Karachi Literature Festival to be held on February 9,10 and 11

KARACHI: The 9th Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) is scheduled to be held on 9, 10, and 11 February 2018 at the Beach Luxury Hotel, Karachi.

The festival is expected to include a vibrant programme of talks, interviews, panel discussions, readings, book launches, English poetry readings, Urdu mushaira (poetic symposium), Sindhi mushaira, stand-up comedy, author signings, performing arts, film screenings, open mic, book fair, and literary awards ceremony.

With ideas and subjects as diverse as cricket, child abuse, writing autobiographies, and pop culture being explored at the KLF, the event aims to be a literary and cultural feast.

Around 200 Pakistani and 30 international authors and speakers from ten countries are expected to participate in the festival Noorul Huda Shah will be the keynote speaker at the inauguration while the closing ceremony will be addressed by Anwar Maqsood, Amit Chaudhuri and Mani Shankar Aiyar.

Among the many literary luminaries, academics, and intellectuals participating are Abdul Malik Baloch, Ahad Raza Mir, Amir Adnan, Amin Hashwani, , Arieb Azhar, Arif Hasan, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, Asif Raza Mir, Attiya Dawood, Bari Mian, Bushra Ansari, F.S. Aijazuddin, Fasi Zaka, Hafiz Pasha, Hameed Haroon, Hamid Khan, Harris Khalique, Huma Baqai, I.A. Rehman, Iftikhar Arif, Iqbal Akhund, Ishrat Husain, Izhar Soomro, Javed Jabbar, Kaiser Bengali, Kamran Asdar Ali, Kami Chouhdry, Kishwar Naheed, Mahtab Akbar Rashdi, Mehreen Jabbar, Mohammad Zubair, Mujahid Barelvi, Nadeem F. Paracha, Nadeem Hussain, Nafisa Shah, Neelam Basheer, Raza Rabbani, Sabyn Javeri, Salman Ahmad, Samina Ahmed, Sania Saeed, Sarmad Khoosat, Shaharyar M. Khan, Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Sheema Kermani, Sima Kamil, Syed Salim Raza, Wasif Rizvi, Zafar Hilaly, Zarrar Khuhro, Zia Mohyeddin, and Zubeida Mustafa.

Kesho Scott, Tahira Naqvi, A.G. Noorani, Saif Mahmood, Sheela Reddy, Y Venugopal Reddy, Amarjit Chandan, Isambard Wilkinson, José Oliver, Jürgen Wasim Frembgen, Ibrahim Waheed Ogaru, Aurélie Salvaire, Amardeep Singh, Claire Chambers, Kamila Shamsie, Qaisra Shahraz, and Victoria Schofield are some of the international authors participating in the festival.

Talking to the media, Ameena Saiyid mentioned that five prizes are awarded at KLF every year. These include the KLF-Pepsi Non-Fiction Prize, KLF-Getz Pharma Fiction Prize, KLF-German Peace Prize (Consulate General of Germany), KLF-Infaq Foundation Urdu Literature Prize, and Italy Reads Pakistan Award (sponsored by the Consulate of Italy). The books received for the prizes are evaluated by panels of jury members comprising eminent critics, writers, and scholars. Books shortlisted for these prizes were announced at the press conference.

“KLF is not merely a local affair. With participants and visitors from all over the country, from all four provinces and all of our major cities, this is truly an all-Pakistan event. More so, with participants from UK, USA, Germany, Maldives, France, India, Singapore, Italy, and Canada, it is truly an international event,” said Co-founder of the Karachi Literature Festival, Asif Farrukhi.

This year Pepsi Co is the title sponsor of the event. Other sponsors include Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL), United Bank Limited (UBL), Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany,  British Council, US Consulate General, Karachi, Getz Pharma, Infaq Foundation, Tapal Tea, Habib University, LUMS, I AM KARACHI and TV One.