The Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) is an international

literary festival A literary festival, also known as a book festival or writers' festival, is a regular gathering of writers and readers, typically on an annual basis in a particular city. A literary festival usually features a variety of presentations and readings ...

held annually in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

, Punjab,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The festival is considered to be one of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

's premier cultural events. The UNESCO Creative Cities Network added Lahore to its number in 2019, less than a year after the head of the UNESCO City of Literature Heidelberg highlighted Lahore’s suitability for the program at the Lahore Literary Festival. LLF 2015 drew over 75,000 visitors to the halls and grounds of Alhamra Arts Centre to hear various Punjabi, Pakistani and international speakers including Romila Thapar, Abdullah Hussein,

Ayesha Jalal Ayesha Jalal (Punjabi, ur, ) is a Pakistani-American historian who serves as the Mary Richardson Professor of History at Tufts University, and was the recipient of the 1998 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. Family and early life Ayesha Jala ...

Asma Jahangir Asma Jilani Jahangir ( ur, , ''ʿĀṣimah Jahāṉgīr''; 27 January 1952 – 11 February 2018) was a Pakistani human rights lawyer and social activist who co-founded and chaired the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Jahangir was known ...

Eve Ensler V, formerly Eve Ensler (; born May 25, 1953), is an American playwright, performer, feminist, and activist. V is best known for her play ''The Vagina Monologues''.

Roger Cohen Roger Cohen (born 2 August 1955) is a journalist and author. He was a reporter, editor and columnist for ''The New York Times, and the International Herald Tribune (later re-branded as the'' ''International New York Times)''.and became head of th ...

, Mohsin Hamid, Laurent Gayer, Rahul Singh,

Hameed Haroon Pakistan Herald Limited, doing business as the Dawn Media Group, is a Pakistani media company based in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It publishes the ''Dawn'' newspaper and operates a TV channel, radio stations and websites. It is a listed membe ...

, Yasmine El Rashidi,

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema. He has also starred in international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare ...

Joe Sacco Joe Sacco (; born October 2, 1960) is a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is best known for his comics journalism, in particular in the books '' Palestine'' (1996) and '' Footnotes in Gaza'' (2009), on Israeli–Palestinian rela ...

Romesh Gunesekera Romesh Gunesekera FRSL (born 1954) is a Sri Lankan-born British author, who was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for his novel '' Reef'' in 1994. He has judged a number of literary prizes and was Chair of the judges of Commonwealth Short Story ...

Ziauddin Sardar Ziauddin Sardar ( ur, ضیاء الدین سردار; born 31 October 1951) is a British-Pakistani scholar, award-winning writer, cultural critic and public intellectual who specialises in Muslim thought, the future of Islam, futurology and s ...

, Osman Samiuddin, Mushtaq Soofi, and Aminatta Forna.

Editions

LLF hold annual ticketed editions in New York City with Asia Society and in London with the British Library. These were discontinued during the covid pandemic and are expected to return in 2023. In 2021, LLF held a virtual festival featuring

Yann Martel Yann Martel, (born 25 June 1963) is a Canadian author who wrote the Man Booker Prize–winning novel '' Life of Pi'', an international bestseller published in more than 50 territories. It has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and spen ...

Fareed Zakaria Fareed Rafiq Zakaria (; born 20 January 1964) is an Indian-American journalist, political commentator, and author. He is the host of CNN's ''Fareed Zakaria GPS'' and writes a weekly paid column for ''The Washington Post.'' He has been a columnist ...

Wendy Doniger Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty (born November 20, 1940) is an American Indologist whose professional career has spanned five decades. A scholar of Sanskrit and Indian textual traditions, her major works include, 'The Hindus: an alternative history'; ' ...

and others. Past editions have featured

Tariq Ali Tariq Ali (; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'' and ''Sin Permiso'', and con ...

, Vikram Seth,

Zehra Nigah Zehra Nigah ( ur, ) is an Urdu poet and scriptwriter from Pakistan. She was one of two female poets to gain prominence in the 1950s when the scene was dominated by men. She has written several television drama serials. She has also received vario ...

, Bapsi Sidhwa, William Dalrymple,

Gavin Francis Gavin Francis (born 1975) is a Scottish physician and a writer on travel and medical matters. He was raised in Fife, Scotland and now lives in Edinburgh as a GP. His books have won many prestigious prizes. Biography Born in Fife in 1975, Franc ...

Amin Jaffer Amin may refer to: People * Amin (name), a masculine given name and also a surname * Al-Amin, the sixth Abbasid caliph, who ruled from 809 to 813 * Amin (Qing dynasty), an Imperial Prince of the Qing Dynasty * Amin, an arbitrator who assessed and ...

Shahzia Sikander Shahzia Sikander (born 1969, in Lahore, Pakistan) is a Pakistani-American visual artist. Sikander works across a variety of mediums, including drawing, painting, printmaking, animation, installation, performance and video. Sikander currently lives ...

, Kenizé Mourad,

Amit Chaudhuri Amit Chaudhuri (born 15 May 1962) is a novelist, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, singer, and music composer from India. He was Professor of Contemporary Literature at the University of East Anglia from 2006 to 2021, Since 2020, he has ...

Amjad Islam Amjad Amjad Islam Amjad, PP, Sitara-e-Imtiaz (Urdu: امجد اسلام امجد) (born 4 August 1944) is an Urdu poet, drama writer and lyricist from Pakistan. The author of more than 40 books in a career spanning 50 years,Ally Adnan (September ...

Daniyal Mueenuddin Daniyal Mueenuddin ( ur, ) (born 1963) is a Pakistani people, Pakistani-United States, American author who writes in English. His short story collection ''In Other Rooms, Other Wonders'', has been translated into sixteen languages, and won The St ...

Vali Nasr Vali Reza Nasr ( fa, ولی‌ رضا نصر, born 20 December 1960) is an Iranian-American academic and author, specializing in the Middle East and the Islamic world. He is Majid Khaddouri Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studi ...

, Samia Mahrez, Linda Bird Francke, Victoria Schofield, Hugh Eakin,

Naman Ahuja Naman P. Ahuja (born 1974) is an art historian and curator based in New Delhi. He is Professor of Indian Art and Architecture at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi where his research and graduate teaching focus on Indian iconography and scul ...

, Rachel Dwyer,

Tehmina Durrani Tehmina Durrani ( ur, ; born 18 February 1953) is a Pakistani author, artist, activist on women's and children's rights, and the current First Lady of Pakistan being married to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Her first book, "My Feudal Lord" ...

, Basharat Peer,

Urvashi Butalia Urvashi Butalia (born 1952) is an Indian feminist writer, publisher and activist. She is known for her work in the women's movement of India, as well as for authoring books such as ''The Other Side of Silence: Voices from and the Partition of I ...

Jeet Thayil Jeet Thayil (born 1959) is an Indian poet, novelist, librettist and musician. He is the author of several poetry collections, including ''These Errors Are Correct'' (2008), which won the Sahitya Akademi Award. His first novel, '' Narcopolis,'' ( ...

Nayyar Ali Dada Nayyar Ali Dada ( ur, نیر علی دادا) (born 11 November 1943) is a Pakistani architect.

, Framji Minwalla,

Nadeem Aslam Nadeem Aslam FRSL (born 11 July 1966 in Gujranwala, Pakistan) is a British Pakistani novelist. His debut novel, ''Season of the Rainbirds'', won the Betty Trask and the Author's Club First Novel Award. His critically acclaimed second novel '' Ma ...

Moni Mohsin Moni Mohsin (born 1963) is a British-Pakistani writer based in London, United Kingdom. She wrote a long running satirical column ' The Diary of a Social Butterfly' for The Friday Times and a book with the same name. Early life and career Mohsi ...

Shehan Karunatilaka Shehan Karunatilaka (born 1975) is a Sri Lankan writer. He grew up in Colombo, studied in New Zealand and has lived and worked in London, Amsterdam and Singapore. His 2010 debut novel '' Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew'' won the Commonwe ...

Florence Noiville Florence Noiville (), a French author and journalist, is a long time staff writer for ''Le Monde'' and editor of foreign fiction for ''Le Monde des Livres'', the literary supplement of Le Monde. Life After attending Sciences Po, the internatio ...

Zia Mohyeddin Zia Mohyeddin (; born 20 June 1931) is a British-Pakistani actor, producer, director and television broadcaster who has appeared in both Pakistani cinema and television as well as in British cinema and television throughout his career. Zia ...

Rashid Rana Rashid Rana ( ur, ) is a Pakistani artist. He has been included in numerous exhibitions in Pakistan and abroad with his works in Abstraction (art), abstractions on canvas, collaborations with a billboard painter, photographic/video performanc ...

, Ebba Koch, Owen Bennett Jones, Sadaf Saaz Siddiqi,

Intizar Hussain Intizar Hussain ( ur, ; 21 December 1925 – 2 February 2016) was a Pakistani writer of Urdu novels, short stories, poetry and nonfiction. He is widely recognised as a leading literary figure of Pakistan. He was among the finalists of the Man Bo ...

, Romila Thapar,

Aamer Hussein Aamer Hussein (born 8 April 1955, Karachi) is a Pakistani critic Biography
Aamer Hussein official website. ...

Namita Gokhale Namita Gokhale (born 1956) is an Indian writer, editor, festival director, and publisher. Her debut novel, ''Paro: Dreams of Passion'' was released in 1984, and she has since written fiction and nonfiction, and edited nonfiction collections. She ...

, Shazaf Fatima Haider, Shrabani Basu,

Aitzaz Ahsan Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan ( ur, ; born 27 September 1945) is a Pakistani politician and lawyer. He served two times as the Leader of the House in the Senate of Pakistan from 1994 to 1997 and again from 2012 to 2015. He also served as the Leader o ...

Anita Anand Anita Anand (born May 20, 1967) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who serves as the minister of national defence since 2021. She has represented the riding of Oakville in the House of Commons since the 2019 federal election, sitting as ...

Anissa Helou Anissa Helou (born 1 February 1952) is a London-based chef, teacher, and author. She specializes in cooking and writing recipes for Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and North African cuisines. Her cookbooks have won numerous awards. She currently liv ...

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer. His 1993 novel '' Trainspotting'' was made into a film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short fil ...

Riz Ahmed Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the short ...

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spher ...

Ben Okri Ben Okri (born 15 March 1959) is a Nigerian-British poet and novelist.Ben Okri"
British Council, ...

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore (also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana; born 8 December 1944) is a retired Indian actress, primarily known for her work in Hindi and Bengali cinema, Tagore is the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, and the F ...

, F. S. Aijazuddin, Chief Justice

Saqib Nisar Mian Saqib Nisar ( ur, ; born 18 January 1954) is a Pakistani jurist who served as the 25th Chief Justice of Pakistan from 31 December 2016 till 17 January 2019. He has previously served as the Law Secretary. He also served as a visiting prof ...

Ahdaf Soueif Ahdaf Soueif ( ar, أهداف سويف; born 23 March 1950) is an Egyptian novelist and political and cultural commentator. Early life Soueif was born in Cairo, where she lives, and was educated in Egypt and England. She studied for a PhD in lin ...

Elif Shafak Elif Shafak ( tr, Elif Şafak, ; born 25 October 1971) is a Turkish-British novelist, essayist, public speaker, political scientist and activist. Shafak writes in Turkish and English, and has published 19 works. She is best known for her ...

Osman Yousefzada Osman Yousefzada ( ur, عثمان یوسفزاده) is a British interdisciplinary artist, writer and social activist. He launched his eponymous label Osman in 2008, and expanded his practice into a visual art space since 2013, with a 'zine' cal ...

Ahmed Rashid Ahmed Rashid (Urdu:; born 1948 in Pakistan) is a journalist and best-selling foreign policy author of several books about Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia. Life and career Ahmed Rashid was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He attended Malv ...

Kamila Shamsie Kamila Shamsie FRSL (born 13 August 1973) is a Pakistani and British writer and novelist who is best known for her award-winning novel ''Home Fire'' (2017). Named on ''Granta'' magazine's list of 20 best young British writers, Shamsie has been ...

, former president of Kyrgyzstan

Roza Otunbayeva Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva (Kyrgyz: Роза Исаковна (Исак кызы) Отунбаева, Roza Isakovna (Isak kyzy) Otunbayeva; born August 23, 1950) is a Kyrgyz diplomat and politician who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 7 A ...

Madhur Jaffrey Madhur Jaffrey CBE (née Bahadur; born 13 August 1933) is an Indian-British-American actress, food and travel writer, and television personality. She is recognized for bringing Indian cuisine to the western hemisphere with her debut cookbook ...

Tina Sani Tina may refer to: People *Tina (given name), people and fictional characters with the given name ''Tina'' Places * Tina, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran * Tina, Tunisia, a town in Sfax Governorate, Tunisia * Tina, Guadalcanal, Solom ...

Peter Frankopan Peter Frankopan (born 22 March 1971) is a British historian, writer, and hotelier. Early life and education Frankopan is the second of five children born to Yugoslav-born Croatian Louis Doimi de Frankopan (1939–2018) and Swedish-born barri ...

, Marc Baer, Nobel laureate

Orhan Pamuk Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, his work has sold over thirteen million books in sixty-three lan ...

Eve Ensler V, formerly Eve Ensler (; born May 25, 1953), is an American playwright, performer, feminist, and activist. V is best known for her play ''The Vagina Monologues''.

, Beth Gardiner,

Peter Oborne Peter Alan Oborne (; born 11 July 1957) is a British journalist and broadcaster. He is the former chief political commentator of ''The Daily Telegraph'', from which he resigned in early 2015. He is author of ''The Rise of Political Lying'', ''Th ...

Lyse Doucet Lyse Marie Doucet , (; born 24 December 1958) is a Canadian journalist who is the BBC's Chief International Correspondent and senior presenter. She presents on BBC World Service radio and BBC World News television, and also reports for BBC ...

, Saima Mohsin, Attiqa Odho,

Hina Rabbani Khar Hina Rabbani Khar (Urdu: ; born 19 November 1977) is a Pakistani politician, who is serving as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs since 19 April 2022. She was previously appointed in July 2011 as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan at the ...

, Sri Lankan First Lady

Maithree Wickremesinghe Maithree Wickremesinghe (born 11 August 1964) is a Sri Lankan academic, writer, and professor of English at the University of Kelaniya. She specializes in gender and women's studies. Wickremesinghe is the current First Lady of Sri Lanka since ...

Dwight Garner Dwight Garner (born January 8, 1965) is an American journalist and longtime writer and editor for ''The New York Times''. In 2008, he was named a book critic for the newspaper. He is the author of ''Garner's Quotations: A Modern Miscellany'' and ...

Shobhaa De Shobha De (''née'' Rajadhyaksha, formerly Kilachand; born 7 January 1948) is an Indian novelist and columnist. She is best known for her depiction of socialites and sex in her works of fiction, for which she has been referred to as the "Jackie ...

Fatima Bhutto Fatima Bhutto ( ur, ; , born 29 May 1982) is a Pakistani writer and columnist. Born in Kabul, she is the daughter of politician Murtaza Bhutto, sister of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr, niece of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and gran ...

, Malala and many more. The LLF was established in 2013 by Razi Ahmed, and is typically a three-day festival, held at the Alhamra Arts Center. In October 2023, the Government of Punjab appointed Ahmed as chairman of the Lahore Arts Council, which is responsible, among others, for the Alhamra Arts Center, where LLF is usually held. LLF's governance structure includes a Board of Governors chaired by

Iqbal Z. Ahmed Iqbal Zafaruddin Ahmed or Iqbal Z. Ahmed (born 3 February 1946) is a businessman and philanthropist of Pakistan. Biography Born in Patna, India, Ahmed is the son of Zohra (died 1979) and Z. Z. Ahmed (1910–1989), a former deputy inspector gen ...

. The first edition was a two-day event held on 23 and 24 February 2013. The second edition was held from 21 to 23 February 2014. In 2015, the third edition was held from 20 to 22 February.{{cite news, url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31602457, title=Lahore Literary Festival: Book lovers defy the bombers, work=BBC, date=24 February 2015, access-date=26 April 2015, first=Lyse, last=Doucet

References

{{reflist

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.lahorelitfest.com/ * {{Facebook, Lahorelitfest, Lahore Literary Festival * {{Twitter {{Lahore topics, state=collapsed 2013 establishments in Pakistan Annual events in Pakistan Book fairs in Pakistan Culture in Lahore Literary festivals in Pakistan Recurring events established in 2013

Editions

See also

References

External links