This year, the international writers participating in the fest include Shobhaa De, Ravinder Singh, Prajwal Parajuly, Prakash Iyer, Anni Zaidi and Abahy K from India, Ned Beauman from the UK and Farah Ghuznavi from Bangladesh. From the home front, around ninety writers and professionals like Abhi Subedi, Sudheer Sharma, Sharada Sharma, Nayan Raj Pandey, Rajesh Hamal, Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya. [break]
NCell, a leading telecommunication company, the sole sponsor of the festival, is supporting the program financially as a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility. Milan Mani Sharma, Corporate Communication Expert at NCell, claims that this year, the festival has gotten bigger and more interesting due to the presence of a larger group of international personalities.
“Our major aim is to promote reading habit among the Nepali crowd. For this, we have created a platform where Nepali writers and professionals can interact with those from other countries within broader themes and areas of interest,” he comments.
His sentiment about increasing readership among people is echoed by Ajit Baral, president of Bookworm Foundation. There are more participants this time and the topics of discussion are not limited to a certain type or genre. The participants, although related to the field of art and writing in one way or the other, are not focused on a particular writing style or method.
“In recent times, writers have become stars and celebrities with a huge fan following. So we have all sorts of personalities with us. We are not just focusing on the hardcore literary crowd but on anybody who likes to read and is interested in writing,” he explains.
The first and the second editions of the same literary festival had been well received by the booklovers and writing enthusiasts from Nepal and abroad. This year too, the literary fest is one of the most awaited events considering its participants and programs. The Week brings a list of the international figures participating this year and a short glimpse at the sessions of the four-day festival.
Abhay K
He is an Indian poet, artist and diplomat who works in the fields of digital diplomacy, philosophical poetry, art and global democracy. He has written books like River Valley to Silicon Valley, and has written and directed the highly appreciated Earth Anthem in eight different languages.
Ned Beauman
He is a British writer who has books like Boxer, Beetle and The Teleportation Accident to his credit. He has won awards like the Golberg Prize and the Writer’s Guild Award and was longlisted for the Man Booker.
Farah Ghuznavi
She is a writer, translator, newspaper columnist and development worker from Bangladesh. Her stories like Judgment Day and Getting There are widely acclaimed and her short story collection Fragments of Riversong is slated for publication later this month.
Prajwal
Parajuly
Born in Sikkim, India, is an Oxford graduate in Creative Writing. His first book, The Gurkha’s Daughter, is a collection of short stories based in Nepal. He is a young and upcoming writer whose novel The Land Where I Flee is also highly appreciated.
Shobhaa De
She is a leading columnist of India and also the writer of seventeen books like Socialite Evenings, Starry Nights, Spouse and Superstar India. She is known for her outspoken views, making her one of India´s most respected opinion shapers.
Ravinder Singh
Ravinder Singh is the bestselling author of I Too Had a Love Story and Can Love Happen Twice? His third book is Like It Happened Yesterday. An MBA by education, he is currently a fulltime writer.
Annie Zaidi
Annie Zaidi writes poetry, essays, fiction of varying lengths, and scripts for the stage and the screen. She writes in both English and Hindi. She has also worked as a journalist and continues to work as a freelancer. Her latest book is Love Stories # 1-14, a collection of short stories forthcoming from HarperCollins.
Prakash Iyer
He is the bestselling author of The Habit of Winning and has worked with teams selling everything from soaps and colas, to watches, yellow pages and diapers. Currently the managing director of Kimberly Clark Lever, Prakash is also a motivational speaker and trained leadership coach.
The Week’s Picks
Day 1: October 25
11:00 am to 12.30 pm: Inauguration and a few words of welcome by Dr. Tirtha Man Shrestha.
1.30 pm-3:00 pm: On Prayogshala
Speakers: Sudhir Sharma, Yuwaraj Ghimire, Mumaram Khanal
Presenter: Jhalak Subedi
4:00 pm-5:00 pm: The Winning Habit
Anil Shah in conversation with Prakash Iyer
5pm-6pm: Teen Yayawar
Speakers: Upendra Subba, Kumar nagarkoti, Sanjeev Upreti
Presenter: Buddhisagar
Day 2: October 26
11:00 am-12:00 pm: Second Thoughts on Stardust, Society and Celebrity
Kunda Dixit in conversation with Shobhaa De
2:00 pm-3:00 pm: Sahar ra Samriddhi
Speakers: Chaitaya Mishra, Bimal Koirala, Saurav Jyoti
Presenter: Yug Pathak
4:00 pm-5:00 pm: Poets on Poetry
Abhi Subedi with Abhay K
5:00 pm-6:00 pm: The Land Where I flee
Colin Cooper in conversation Prajwol Parajuly
Day 3: October 27
11:00 am-12:00 pm: Jeewanta Jodi
Bijay Kumar Pandey in conversation with Haribansha Acharya and Madan Krishna Shrestha
3:00 pm-4:00 pm: The Empire Writes back
Ned Beauman, Farah Ghuznavi, Prajwal Parajuly
Moderator: Sanjeev Uprety
4:00 pm-5:00 pm: Writing- A Strange Obsession
Sophia Tamot in conversation with Shobhaa De
Day 4: October 28
11:00 am-12:00 pm: Celebrating Rajesh Hamal
Speaker: Rajesh Hamal
Presenter: Anup Baral
2:00 pm-3:00 pm: Growing up with Granta
Rabi Thapa in conversation with Ned Beauman
4:00 pm-5:00 pm: Poetry recitation
Presenter: Bhupendra Khadka
Poets: Bikram Subba, Mani Lohani, Shakuntala Joshi, Saraswati Pratikshya, Srawan Mukarung, Momila and many others.
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