The 11th Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF), a premier platform for intellectual and creative exchange, is set to unfold from 21 – 23 March 2025 in Bhubaneswar. This festival promises a celebration of ideas, languages, and cultures, bringing together over 400 writers, thinkers, idealists, realists, visionaries, intellectuals, practitioners, iconoclasts, thought leaders and visionaries from across the globe, representing over 25 languages.
Odisha governor, Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati will join as chief guest. Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Ina Hagniningtyas Krisnamurthi, the Ambassador of Indonesia to India, Suryabanshi Suraj, Minister of culture, Government of Odisha, Padma Vibhushan Sudarshan Sahoo, K Sreenivasarao, secretary, Sahitya Akademi will join as guest of honors. The central theme of the festival is Literature and the world: Inclusion, Identity and Belonging.
The annual Kalinga Literary Festival will be held in the three venues of the temple city of Bhubaneswar, these are Mayfair Lagoon, Guru Kelu Charan Mohapatra Odissi Research Centre and Utkal Mandap. Kalinga Literary Award will be given to Hindi writer Mamata Kalia, translator and academic Prof Jatindra Kumar Nayak, Kalinga International Literary Award to Sanskrit scholar Dr Srinuruddhs Dash, Dr Mamata Mishra, Kalinga Literary Award (Youth) to Nepali writer Buddhisagar.
Ten writers from Nepal to join as speakers at the Kalinga Literary Festival in India. Nepalese billionaire, philanthropist, literary figure Dr Binod Chaudhary will join the festival as guest of honour and speaker. Popular Nepal writers, journalist Buddhi Sagar, Basant Basant, writer Rohini Rana, Ranjana Niraula, translator Ken Subedhi, Pawan Thapa will join the festival as speakers. Two sessions are also exclusively dedicated in Nepali language.
Acclaimed Indonesian novelist and essayist Mahfud Ikhwan, Undri – director of Cultural Promotion, the Indonesian Ministry of Culture will join as speaker at the festival. As part of this vibrant collaboration, Indonesia’s renowned cultural ensemble, Belantara Budaya Indonesia Foundation, will captivate audiences with mesmerizing performances showcasing the rich diversity of Indonesia’s cultural heritage. The Foundation will present a series of vibrant and symbolic traditional dances, including the Nusantara Medley Dance, the Mandau Dance, the Maumere Dance, Tor Tor Dance from North Sumatra, the Solo Jaipong Dance from West Java, and the Gelang Ro’om Dance from Madura, East Java.
For its 2025 edition, the festival will host over 400 speakers from across a vast array of nationalities, as well as recipients of major awards such as the Nobel, the Booker, International Booker, the Sahitya Akademi and many more. The key sessions will be on topics such cultural nationalism, female voice and identity, crime fiction, memoir, translation, poetry, economics, generation Y, Indian languages, publishing industry , mythology, media, market, children, women, transgender, citizen engagement, cinema, sports, ethics, tech morality and artificial intelligence, the global crisis , cutting-edge science, India and world, art and photography, discrimination, revolutions, peace building, and harmony. There will be several one to one sessions with leading experts on the subjects. There will be story telling sessions that promise to add new flavor to the literary spirit of the festival.
Every year, the festival brings together a diverse mix of the greatest writers, thinkers, humanitarians, politicians, business leaders, sports people and entertainers on one stage to champion the freedom to express and engage in thoughtful debate and dialogue. The festival has hosted nearly 6000 speakers and performers and welcomed booklovers from across the world since its inception in 2013. The Kalinga Literary Festival is back with its 11th edition to invigorate, educate, provoke and entertain as well. Acclaimed writers from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Indonesia, Japan, UK, Spain, France, USA and other countries will join the festival as speakers. Over 100 artists will join the Kalinga Art Festival.
Writers, poets, speakers and performers likely to join the festival are: Abhishek Shukla, Abhya K, Adyasha Das, Anand Neelkatnatan, Anant Vijay, Ananta Krishnan,Anil Dhir, Anisha Lalvani, Anjula Bedi, Anupama Raju, Arshia Sattar, Arunava Sinha, Asit Mohanty, Azhagiya Periyavan, Basanta Basnet, Bhanu Bharti, Bibhu Prasad Acharya, Brijesh Singh, Buddhisagar, Chirag Thakkar, Chittaranjan Tripathy, Dash Benhur, Devahuti Choudhury, Devdas Chhotray, Devdutt Pattanaik, Devendra Mohanta, Diksha Tiwari, Dinesh C Sharma, Dr Arabinda Padhee, Dr Ranjan Mallik, Dr Rinzin Rinzin, Dr Bhaskar Mishra, Dr Binod Chaudhary, Dr Dwarika Prasad Uniyal, Dr Hiranmayee Mishra, Dr Liaqat Jafri, Dr Pitabas Routray, Dr Piyush Roy, Dr Shashi Tharror, Dr Shishir Somvanshi, Dr Soumya Ranjan Samal, Dr Tariq Qamar, Elizabeth Kuruvilla, Gagan Gill, Gautam Choubey, Ila Arun, Ileana Citaristi, Ina Hagniningtyas Krisnamurthi, Jai Prakash Pandey, Jasodhara Mishra, Jerry Pinto, K Sreenivasarao, K Sridhar, Kanchana Priyakantha, Kanishka Gupta, Ken Subedi, Keshav Chaturvedi, Krishna Mohanty, Kuladhar Saikia, Laxmi Pant, Lily Wangchuk, Lipika Bhushan, Madhuchanda Bal, Mahfud Ikhwan, Mamta Kalia, Manisha Kulshreshtha, Manjula Pooja Shroff, Manoj Parida, MIchiel Baas, Monalisa Jena, Moupia Basu, Temjen Imna Along, Undri – director of Cultural Promotion, the Indonesian Ministry of Culture, Mrityunjay Sharma, Mrityunjay Sharma, Muin Shadab, Mumukshu Mohanty, Neha Dixit, Novoneel Chakraborthy, Panchami Manoo Ukil, Paramita Satpathy, Pawan Thapa Magar, PK Das, Popular Meeruthi, Prabhat Ranjan, Prabir Kumar Pattanaik, Prahlad Singh, Prakash Mishra, Pratap Somvanshi, Pravin Shekhar, Princess Gouri Lakshmi Bayi, Prof Jatindra Kumar Nayak, Prof Piyush Roy, Prof Soumyendu Shankar Ray, Rabi Sahoo, Radhika Oberoi, Rajneesh Trivedi, Ranjana Niraula, Rohini Rana, Rohit Manchanda, Saikat Majumdar, Sambit Tripathy, Sameer Anjan, Sandeep Khanna, Sangram Jena, Sanjeev Paliwal, Santanu Kumar Acharya, Sarita Mishra, Saroj Bal, Sarojini Sahoo, Saswat Panda, Satish Padmanabhan, Satya Gopal Rajguru, Satyarth Aniruddha Pankaj, Savie Karnel, Shayari Debnath, Shefali Vaidya, Shiv Khera, Siddharth Kapila, Sikta Deo (C) NDTV, Sopan Joshi, Subha Sharma, Subhransu Panda, Sudhamahi Regunathan, Sujata Shiven, Sujeet Kumar, Sukrita Paul Kumar, Suman Barsha, Sumana Roy, Surya Deo, Upendra Nath Behera, Vibha Kagzi, Vidhurita Patnaik, Vijayalaxmi Chhabra, Vikas Swarup, Vikram Sampath, Vinay Mishra, Vishwas Patil, Yashwant Vyas, Yatish Kumar, Yugal Joshi and others.
In a celebration of our shared heritage, the festival aims to rekindle the flame of inspiration from our ancestors’ wisdom, demonstrating its profound relevance in today’s world. The three-day festival will cover several dimensions of the interconnections between literature, freedom, Republican values, cultural diversity, social equity.
The Festival has over 20 one to one celebrity writers conversation like conversation with Princess Gouri Lakshmi Bayi , Illa Arun, Dr Vikram Sampath, Dr Shahsi Tharror, Dr Shiv Khera, Devdutt Patnaik, Sameer Anjan, Dr Manjula Pooja Shroff, Gagan Gill, Anand Neelakantan, Padma Vibhushan Sudarshan Sahoo, Mamta Kalia, Arshia Sattar , Santanu Kumar Acharya, Buddhisagar, Temjen Imna Along,Saikat Majumdar, Dr. Soumya Ranjan Samal, Anant Vijay , Prakash Mishra, Bhanu Bharti ,Vibha Kagzi and others.
Ashok Kumar Bal, patron & CEO, KLF said “Kalinga Literary Festival is more than an event; it is a cultural confluence where ideas, traditions, and voices from across the globe meet to create a shared narrative. This year’s festival amplifies the power of storytelling, highlighting how literature shapes societies, preserves histories, and fosters innovation. As we gather in Bhubaneswar, we celebrate not just words, but the transformative impact of literature in shaping the world we live in.”
Rashmi Ranjan Parida, founder and director, KLF said “KLF continues to champion the literary and artistic heritage of India while engaging with global literary currents. Each edition strengthens our commitment to inclusion, identity, and belonging—this year’s central theme. With an incredible lineup of writers, thinkers, and performers, KLF 2025 promises to be an enriching and thought-provoking journey for all who seek the magic of words and ideas.”
