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Wordless stories occupy a special place in children’s literature. They invite the reader to be an active participant in the storytelling process while helping to build a range of skills, from visual literacy to comprehension and inferencing.
Parag’s More Than Words masterclass is aimed at nurturing and developing wordless stories, and is offered to illustrators in India and other member countries in the IBBY network, with a special focus on the Asia-Pacific region. The platform is for shared learning and exchange of creative approaches to creating wordless books. The aim is also to build a connection among illustrators of the region.
The masterclass is held annually in a dual mode. Illustrators start working on their respective stories during the in-person sessions and continue to be mentored online for about a period of two months. At the end of the masterclass, they are expected to submit their final storyboards, which are then presented to book and magazine publishers.
Prachi Kalra anchors the theoretical aspects of reading and understanding wordless picture books, while some of India’s most prominent illustrators—Priya Kuriyan, Proiti Roy, Canato Jimo and Pankaj Saikia—mentor the participants.
Each edition has guest faculty as well.
One of the primary objectives of the masterclass is to increase the number of wordless stories available and accessible for children’s reading. A few publishers are collaborated with each year for the wordless stories to feature in magazines and as books.
Click here to see a selection of published stories that have emerged from the masterclass.
Applications are open from May 25, 2026 to June 25, 2026.
Brochure for Indian applicants: click here
Brochure for international applicants: click here
Application form: click here
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