Bengaluru youth sells debut novel on Church St

A 24-year-old from Bengaluru is selling his first novel – a self-published work – on the streets.

Every weekend, Moyeen V N may be spotted on Church Street in the evening hours, standing opposite an ice cream parlour with a cap and mask on, holding a poster of the cover of his book ‘Thousand Years of Pain’, accompanied with messages like “Buy my book!!” and “I am the author”.

He says he has sold 245 copies since January 1 when he first came to Church Street, a popular haunt for book shops and bibliophiles. He has sold only 25 copies online.

A college dropout, Moyeen wanted to write a book ever since he read Charles Dickens’s ‘Great Expectations’ in school. He says, “I am 24. I did not want to push my plans any further. Just getting approval from a publisher through traditional channels can take six months but I was in a hurry!”

In October last year, he quit his job at a startup, where he used to do employee background verification for US companies. “By November, I had written my story. I got the copies printed by December 31 so I could catch the New Year crowd on Church Street. I have covered my costs already. I had printed 500 copies for Rs 70 each and I am selling them for Rs 200.”

Selling on the streets has its perks. He explains, “The buyers get copies signed by me. They say ‘Just in case I get famous one day’. In me, they see dreams of pursuing things they were passionate about.”

A 125-pager, the book is a work of fantasy fiction set in the mythological kingdom of Kinshuk. Atharv, its young protagonist, has recurring dreams about a voice that invites him to visit a forest to find a way out of the looming defeat of his empire.