Special Event: Inside Tara Books

Tara Books is one of India's most distinctive independent publishers — known for handmade books, bold illustration, and a publishing practice rooted in craft and community. This is a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes. Spend a morning inside Book Building learning how Tara's books come to life. In the afternoon, step into their printing workshop — explore the machines and processes behind handmade book production, try your hand at screenprinting, Risograph and Letterpress, and leave with a card you printed yourself.

Curiosity about books, print, and the making behind beautiful objects. And a water bottle. Nothing else required.

Morning — Book Building (11am – 1pm) A curated masterclass tracing Tara Books' journey — how their books are conceptualised, designed, and printed. An honest account of what it takes to make books by hand, told by the people who do it.

(1.5 hour lunch break)*

Afternoon — Printing Workshop (2:30pm – 4pm) A hands-on introduction to bookmaking by hand. Get acquainted with the machines and processes Tara uses — screenprinting, letterpress, and Riso — and understand the role each plays in their books. Then try your hand at screenprinting and take home a card you made yourself.

• • Curated masterclass on Tara Books' journey and publishing practice
  • Walk around inside Book Building
  • Introduction to screenprinting, letterpress, and Riso
  • Hands-on screenprinting session
  • Your own screenprinted card to take home
  • Interaction with Tara Books' expert practitioners

* A packed meal (veg) is included as part of your registration. Team Paper Fan Club will provide this during the break.

Some insights into how Tara Books thinks about paper — how material choices shape storytelling, support illustration, and define the experience of a finished book.

Tara Books is an independent publisher based in Chennai, making books by hand since 1994. Known for their collaborative practice with folk and tribal artists, their handmade silk-screen printed books have been exhibited and collected worldwide. Book Building is their creative home — studio, bookstore, and printing workshop under one roof.