Srinagar, May 10 -- Self-publishing has taken Kashmir by storm. It has given everyone-from schoolkids to first-time diarists-a shortcut to becoming an author.

Platforms that once promised to liberate the voices stuck outside traditional publishing now serve as expressways for unpolished, unchecked, and often unreadable manuscripts.

With little editorial oversight, books are being pushed out in a hurry. The goal? Not storytelling. Not literature. Just a cover with your name on it.

In Srinagar's cafe circuits and college corridors, being a "published author" is no longer rare or revered. It's expected.

Teenagers are skipping the phase of reading widely and thinking deeply, and going straight to writing. At times, they're barely old enou...