Kolkata, 9 December (H.S.): The city’s prominent cultural event, the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF), will return next year from January 09 to January 11, offering a rich three-day platform for discussions across literature, cinema, music, history, politics, food, culture, and contemporary social issues. The organisers announced the schedule in an official statement released on Monday night.
This edition will bring together an impressive lineup of renowned writers, thinkers, artists, and public figures from India and abroad. Among the participants are Akshay Jaitly, Anand Neelakantan, Anita Agnihotri, Aparna Sen, Bachi Karkaria, Brinda Karat, Shashi Tharoor, Helmut Böttiger, Durjoy Datta, Jerry Pinto, Ratnaboli Ray, Ruchir Joshi, Shobhaa De, Usha Uthup, and Vijender Chauhan, who will engage audiences through a range of curated sessions.
The festival will take place across three major venues in the city: Alipore Museum, Oxford Bookstore, and The Park, Kolkata. AKLF Director Anjum Katyal said that the 2026 edition will place special emphasis on themes such as gender, history, and translation, reflecting subjects that dominate today’s social discourse.
Alongside the main festival, the Oxford Junior Literary Festival will be hosted at Oxford Bookstore. It will feature a variety of interactive events for children and young readers, including ‘Meet the Author’ sessions, creative workshops, word games, and storytelling activities.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh
