By Nasiha Khan
The uMhlanga Ridge-based publishing company, KREST, is making waves in the industry after scooping a tremendous six nominations against some formidable multinational players in this year’s Book Behind Awards.
Apart from the nomination for Best Publishing Company, KREST founder and CEO Keli Hariparsad was also nominated in the Best Upcoming Female Author category for her book The Four Hundred Club. Zakariyya Patel received a nomination in the Best Educational category for his book Dr Anxiety, while the Saiyuri Bharuth got a nod in the Best Biography category for ‘The Cabin Crew Diaries’ along with Vishnu Kristna in the Poetry category for ‘Stepping Stones’. Novian Dunne ‘Teneo’ was nominated in the Best Fiction category.
“The Book Behind Awards is an annual event for the best books in SA. It’s sort of the Oscars of the book industry. Being nominated alongside large multinational publishing companies feels so surreal. Taking home these awards will not just be a win for KREST, it will be a win for small businesses everywhere, it will be a symbol of hope to newcomers in big corporate dominated industries, and it will be a victory for every child who was ever made to believe that writers have no future,” said Hariparsad.
She added: “Till date we have about 27 signed writers so far and of these, about 22 have been released already, a few others are still undergoing the publishing process.”
Speaking on the massive growth of KREST, since its inception in 2020, Haripersad said she has always dreamed of being a writer, however while growing up writing was considered a hobby instead of a real job.
“I pursued a more traditional career path in medicine. It was a sort of double-pronged circumstance that led me to changing careers, the healthcare system working conditions were deteriorating terribly and my passion for stories wouldn’t leave me alone. I quit my job as a medical doctor at the end of 2019 and started KREST in 2020 with the intention of spreading inspiring stories throughout the world. Not just my own, but inspiring stories from writers all over SA. We are only turning two in September 2022 so the growth has really been greater than I could have hoped for. I think what’s catalysed this growth is that the company is founded on a genuine mission, to tell inspiring stories,” said Haripersad.
She said everything that KREST undertakes aligns with this mission and that each author that is signed to the publishing company undergoes a personal one-on-one session with the team. Haripersad said the aim is to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with writers so that they are on the same page to tell inspiring stories.
“I would like this mission of spreading inspiring stories through the world to keep growing. I would like to publish stories out of every country and continent if possible. I also believe storytelling is not limited to books and I would love to extend into arts, photography and theatre among other sectors. All artists face a similar problem of being limited to traditional careers, so I would love for KREST to be a platform for all artists to get to tell their stories on large scales,” added Haripersad.
As far as her nomination for Best Upcoming Female Author goes, Haripersad said the achievement feels like the ultimate gift to her younger self. “I’ve proved to my younger self that it is possible. My book is called ‘The Four Hundred Club’. It is a contemporary, progressive book with lots of glitz and glamour. The story revolves around seven highly successful millennial adults who all think they’ve made it in life, until they meet each other on the set of a reality show. For the fans of Gossip Girl, this is such a South African treat. It’s got drama, romance, fashion, lifestyle and lots of flair. I think what earned this book its space in the spotlight is its unique commercial appeal,” said Haripersad.
Her advice to all creatives is to supplement their creativity with basic business. She said that upon starting KREST, she quickly learned that one can be the best writer in the world and yet work can still go unread if you don’t know how to sell your best work.
If the mission of spreading inspiring stories through the world is something you’d like to support, you can vote for KREST Publishers for Best Publishing Company by smsing ‘BPH712’ to 34877.
