All you need to know about Karachi Literature Festival 2018

Each year, the annually held Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) brings a much-needed literary respite to Karachi, and 2018 is going to be no different. From a discourse on literature to entertainment, and media, the 9th KLF is all set to bring the city together for the love of intellectual satiety.

So, what exactly does the three-day event offer? We have all the details…

 

Date

Scheduled to start from 9th February up till the 11th, KLF will take place next weekend, with events going on from the morning up until late evening – apart from day 1, which starts at 5 PM. The various simultaneous discussions will comprise throughout the venue.

 

Venue

 Like the previous few years, Karachi Literature Festival has made its footing at the iconic Beach Luxury Hotel in Lalazar, Karachi. Known to be one of the oldest hotels in the metropolis, the hotel is the perfect place to be at on a weekend, with scenic views of the sea by the lush green gardens.

 

Day 1

 Although the day starts in the early evening – owing to Friday prayers, KLF will inaugurate with official opening speeches by Adrian Mellor, Ameena Saiyid OBE, and Asif Farrukhi, after which awards will be distributed for Fiction, Non-Fiction, and Urdu Literature.

There isn’t much planned for the first day apart from panels dedicated to one slot-time.

 

 

Day 2

 

Boasting a whopping 35 discussion panels spread throughout the venue, KLF Day 2 ranges from a discourse on child abuse and social media to art, culture and the city.

Some panels we’re looking forward to are Slam-Bam Verse! Utterances of the Age – which brings slam poetry to the main stage, Gender in the days of #MeToo – which talks about the importance of conversation on sexual harassment, and An Evening with the Banana Boys – where the comedic works of the BNN team will be on display.

 

 

Apart from such panels, attendees will also be able to participate in a Mushaira featuring some of the most renowned names in the industry.

 

Day 3

 Focusing on a mix of panels, day 3 features discourse on media, partition, and plenty of book launches.

However, the most interesting panel out of all seems to be the one titled ‘Showbiz’ – which we’re guessing talks about dynastic acting in the Pakistani industry. The panel will feature names like Asif Raza Mir, Ahad Raza Mir, Samina Ahmed, Zain Ahmed, Mehreen Jabbar, Javed Jabbar, Sarmad Khoosat, and Irfan Khoosat.

 

 

Apart from that, the panel titled ‘Dil Dil, Boom Boom, Jazba Junoon: The Impact of Pop Culture on Pakistani Society and the World’ also sounds like a great ode to Pakistani media’s most formative years in the 90s.

Day 3 will eventually end with a Qawwali session, after keynote addresses by Anwar Maqsood, Amit Chaudhuri, and Mani Shankar Aiyar.

You can check out the full schedule here.