New Delhi, Oct 5 : Aiming to “enhance the quality of crime noir and intriguing tales”, a best-selling author and former investigative journalist and an international marketing consultant have come together to form a “content curation” joint venture that is not only creating new content, but is also adapting works for direct-to-digital films, web shows and audio content.
The first novel to be released under the Golden Pen initiative of Hussain Zaidi and Jaspinder Singh Kang and published by Westland is “Intersections” by journalist Gautam S. Mengle, which is a fast-paced thriller that follows the story of three people – each one fighting their own personal demons – against the backdrop of a terrorism plot.
Down the line, the collaboration will include page-turners such as “Web of Deceit” by Vibha Singh, “ConStars” by Jigna Vora and Kashif Mashaikh, “The Mortuary Tales” by Kashif Mashaikh, “Diamond Heist” by Jyoti Shelar, and “The War That Made R&AW” by Sandeep Saket and Anusha Nandakumar.
“Golden Pen’s collaboration with Westland will be a storehouse for fresh content and a place to bank on for untold stories to be narrated to voracious readers across various genres,” Zaidi said.
Speaking on the association, Karthika V.K., Publisher, Westland Publications, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with Golden Pen to publish books that form one part of the entertainment triangle of text, audio and screen. We hope that in their multiple lives, this collection of page turners – fiction and non-fiction – will introduce exciting new voices and stories that will entertain a new generation of readers.”
Since establishing Golden Pen in 2018, Zaidi and Kang have been identifying, screening, mentoring, nurturing and promoting writers, both known and new. The embodiment of their credo is “Writers First”.
With the growing need for quality content in various media, Golden Pen has fast-tracked the development of double-digit content for its partners like MatchBox Pictures, SLB Productions, Endemol Shine India, Azure Entertainment and MyFM India, among others. These works are adaptations of existing material as well as custom-created originals.
Zaidi is known for his gritty and no-holds-barred representation of the criminal underbelly in his books. After being an investigative journalist for 25 years and writing 12 bestsellers, he has now begun mentoring aspiring authors who have the ability to write but lack the wherewithal to launch themselves. Some of his proteges have already seen their books getting adapted for digital media on Netflix and other platforms.
Kang, an international marketing consultant with over 25 years’ experience in corporates and media productions, is the marketing and commercial brain behind Golden Pen.
“We want to develop content that pushes the boundaries on every page or in every frame while being deeply rooted in reality. In the first two years of its inception, the company has blazed a successful trail of several strategic accomplishments.
“The company plans to continue on the course that it has set for itself and further expand its talent pool as well as partner base by tying up with more producers and production houses,” Zaidi and Kang said in a statement.
–IANS
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