John P Matthew is featured by the newspaper Tehelka

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Eight months and still waiting for the verdict on my two books. I don't know what's wrong, if I should contact the publishers and find out if they are at all interested in them. This wringing of hands, this eternal anxiety, this indecision, to say the least, is killing. An author invests a lot of time and money on a book and to find it is not acceptable could be devastating, one can simply stop writing altogether and go into a shell. Nothing of that sort is happening to me, as I am still active literary boards, blogs and writing comments and criticisms. This keeps the juices, sort of, flowing. As Lokmanya Tilak said when he was convicted for sedition, "There are bigger things that govern the destiny of man." He is a hero, no mean writer himself, and I believe his words. Also my latest short story Seats, Red Spit and Being Steve Smith featured in my short story blog Unendingstories has got good reactions from the boards.

Recently, I was invited to attend the "Kritya International Poetry Festival" organized by Kritya in Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala. Those two days in Kerala were like a peek into a transient heaven. Like all heavens, it also passed in seconds. Pictures of the festival can be viewed on my photoblog Johnclicks.

Penguin-Sulekha "India Smiles" Short Story Collection Is Out!

"India Smiles" the collection of short stories that won Penguin-Sulekha's global short story contest has recently been published by Penguin India. This is what the book jacket looks like. Do buy it if you see it in stores. It features my short story "Flirting in Short Messages."

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Tehelka, foremost news weekly, featured me along with fellow Caferati members in December 2004!

In picture above I am the one on the extreme right. Others from left are: Arjun, Runa, Hema, Sweet unidentified lady, Max, Peter (hidden), Sunil and yours truly.

I did a reading of my short story "Thank You Teacher" in a meeting of Caferati attended by Tehelka's senior correspondent Sanjukta Sharma. Following is her report. Excerpts from the article:

"About six months ago, a group of ex-advertising executives, teachers and struggling writers met at a suburban seafront in Mumbai to read poems.

"Now called Caferati, its first anthology of stories, Stories at the Coffee Table, is slated to be published in March, 2005. Writers streamed into Caferati online, making it one of the biggest writers' fora for English writing in India with 520 members.

"The first Delhi Caferati group met a few weeks ago. Those in Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata are growing. In spirit, Caferati is along the lines of the famous Kerala Writer's Co-operative or Yeti Books, where writers publish each other's work with their money. Writers get a free reign on language, opinion and form.

"The crucial difference is that Caferati has roped in outside sponsors. Cafe Coffee Day is co-sponsoring the first anthology and IBH is distributing it. NDTV Books has tied up with Caferati in its short story section. Founder member Sunil Nair says, "Our sponsors do not have the editorial control over the writing. Editors within the group are ensuring quality of the works."

"The group has its share of dissent over quality control. Everybody is not polite in this melting pot when, say, someone exceeds the stipulated eight minutes for a reading. Still, most Caferati soirees last for hours. There is nothing as tireless as a writer's fragile ego!"