Where Are You Heading This Month?
The traditional highlights of the festival are the Guest Nation and the Indian Language in Focus. At HLF 2016 year the Guest Nation will be Singapore and the Language in Focus will be Marathi.
Sandhya Taksale from Pratham Books is also conducting a storytelling session as well as moderating a panel discussion on ‘writing for children’ at the festival.
“We have a good line up of writers for the fourth edition. We are looking forward to more footfalls than the previous editions as we have shifted the venue to a more spacious Dilli Haat this time and the entry is free. With the presence of authors like Munnawar Rana, William Dalrymple, Vikas Swarup and many others, we are promising a treat for Delhites,” said Bharti Bhargava, Founder Director, Delhi Literature Festival. (via Business Standard)
Recognising writers across the country who have protested against the rising intolerance in the field of arts, this year’s event is based on the theme, Sounds of Silence, and will include readings from their works.Look out for authors and literary figures including Salil Tripathy {Chairman of PEN International’s Committee on Writers-in-Prison}, Anjum Hassan, Zac O’Yeah, Raghu Karnad and Rohini Mohan, as they engage in conversations about their works and related topics. (via LBB, Bangalore).
While ‘The Cultural Heritage of India’ is the theme of the fair this year, China will participate with 250 publishers as the Guest of Honour country. There will also be the regular Children’s pavilion at Hall No. 14 where a large number of activities have been organised.
There will also be the regular Children’s pavilion at Hall No. 14 where a large number of activities have been organised. (via The Times of India).
Some of the prominent personalities who will be part of the literary extravaganza are Ben Okri, Lord Meghnad Desai, Christine Manfield, Barkha Dutt, Vir Sanghvi, Bharati Pradhan, Meera Syal, Shatrughan Sinha, Shobhaa De and more.Ms. Anjum Katyal, Director, Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, said on the occasion, “With the 7th edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival we have tried to curate events that explore the literary spirit in innovative ways. New innovations this time include poetry café, blogging contests, film screenings, campus sessions, and heritage photowalks. We hope everyone involved with the world of books – readers, authors and publishers – will enjoy AKLF.” (via AKLF)
Lit for Life enthusiasts this year can look forward to an impressive line-up that includes Omar Abdullah, Alexander McCall Smith, Lionel Shriver, Shashi Tharoor, Colm Toibin, Barkha Dutt, Raghu Karnad, Manil Suri, Anuja Chauhan, Susan Abulhawa, Devdutt Pattanaik, Vivan Sundaram, Gulammohammed Sheikh and Philip Hensher among many others.
Ms. Ramaswamy says, “We will have four of the finest Tamil writers — Sa. Kandasamy, Prapanchan, S. Ramakrishnan and D.I. Aravindhan — discuss how modern Tamil literature has reflected upon industrialisation and urbanisation. (via The Hindu)
Noted crime writers, journalists and filmmakers from around the world are going to congregate to talk about crime, murder, serial killers and society. And there will be books. This is going to be a fab event for thrill seekers and thriller readers. (via LBB, Delhi)
Headline names set to appear at the festival this year include the legendary Margaret Atwood,
poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist, even as her new novel, ‘The
Heart Goes Last’ is appreciated by her many fans around the world; Ruskin Bond, beloved to
generations of Indian readers; Steve McCurry one of the world’s greatest living photographers;
controversial Harvard historian Niall Ferguson and Britain’s national treasure Stephen Fry.
The 2016 Festival embraces and explores globally vital issues such as migration, privacy and
navigating change, bringing together a range of expertise and perspectives on stage throughout
the five days.
The two day
Jaipur BookMark conference will be held alongside the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival at the
Narain Niwas Palace Hotel on 21 and 22 January 2016. Jaipur BookMark in 2016
brings an important new focus on translations and rights.
Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet – 21st-26th January, 2016
“This will be our fifth year. When we started, we didn’t think we’d come this far! But I’m really happy that not only are we all set for year five, we’ve also co-published a book – Soumitra Chatterjee’s dramatisation of four Tagore short stories – and partnered the University of East Anglia for their annual writing workshop in Calcutta. We’ve realised that our engagement with the city is not just those five days but round the year,” said Malavika Banerjee, the director of Kalam.
Some of the themes of 2016 will be a writer’s dharma, Partition literature and cinema, the words of war, the pull of the epics, media in South Asia and humour. Some new titles will also be launched. (via The Telegraph)
South American nation Bolivia will feature as the theme country at the 40th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) starting early next year and the organisers will pay tribute to Marxist revolutionary Che Guevera and mark the 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War.
A three-day Kolkata Literary Festival will also coincide with the book fair. The organisers said that 600 bookstalls would be put up and 50 publishers are expected to participate. (via The Hindu)
“We want to popularize book reading in children who have too much of digital technology being bombarded at them thus leaving very little time & inclination for inculcating the healthy habit of reading books. This objective will be met well by CCLF’s Third Edition. The children literature authors who will attend the Festival will include award winning writers, illustrators, animators and storytellers who will talk about their literary offerings as children will have chance of interacting with them on a one on one basis. I am sure that the festival will enhance their capability to think both creatively & critically.” (via NewZNew)
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