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The literary season is here and here’s the update on all book fairs and literature festivals, which have taken place or set to take place in the next few months across the length and breadth of India.
Khushwant Singh Literature Festival
The Khushwant Singh Literature Festival (KSLF) pays tribute to the ideas, values and vision of the acclaimed writer with focus on the literature from Punjab. The 13th edition of KSLF, which took place from 18 to 20 October 2024 in the hill station of Kasauli, had Resilience and Renewal as its theme. Imtiaz Ali, William Dalrymple, Probal Dasgupta, Anindyo Roy, Devdutt Pattanaik, and Arundhati Subramaniam are some of the well-known names who participated in this edition.
Manorama Hortus
The first edition of the three-day Manorama Hortus International Literary and Cultural Festival 2024 was organized by Malayala Manorama from 1 to 3 November at the Kozhikode beach in Kerala. Santa Monica and Jain University sponsored the event that brought together writers and creators from Poland, Korea and Africa apart from Indian authors, translators and writers. The first major literary event ever since Kozhikode was designated as a UNESCO City of Literature, the litfest featured more than 130 sessions across more than 10 stages with topics spanning art, literature, politics, music and the culinary arts. The festival featured a children’s pavilion, film screenings and cultural events and a Manorama newspaper history exhibition.
Bookaroo Children’s Literature Festival
The 16th edition of the Bookaroo Children’s Literature Festival was held at Sunder Nursery in Delhi on 9 and 10 November 2024. The litfest run by the Bookaroo Trust had 82 speakers from 14 countries with 90 sessions, walks, workshops and activities.
Deccan Literature Festival
The 5th edition of the Deccan Literature Festival is set to take place at Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir, Jangli Maharaj Road in Pune. Organized by the Dakani Adab Foundation, the festival will feature books from Hindi and Urdu apart from Marathi literature. The festival will feature acclaimed artists and writers with a blend of theater, poetry, music and discussions.
AWWA Literature Festival
The Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA) at Western Command Headquarters, Chandimandir, organized Abhivyakti 4.0 at Khetarpal Officers’ Mess and Institute, Chandimandir from 8 to 10 November 2024. The year’s theme was Explore, Express and Experience. Authors, celebrities, storytellers, artists, poets and intellectuals participated in the three-day event attended by reading enthusiasts in large numbers. The festival featured books and creative products by AWWA-aided individuals and organizations.
Dehradun Literature Festival
The sixth edition of the Dehradun Literature Festival was held from 8 to 10 November at Doon International School in Dehradun. Aimed at creating a love for written work, the Dehradun Literature Festival, with the theme of Sahitya, Cinema and Samaaj, had more than 35 sessions with over 70 speakers. The litfest celebrated 50 years of Shabana Azmi in cinema. Kishwar Desai, Karan Thapar, Maria Goretti, Salman Khurshid, William Dalrymple, Jerry Pinto, Imtiaz Ali and Abhinav Bindra were among the prominent speakers.
Jashn-e-Rekhta
Organized by the Rekhta Foundation, Jashn-e-Rekhta will take place from 13 to 15 December 2024 at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Said to be the world’s largest Urdu literature, language and cultural festival, the event will showcase over 200 artists across 40 plus sessions across three stages. It will bring together ghazals, qawwali, mushaira, Sufi music, poetry recitations, storytelling, along with interactive sessions. There will also be a books bazaar along with Rekhta food festival and Rekhta Bazaar. Jashn-e-Rekhta expanded to London in 2023 and Dubai in 2024.
Crime Literature Festival
The second edition of the Crime Literature Festival of India (CLFI) is scheduled to take place from 29 November to 1 December in Dehradun. CLFI celebrates the intersection of crime, literature, and culture. Prakash Jha, Anubhav Sinha, K Vijay Kumar, S Hussain Zaidi, Sunetra Choudhury, and Avinash Singh Tomar are among the film directors, authors, and screenwriters to feature at the event.
Assam Book Fair
The fourth edition of the Assam Book Fair 2024–25 will be held from 28 December 2024 to 11 January 2025 at the Khanapara Veterinary Science College playground in Guwahati. The change in location from the Assam Institute of Engineering grounds at Chandmari is due to the construction of a flyover. Jointly organized by the Publication Board, Assam, and All Assam Book Publishers and Sellers Association, the Assam Book Fair was created by combining the Guwahati Book Fair and the North East Book Fair.
Chennai International Book Fair
The third edition of the Chennai International Book Fair 2025 will be held 16 – 18 January 2025 at the Chennai Trade Center in Nandambakkam in Chennai . Publishers from more than 50 countries worldwide are expected to participate in the fair. The year’s theme is Time Travel with Tamil: From Classic to Modern and will focus on the wide spectrum of Tamil literature.
The Hindu Lit Fest
The 13th edition of the Hindu Lit Fest will be held on 18 and 19 January 2025 at Sir Mutha Venkatasubba Rao Concert Hall in Lady Ansal School in Chennai. The edition will feature stimulating ideas, conversations and interactions.
Kerala Literature Festival
The Kerala Literature Festival will hold its eighth edition from 23 to 26 January 2025 in Kozhikode. France is the guest country this year. The annual Kerala Literature Festival, organized by DC Books in Kozhikode for the past seven years, has served as a key catalyst in prompting the city to become a UNESCO City of Literature. The massive attendance became the most visible symbol of Kozhikode’s love for literature. Kerala Literature Festival 2024 will feature more than 500 speakers from 15 countries.
Participating countries include Germany, France, Spain, UK, USA, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Greece, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Sweden and Latvia. Engaging workshops, shows, theatrical performances and musical shows have been planned. Speakers include Jerry Pinto, Manu S Pillai, Urvashi Butalia, Shinie Antony, Shashi Tharoor, Rajdeep Sardesai and Perumal Murugan. Children’s KLF, introduced this year, will provide a dedicated space for children and young adults.
Hyderabad Literary Festival
The 15th edition of the Hyderabad Literary Festival is all set to take place from 24 to 26 January 2025 at Sattva Knowledge City in Hyderabad. Organized by the Hyderabad Literary Trust, the event celebrates Indian culture, literature and art and is supported by several publishing houses and literary and cultural organizations. The 2024 edition has Sindhi as the Indian language in focus while Lithuania is the country in focus. A series of talks, book discussions, panel discussions, film screenings, lectures and performances have been conceptualized.
International Kolkata Book Fair
The 48th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) will be held from 28 January to 9 February 2025 at the Boimela Prangan, Karunamoyee in Salt Lake, Kolkata. The fair, organized by the Publishers & Booksellers Guild, is said to have the highest visitor numbers of any book fair in the world. About 2.6 million people visited the fair in 2022 with reported book sales of Rs 25 crore. The number of stands exceeded 1,000 for the first time in the 2024 edition.
Publishers from UP, Delhi, Chattisgarh, Bihar, Tripura, Assam, Telangana, Odisha, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Kerala, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh will put up stands to unite book lovers.
Jaipur Literature Festival
The 18th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) will take place in Hotel Clarks Amer in Jaipur from 30 January to 3 February 2025. The 2024 edition featured a range of themes, including fiction & non-fiction, crime fiction, literary criticism, history, politics and current affairs, poetry, art and culture, translation, graphic novels, gender, science and medicine, food and memory, biographies and memoir, mythology, spirituality and religion, mental health, fashion and lifestyle, law and justice, geopolitics, sports, climate change, environment and climate justice, pet parents, pets and animals, cities, literary icons through the ages, art and architecture, Bollywood and cinema, economics among others.
New Delhi World Book Fair
The National Book Trust will organize the New Delhi World Book Fair in Pragati Maidan from 1 to 9 February 2025. The fair is organized by the India Trade Promotion Organization. The rights exchange forum will take place on 3 and 4 February 2025.
Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters
The 6th edition of the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters will be held at Kanakakunnu Palace in Thiruvananthapuram from 6 to 9 February 2025. The event will see participation from more than 400 writers and thinkers from around the world.
Goa Book Fair
The third edition of the Goa Book Fair will take place from 27 February to 3 March 2025 at Ravindra Bhavan in Margao. The fair showcases a wide selection of books by publishers and booksellers from various parts of the country. Author meeting, book readings, discussions, and workshops are being organized at the fair. The Goa Book Fair is the brainchild of Leonard Fernandes, publishing professional and co-founder of The Dogears Bookshop. The event features a good collection of books in Konkani and those based on Goa. The Children’s Literature Festival is happening alongside the fair.
