and roads are a fabulous lens through which one can look at the social, historical, political, geographic, environmental, gendered dynamics of a place.

Cheyenne Olivier is a French illustrator, living in the Basque country. She graduated from the Estienne Arts and Design School in Paris and from the Decorative Arts School in Strasbourg. Her images, playfully geometric, address social and environmental issues. She collaborated with Nobel Prize winner economists Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee on several projects, including a children’s picture book about poverty, two books on Indian cooking and a textile art project in jamdani weaving. She regularly travels to India for research and to attend literary festivals. She pursues a PhD in children’s literature at the University of Tours.

Residency conditions

  • The resident will be provided with on-site accommodation, which includes a separate lockable room with an attached washroom and access to an on-campus food mess for all the meals and beverages.
  • The resident will be provided by the Residency with three meals a day. There will be arrangements for tea/coffee in the room itself.
  • The resident will be provided with working space in the Eklavya Foundation’s building.
  • The residents’ travel costs to and from his/her home address will be covered by the French Institute in India.
  • The resident will receive a fixed stipend of INR. 30 000 per month to cover his/her food and living expenses.
  • The resident will receive a fixed residency grant of INR. 50 000 per month.
  • The resident should be willing to give up to 20% of his/her residency time to participate in lectures, workshops and other cultural activities organized by Eklavya Foundation or the Alliance française Bhopal.
  • The resident will be expected to give a workshop and presentation during the Bookaroo Children Festival taking place in Delhi and/or other cities in India.
  • A book is expected to come out of the residency on a topic related to the place: ecology, environment, plants, animals, food or sustainability. The resident is expected to complete a draft of the concept during the residency and then complete it in their own time, within an agreed deadline. During the entire process, the resident should be willing to work closely with the Eklavya Foundation.
  • The language of the manuscript can be French. Eklavya Foundation will have the first preference for publishing rights in the language of the manuscript and for English and Hindi translations as applicable.
  • The French Institute in India expects the selected resident to send them a short text (1000 - 2000 words) or strip testifying of their experience within 3 months of completion of the residency.
  • The residency campus is non-smoking and alcohol is prohibited on the premises.

Eligibility criteria

  • Proficiency in English is required for the applicant.
  • The resident must have one book (minimum) published by a French publishing house.

Past Laureates

Third Edition (2025 - 2026)
Juliette Armagnac Author and Illustrator
Second Edition (2024 - 2025)
Laurence Hugues Writer