NASA astronaut Sunita Williams.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Bengaluru: Renowned NASA astronaut and former Commander of the International Space Station (ISS), Sunita Williams, is set to be a key speaker at the ninth edition of the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) in 2026.
The announcement was made by the festival organisers. The four-day event is scheduled to be held from January 22 to 25, 2026, along the iconic Kozhikode beachfront. Williams, a global icon of space exploration with over 300 days in orbit and multiple spacewalk records, is expected to share her experiences on resilience, leadership, and the pursuit of discovery.
“Sunita Williams represents the courage to explore the unknown,” said Ravi Deecee, Chief Facilitator of KLF. “Her participation will inspire audiences across generations.”
The 2026 edition will feature Germany as the guest nation. The festival, hosted in India’s first UNESCO ‘City of Literature’, is expected to draw over 500 speakers.
The star-studded lineup includes: 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; writer and journalist Deepa Bhasthi; celebrated essayist Pico Iyer; renowned environmental activist Vandana Shiva; Jnanpith award-winning writer Pratibha Ray; eminent historian Romila Thapar; acclaimed novelist Anita Nair; noted Telugu author Volga; conservation biologist Neha Sinha; actor and social commentator Prakash Raj; author-diplomat Pavan K Varma; author, parliamentarian, and public intellectual Shashi Tharoor; Indian comedian Vir Das; and Tamil film director and activist Pa Ranjith, among many others.
Together, these voices span literature, science, sports, economics, politics, cinema, art, and culture.