Calcutta, July 14, 2018. The weather was whimsical today in Calcutta, but what has ever stopped the city’s booklovers? People turned up in respectable numbers at Gallery Gold, on occasion of the formal launch of Ethos Literary Journal’s debut edition. The journal was launched by the publisher, Hawakal Publishers, in the presence of the editors of the journal. This was following the online version of the journal which was launched about a month ago, on June 14. The inaugural issue of this English journal comprises of poetry (original in English and also translations into English from other languages), short stories, non-fiction articles as well as book and movie reviews in an aesthetically designed and paperback volume. Contributions to the journal came from India as well as abroad from both renowned authors and new ones. Chief Editor, Kiriti Sengupta, himself a poet of much renown, spoke on how he conceived the journal, and Bitan Chakraborty, who is a very well-known writer of Bangla stories and manages Hawakal, spoke how he was taken up by the idea and worked on producing a handsome literary collection. Other editors like fiction editor Amit Shankar Saha, nonfiction editor Utsab Ray, book-review editors, Koushik Sen and Pramila Tripathi, spoke on the difficulties of choosing quality writing, editing and ultimately producing a selection that is worth the appreciation that the journal has already started getting. Distinguished poet & translator K Satchidanandan has praised ELJ in his recent note: “Going by the contents of the inaugural issue, I see great potential in Ethos Literary Journal which can easily grow into a premier literary journal in India.”

After the ceremonial cake cutting the second part of the program comprised of readings by contributors who were present as well as some noted poets who were in the audience. The very name of the journal, Ethos, represents the spirit of the time and nothing defines it more than contemporary literary work. ELJ constitutes a sample of that contemporary literature for the avid readers who will be fascinated by the stories of writers like Mallika Bhaumik, Anindita Bose, Raja Chakraborty, poems by Tia Paul Louis, Sanjeev Sethi, the well-researched articles by Bankim Let and others. The editors agreed, seeing the response the journal has got so far, that ELJ has a bright future.