11th Kolkata Literary Festival to pay tribute to author Nabaneeta Dev Sen

The 11th edition of Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival will pay tribute to late novelist and award-winning author Nabaneeta Dev Sen who passed away on November 7 last year. Sen, who has over 80 books in Bengali across genres to her credit, will be celebrated by leading Bengali actors Soumitra Chatterjee and Aparna Sen. The late author's daughters Nandana and Antara Sen will also be part of the tribute.

The three-day literary festival, which begins on January 17, will see participation of over 100 speakers and focus on themes of nationalism and identity, homeland, and belonging. Some of the participating speakers include bestselling and award winning authors Anand Neelakantan, Abhinav Chandrachud, Francesc Miralles, Prayaag Akbar, Preeti Shenoy, Paul Zacharia, Rajat Gupta, Shobhaa De, Vikram Sampath, and William Dalrymple.

"Welcoming a new decade of literary excellence with its 11th edition, AKLF 2020 recognises that books, ideas, arguments, empathy and analysis, discussion and debate, freedom of expression and respect for multiple points of view, that is offered through its platform, is more relevant today, than perhaps ever before," organisers said. Some of the topics that will be explored at the festival are 'women empowerment', 'pride', 'climate change', 'art and protests', 'dissent' and 'democracy'.

The festival will also see participation by film and theatre personalities including the likes of Aparna Sen, Kaushik Sen, Saurabh Shukla and Vivaan Shah. Celebrated singer Usha Uthup, renowned director Anik Dutta, and writers like Kaveree Bamzai, Bachi Karkaria, Shutapa Paul, Manogya Loiwal, Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey and Sharmistha Goswami Chatterjee will also be part of the event.

"This edition is one of reaffirmation and reinvention, as we enter a new decade of celebrating the written word! With Indian literature itself occupying a much larger place in the world literary consciousness than it did at the beginning of the last decade when we first created it, we at Oxford Bookstore and AKLF too are turning the page not only to a new year but also on a new 10-year window of opportunities and possibilities!" said Maina Bhagat, director of Oxford Bookstores and Director of Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival. Along with the diverse sessions, conversations and discussions, the festival will also announce the short list of the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize.

It will also be hosting the second edition of the Prabha Khaitan Woman's Voice Award to recognize fresh voices in women's writings from India, as well as present Oxford Junior Literary Festival (OJLF) for young readers with dramatised readings, storytelling, dance workshops, wildlife filmmaking and more. The festival, which will be held across multiple venues, will continue till January 19.

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