Ravi Deecee, Chief Facilitator, Kerala Literature Festival and Michael Heinst, Director of Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore during a press meet in Bengaluru on Monday. Banu Mushtaq (R)
Credit: DH Photo/X
Bengaluru: The ninth edition of the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) is set to feature Booker Prize-winning author Banu Mushtaq, journalist–writer Deepa Bhasthi, and senior writer Vivek Shanbhag.
The festival will also have discussions on the life and works of doyen Kannada writer SL Bhyrappa.
The festival is slated to take place from January 22 to 25, 2026, at the Kozhikode beachfront, the city recognised as India’s first UNESCO City of Literature, since its inception in 2016.
As a part of its campaign, a pre-event showcase was held in Bengaluru where details related to KLF 2026 were shared.
The 2026 edition is set to present a wider range of voices and experiences that reflect the evolving landscape of global thought and creativity. Over four days, the festival will feature over 400 speakers and 250 sessions spread across seven parallel tracks, with ten sessions per track each day, and 15 participating countries, followed by evening performances and musical events on Kozhikode beach. Each day will bring together readers, writers, and artists for discussions that move between genres and disciplines.
The event will host a gathering of Nobel Laureates, Booker Prize winners, historians, scientists, philosophers, activists, filmmakers, and artists, creating hundreds of sessions that explore both the familiar and the new.
The conversations will span fiction and non-fiction, politics and history, folklore and contemporary culture, science and philosophy. Among the confirmed speakers are Nobel Laureates Abdulrazak Gurnah, Olga Tokarczuk, and Abhijit Banerjee, Olympian Ben Johnson, business leader Indra Nooyi, artist and illustrator Cheyenne Olivier, writer Gabriela Ybarra, economist Arvind Subramanian, linguist and author Peggy Mohan, author and columnist Shobhaa De, writer and former diplomat Amish Tripathi, actor and singer Piyush Mishra, curator Helen Molesworth, writer and activist Banu Mushtaq, along with writer and journalist Deepa Bhasthi.
This year, Germany has been announced as the guest nation. Michael Heinst, Director of Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan Bangalore, said the German contingent would showcase literature, film, music, food, and visual arts. A dedicated pavilion—designed by Bengaluru’s Purple Ink Studio—will serve as the hub of German programming, featuring readings, conversations, performances, a feminist library, a Berlin-inspired kitchen, and a printmaking installation.
A striking light installation by German artist Philipp Geist at the Kozhikode lighthouse will illuminate the beachfront each evening, along with a music concert by Berlin-based Musician Sasha Perera.
Chief Facilitator of the festival Ravi Deecee, highlighted Kozhikode’s historical role as a global trading hub and cultural melting pot, echoes of which continue in the festival’s massive youth turnout, with nearly 65 per cent of expected attendees below 35.