Kerala Literature Festival postponed to March 17 amid rising Covid cases

The sixth edition of the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) 2022, scheduled to be held at the beaches of Kozhikode from January 20-23, has now been postponed to March 17-20 amid a surge in Covid cases, said the organisers in a statement on Thursday.

Hosting 200 plus sessions and writers, experts, and performers from over a dozen nations globally -- apart from India -- the eclectic line-up of the festival this year include names like Jeffrey Archer, Arundhati Roy, Wendy Doniger, Shashi Tharoor, Remo Fernandes, Pawan Varma, Paul Zacharia, Perumun Murugan and Dedutt Pattanaik.

"We have seen a great amount of love and overwhelming public support and participation registrations over the past months for KLF 2022. Hence, wholeheartedly keeping the interest of our speakers, participants, audiences, general public, and our patrons we have to reschedule the dates to 17th to the 20th March 2022," said Ravi Deecee, chief facilitator, KLF.

"The current discourse is that the numbers may peak between the latter part of January and fall by mid of February. We are hoping that the coronavirus will recede in time. We are determined on hosting an in-person festival with the active support of our patrons, speakers, and partners," he added.

The four-day literary extravaganza, touted as the "second largest festival" of its kind in Asia, aims to map literature through discussions on several aspects shaping human consciousness, including art, cinema, environment, pandemic, and its impacts, politics, history, and economy.

Organised by the DC Kizhakemuri Foundation, and supported by the Kerala government and Kerala Tourism Board, the director of KLF 2022 is a renowned poet, critic, and writer K Satchidanandan.