‘Absolutely surreal’: 29-year-old Durban author reserves her place among publishing giants

Founder of Krest Publishers, Keli Hariparsad.

• By 2020, Keli Hariparsad had left the security of a career in medicine to pursue her lifelong dream of being a published author.
• Two years later, his publishing house, Krest Publishers, was nominated along with the publishing giants for best publishing house at the Book Behind Awards.
• Going forward, Hariparsad sees Krest Publishers as a platform for creative products and services including photography, fine art, performing arts and multimedia.

Leaving the security of the medical profession to pursue a lifelong dream of working in the world of literature is a step that takes incredible courage. Not only has 29-year-old author and book publisher Keli Hariparsad taken this step, but she is also reaping the benefits.

Since leaving a stressful job in medicine to pursue her dream in 2020, her publishing house, Krest Publishers, has released several books by South African authors telling stories that illustrate the dynamic cultures and unique history from the country.

Not only that – she’s making waves herself as an author.

Making the bold decision to leave medicine to write a book at the onset of a global pandemic would fill even the bravest heart with apprehension, but Hariparsad was rewarded for her courage as she watched her publishing company go from strength to strength in just a few less than two years.

Krest Publishers has already caused a stir in the literary sector, as it is nominated alongside heavyweights Johnathan Ball, NB Publishers and Penguin Random House in this year’s Book Behind Awards, which are due to take place next month.

“It’s absolutely surreal for a company our age to be placed alongside industry giants. I grew up reading all my favorite books from these publishers. was working at home less than two years ago!” said Hariparsad.

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Krest Publishers received nominations in the Best Fiction categories for a teen fantasy titled Teneo by Novian Dunne and Best Educational Book for a book on the conditions of healthcare workers titled Doctor Anxiety by ZMF Patel.

Krest Publishers is also nominated in the Best Biography categories for Cabin crew logsa book about the adventures of S Bharuth, flight attendant for one of the most prestigious airlines in the world, and Best Poetry for Springboards by Vishnu Kristna.

“I spend a lot of time making sure the books in our house come out great that I don’t have a lot of time to focus on my own work. So this was such unexpected and exciting news that I was nominated in the Best Upcoming Female Author category for my book The Four Hundred Clubalso published by Krest,” Hariparsad said.

While Hariparsad has always had a flair for writing, she didn’t always believe it was something she could do for a living one day. She graduated from medical school in 2017 and worked at two hospitals in Durban until the end of 2019.

From left to right: Krest author Liam Nisbet, Krest CEO Keli Hariparsad, Best Poetry nominee Vishnu Kristna, 2021 Best Poetry winner Sarvdasha Sewlal and published poet Mervin Francis.

Provided Krest Publishers

His decision to leave a career in medicine was due to the deteriorating conditions of healthcare workers and his passion for words still present even in his adult life. She then quit her job as a doctor and eventually founded Krest Publishers.

“At this point, I hadn’t even imagined that it would become a full-fledged business, but rather something small and local. All I wanted was to prove that creative careers were just as important and viable than academic careers,” she said.

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She said as she was waiting for her own book, The Four Hundred Clubto be the first book Krest would publish, it was secrets and lies by Paul Zunckel and yellow roses by Sarvdasha Sewlal who broke into Krest as a publishing business.

These two books were nominated for the Book Behind Awards 2021 in the Best Fiction and Best Poetry categories respectively, with yellow roses winner in its category. She said this process taught her that creativity must be paired with business and marketing skills to make it a sustainable career.

Hariparsad said Krest Publishers offers publishing deals under traditional, standalone or hybrid publishing. Krest Publishers assists with standard tasks such as editing, ISBN requests, layout and cover design.

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Krest also offers support in book marketing and sales, which Hariparsad says is the difficult part of book publishing that every author has to take personal responsibility for, especially in the digital age, which has greatly expanded readers’ choices.

“We have since launched the online bookstore Krest, which also sells for other independent publishers. We have a Krest conservatory offering informal writing lessons, and Krest Cars magazine which is a luxury publication for high performance car owners,” she added. said.

Hariparsad considers South Africa “an incredible source of inspiration”. She said this has motivated Krest Publishers to hold an annual short story competition to feature stories that include multicultural characters, local landmarks, tourist destinations and languages.

“I especially love that the kinds of stories about our country both reflect a past we can learn from and are optimistic about a progressive future. For example, we have stories of struggling to humble ourselves, stories of freedom to inspire us, and we too have spawned free stories to show us an inclusive future we are heading towards,” Hariparsad said.

Going forward, Hariparsad sees Krest Publishers as a platform for all types of creative products and services, including photography, fine art, performing arts and multimedia, offering skilled creators in these mediums the possibility of having fulfilling and lasting careers.