12th Edition of Delhi Literature Festival - A literary extravaganza at India Habitat Centre

Save the dates for the 12th edition of the Delhi Literature Festival, a weekend dedicated to the magic of profound wisdom of Literature and vibrant cultural celebrations awaits! Embark on a literary journey spanning three days from January 19th to 21st, 2024 at the ecologically designed India Habitat Centre in the heart of New Delhi for a celebration of words and culture.

The awaited literature festival will be held in partnership with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), Vodaphone Idea Ltd and supported by the ‘Sahitya Akademi’. Kunzum Bookstores and Oxford Bookstores proudly serve as the ‘Official Bookstore Partners’ while Radio City will be the Radio Partner and the gifting partner is Pouls.of.art.

The Delhi Literature Festival includes best sellers authors, famous poets and light musical performances. The opening session on January 19th January will start from 5 pm to 8 pm. The first day of the festival will have Gurcharan Das in conversation with Sonia Singh discussing his memoir “Another Sort of Freedom and Dr. Anand Ranganathan exploring “Hindus in Hindu Rashtra” with Pavan K Varma. The session will be followed by Vipul Rikhi presenting “Drunk on Love: The Life, Vision & Songs of Kabir” with a live performance and conversation featuring Dr. Amna Mirza.

The second day is scheduled from 12 noon till 8 pm, with the Inaugural Session featuring distinguished speakers, including Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, Author & Hon’ble Minister of State for Culture & External Affairs, Govt. of India; Dr. Sonal Mansingh, Member of Parliament (Padma Bhushan & Padma Vibhushan); H.E. Ms Capaya Rodriguez Gonzalez Ambassador. Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Shri Sanjay Mayukh, MLC, Shri R C Bhargava, Hon’ble Chairperson of Maruti Suzuki, Shri K.S.Rao Secretary, Sahitya Akademi, and Milee Ashwarya, Publisher for Penguin Random House India, Adult Publishing. The inauguration will also have a book discussion on Krishna by Author Kevin Missel in conversation with Ms. Nagma PK

Celebrating the best of literature, the second day will feature renowned publishers for a panel discussion on “Content & Communities: The Publishers Dilemma in the Digital Age” with Anuj Bahri, Ajay Mago, Manish Khurana, Yamini Chowdhuri, Aditi Maheshwari and Swati Chopra to be moderated by Ajay Jain.

Following this, audiences will be able to delve into “Modi & India: 2024 & The Battle for Bharat,” where Rahul Shivashankar and Siddhartha Talya discuss the political landscape. Additionally, book lovers can experience the magic of “Sur Sandhya,” a live performance by Saqib Khan and Ameen Khan presented by Dr. Amna Mirza.

The day unfolds with “Kavi Sammelan: Words, Wisdom & Celebrating Life,” featuring poets Nityanand Tiwari, Dildar Dehlvi, Dr. Banga, Dr. Umesh Pathak, Rajeev Dwivedi, Pankaj, and Tejinder Luthra, presented by Dr.Rama Pandey. The day concludes with the literary exploration of “Antim, The Last Avatar” by Dr. Neetika Modi in conversation with Vinita Sharma Bakshi.

The 3rd and penultimate sessions of the enchanting literary event commences on Sunday, January 21, from 5 pm to 8 pm, promising an engaging discussions and performances.

Starting with a captivating exploration by writer-poet & bureaucrat Mukul Kumar on “Lost in the Love Maze,” In fetching conversation with Meenu Agrawal, and a book discussion on the book “ Afternoon” by the author and Industrialist Mr. Nidhi Dalmia. The day continues with the journey with Sharmistha Mukherjee’s touching narrative “Pranab, My Father: A Daughter Remembers,” in conversation with Smita Prakash as well as a live and intense solo thematic performance by Dr. Himanshu Srivastava on the epic character “Shikhandi” presented by Dr. Rama Pandey.

The last day of the event will also showcase the power of women’s poetry at Kavyitri Sammelan, featuring Anuradha Pandey, Nandini Shrivastava, Prof Charu Kapoor, Kavita & Tanvi, Nirupama Kotru & Ketki, presented by Amit Sharma. This will be followed by a thought-provoking panel discussion on “Ayodhya Unravelled” with authors Neena Rai, Priya Arora, Saksham Garg, Dr. Swadesh Singh, Kevin Missal, and Prof. Geeta Singh, moderated by Lipika Bhushan, as they delve into the depths of this timeless epic.

As a tradition, the festival has extended invitations to bestsellers and acclaimed authors from leading publishers, including Amazon/Westland, Hay House, HarperCollins, Aleph/Rupa, Bloomsbury, Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin RandomHouse, Juggernaut, Prakashan Publishers, and Roli Books, among others.

Started in 2013, the Delhi Literature Festival has completed 11 successful editions till 2023. The Delhi Literature Festival was started by a group of young professionals with an interest in promoting art & literature in the city.