Bangalore Literature Festival (BLF), Bengaluru’s flagship community-funded literary event on the cultural calendar of the city, is all set for a sixth edition on October 28 and 29 at the Hotel Lalit Ashok lawns in Kumara Krupa High Grounds, Bengaluru.

Building on the success of over the past five years, this year Bangalore Literature Festival (#blrlitfest) has a “Speak Up, Speak Out” theme and will feature a host of distinguished authors, speakers and artistes including Ramachandra Guha, Perumal Murugan, Paul Zacharia, Ambai, Hardeep Singh Puri, Suketu Mehta, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, NS Madhavan, Girish Karnad, Sonal Mansingh, Gideon Haigh, Twinkle Khanna and others.

Over the years the Bangalore Literature Festival has become the most sought after and must-attend event for readers and writers, with its enriching and stimulating literary sessions, interviews and panel discussions. This year the Festival will witness authors engaging the audiences with diverse themes. Highlights include “Jingoism Vs. Patriotism”, “Death by Litigation – The Perils of Business Reporting”, “How India’s T-20 World Cup Win Changed Indian and World Cricket”, “Mrs. Funnybones” and “Chasing Bin Laden”.

This year too Bangalore Literature Festival sticks to its promise of something for every reader. This includes two full days of children’s programming called ‘Children | Literature | Fun’ (C | L | F) with workshops, storytelling sessions, creative games and more – with a theme that embraces the environment – Every Day Earth Day.

C | L | F highlights include sessions by renowned authors such as Ranjit Lal, Reena Puri, Roopa Pai, Anjana Basu and Leela Broome. Workshops and Performances by Kirtana Kumar’s Theatre Lab and Namkampeni Interactive Theatre. Painstakingly curated by Vikram Sridhar, this promises to take not just children but the little kid in every adult too by storm.

International authors at the Festival this year include Australian cricket writer Gideon Haigh, acclaimed South African writer Imraan Coovadia, Sri Lankan humourist Chhimi Tenduf-La and British journalist Adrian Levy. Young authors will be represented by Kanhaiya Kumar, Savi Sharma, Varun Agarwal and others.

The 2017 edition of the Festival will have diverse media personalities and journalists participating, including Bachi Karkaria, Manu Joseph, Jagannathan, Meenal Baghel, Rajdeep Sardesai, Nidhi Razdan, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Sindhu S, Sagarika Ghose, Naresh Fernandes, Dhanya Rajendran and Baradwaj Rangan. This sixth edition of the Festival showcases young talent in Kannada writing with Sahitya Yuva Puraskar winners Shanthi K Appanna, Vikram Hathwar and Abdul Rasheed.

Eminent historian Dr. S Settar will discuss the origin of the Kannada language, and a panel of eminent women autobiographers, including Bhargavi Narayan, Indira Lankesh and the evergreen Dr. Vijaya promise to enthral audiences with their insights.

True to the Festival’s moorings, several city authors are supporting the event and participating in the Festival. Leading names include Ammu Joseph, Rohini Mohan, Harish Bijoor and more. The Festival has lined up interesting performances including a piano recital by Natallia Kopylova and Liudmila Alizarchyk, music by German poet Jessy James with a band and a sarod concert by Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash.

The Bangalore Literature Festival and Atta Galatta, the city-based bookstore and art-literature space, will also present the Atta Galatta–Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize to honour the best of English writing. Watch out for the shortlist!

The Festival opens at 10 am on Oct 28 and 29. Entry is free, open to all and registration is recommended. For registration, complete schedule of events, participating author bios and other information check www.bangaloreliteraturefestival.org or follow blrlitfest on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This year too the Festival is anchored by Friends of BLF – a group of eminent citizens of Bengaluru, who firmly believe that the city comes alive in its public spaces, in its arts and culture events that foster meaningful dialogue, enriching discussions and healthy debates; a group whose support has laid the foundation for an independent, community-funded literary event that the city of Bangalore can be proud of and can claim as ‘nammadu‘. Friends of BLF help create – with their generosity, energy and time – this world of words.

About Bangalore Literature Festival

The Bangalore Literature Festival celebrates the creative spirit of Bengaluru and commemorates the literary diversity it offers, bringing it in conversation with the best minds in the world of literature. The 2017 edition of the Bangalore Literature Festival is a two-day literary extravaganza that will bring together some of the biggest names in literature- within and outside India.

The objective of the Bangalore Literature Festival is to put together a literary experience that brings writers – both established and aspiring, readers, publishers, students and young professionals and other stakeholders of the city together on a common platform and create a compelling space for engaging and thought-provoking discussions on literature and life.

The Bangalore Literature Festival is a non-profit run by an eclectic pro bono team of Shinie Antony, V. Ravichandar, Srikrishna Ramamoorthy, Subodh Sankar and Vikram Sridhar supported by advisors and volunteers.