Kovalam Lit Fest to have Delhi stopover

The famed Kovalam Literary Festival (KLF) of Kerala will have a one-day stopover in Delhi on September 29, the first time outside Kerala.

The Delhi leg, scheduled to be held at the India International Centre (IIC) here, will be followed by the two-day main event, now in its fourth year, on October 1 and 2.

Pakistani and Israeli writers will join Indian literary stalwarts for the Delhi leg.

"The KLF has now moved to the national stage and is now firmly established as India's second biggest literary festival. Our brand equity has also improved considerably over the last four years and that is the reason why the support to the event is growing,’’ KLF founder-director Binoo John said.

Two of Israel’s best known literary figures, short story writer Savyon Liebrecht and playwright Motti Lerner will be taking part in the Delhi event. Another highlight of the festival will be the presence of Pakistani writer Mohammed Hanif, the author of "A Case of Exploding Mangoes", who will be reading for the Delhi book lovers from his new novel, "Our Lady of Alice Bhatti". He will also be in conversation with Indian author Manu Joseph.

Full report here Netindian

New entrants to list of lit fests

The literary season is upon us, and the country is awash in festivals this year - with two new ones added to the crowded Delhi lit calendar. The Hindu is bringing its three-day festival, starting Sep 25.

There is now indication that corporates see literary festival as intellectual properties which have good shelf life in terms of recall and, hence, a right vehicle to reach premium audiences.

Last week, media group Deccan Chronicle signed up with KLF as its title sponsor.

The Thiruvananthapuram leg of the two festival will now be called the Deccan Chronicle-Kovalam Literary Festival. The Delhi leg will be presented by Financial Chronicle, the multi-edition business daily of the group.

This comes soon after the Catholic Syrian Bank became co-sponsor of the KLF. The KLF has now garnered sponsorships of Taj Hotels and Resorts, Kerala Tourism and ICCR, the cultural wing of the Indian government.

Many publishers like Penguin India, Harper and Westland support such festivals where their authors are showcased.

Binoo K John, author and founder director of KLF, says the success of the Jaipur Lit Fest as a showcase book event has a lot to do with the new corporate interest in such intellectual properties.

Full report here IBNLive

Siyahi roped in for Commonwealth Writers Prize

I was pleasantly surprised to get a call from the Commonwealth Writers Foundation in London and to be queried about the Kovalam Literary Festival, which I conduct.

Though the purpose of their interrogation was not made clear in that call, the secret is now finally out. They wanted an agency to organise the Commonwealth Writers Prize function which is coming for the first time to Delhi.

Obviously, they were unconvinced about me and the contract has now gone to my friend Mita Kapur who runs Siyahi, the Jaipur-based literary agency. The never-say-die Mita who organised the first edition of Jaipur litfest and was eventually eased out by Teamworks, now has one more big platform.

Full report here Express Buzz