Shillong Literary Festival to Showcase Global Voices, Northeast Storytelling

Booker Prize-winning authors Kiran Desai and Damon Galgut will headline the sixth edition of the Shillong Literary Festival, scheduled to be held at Ward’s Lake from November 12 to 14, bringing internationally acclaimed literary voices to Meghalaya alongside the region’s rich storytelling traditions.

Desai won the 2006 Booker Prize for The Inheritance of Loss, while her latest novel, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize. South African novelist and playwright Galgut won the 2021 Booker Prize for The Promise. His works frequently explore history, memory, family and the legacy of apartheid. The two authors are the first major speakers announced for the festival, with more writers and literary figures expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.

The three-day event will bring together writers and readers while highlighting the literary heritage and storytelling traditions of Meghalaya’s Khasi, Jaintia and Garo communities alongside national and international literary voices. The festival began in 2021 and has featured more than 293 speakers and eight book launches across its first five editions, according to its official website.

As part of its pre-festival programme, organisers will host First Bloom: Discovering New Writing from the Northeast, an open call for emerging writers in fiction and narrative nonfiction. Entries close on October 20, with the winner receiving Rs 50,000 and the runner-up Rs 25,000. Shortlisted writers are scheduled to pitch their work to a jury on November 11, with results to be announced on November 14.

Three workshops are also planned. Literary agent Kanishka Gupta will lead a session on careers in the book industry, including publishing, editing, publicity and artificial intelligence, on October 26 at the State Convention Centre in Shillong. A creative writing workshop featuring Mitra Phukan and Lalnunsanga Ralte will be held at the same venue that afternoon.

On November 11, photographers Menty Jamir, Indrajit Khambe and Bipin Aspatwar will conduct Ways of Visual Practice, a workshop exploring visual storytelling, observation and portfolio development.

The festival, supported by the Meghalaya government’s Department of Tourism, aims to promote regional literature, encourage emerging talent and strengthen Shillong’s profile as a cultural and literary destination.