Festival Committee
Advisors
Chablop Passu
Chablop PaSsu is a blogger, social worker, and former teacher. He published his blog into a book in 2018. He founded Bhutan Toilet Org and started a much-needed action for change. He co-founded Writer Association of Bhutan (WAB) and Community of Bhutan Bloggers (CBB).
He is working on a new project called BOOKNESE, that’s going to exhibit an entire collection of Bhutanese books online and create a platform for discussion and distribution of Bhutanese literature.
Chador Wangmo
Chador Wangmo, a teacher turned writer, has authored fifteen books which include two novels, one anthology of poetry, two chapter books and ten illustrated books for children. Her poems have been translated into Hindi, Nepali, Bangla, Assamese, Khmer and Sinhala Languages.
She has featured in various literary festivals like Mountain Echoes, Dhaka Lit. Fest, Brahmapaputra Lit. Fest, Arunachal Literary festival, Darjeeling literary festival, SAARC literary festivals held in Delhi and Sufi festivals held in Jaipur.
She has also facilitated Writer’s workshop for teachers and students in Zhemgang in collaboration with Save the Children office, Thimphu and facilitated the Writer’s workshop for the teachers of Highland organized by Bhutan Foundation. In her pursuit to do her bit in encouraging reading and writing in Bhutan, she volunteers to give talks and do readalouds in schools and colleges and in Reading & Writing workshops organized by various groups.
Sonam Wangmo Dukpa-Jhalani
Sonam Wangmo Dukpa-Jhalani is a development worker and a writer. She currently is on the Strategy Committee, and is the co-founder of Greener Pastures, an initiative that raises awareness on environmental issues, at The British School in New Delhi. She is also a Director for Drukyul’s Literature Festival: Bhutan Echoes, and an advisor to GOKAB, a community centre for learning in Bhutan. She has worked on development projects based in Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Myanmar. She has a MA in economic development, and a MFA in Creative Writing and Literature. She is the recipient of the Leslie Epstein Global Fellowship award at Boston University. Her non-fiction articles have appeared in Kuensel, Yeewong magazine and The Raven. She has taught fiction writing workshops at Boston University, The British School, Royal Thimphu College and at Mountain Echoes. She is presently working on finishing a book of fictional stories set in South Asia.
Dolma Choden Roder
Dolma Choden Roder is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Royal Thimphu College where she teaches undergraduate students. She earned her PhD in socio-cultural anthropology from Arizona State University. She is also involved in Riyang Books, a family run publishing house based in Thimphu. In this role she has edited a collection of Bhutanese poetry and a book documenting her ancestral home in Ogyen Choling, Bumthang.
