speakers and authors from Pakistan, UK, USA, France, Germany, and Italy will participate in the event.
There will be over 80 sesions featuring talks, panel discussions, Urdu and English mushaira, readings, performing arts, and film screenings.
Around 22 books will be launched at the festival this year. Of special significance at the
11 th KLF is a session planned for performance poetry and a workshop on‘Media Literacy and Misinformation’. This year an art exhibition titled ‘Ahang:
Peaceful Protest against Warfare around the Globe’ will showcase videoinstallations and new media art.
Speaking on the occasion, Arshad Saeed Husain said, “The 11 th KLF will feature a number of sessions that will look at how the written and spoken
word connects across borders and results in a cross-pollination of ideas and inspiration for literary works. The festival aims to bring together not only the stalwarts of Pakistan’s literary world and academia, but also some of the most creative minds beyond Pakistan’s border.” He further added, “Through its vibrant programme, the festival celebrates cultural and linguistic diversity.”
Arshad Saeed Husain announced that William Dalrymple and Zaheda Hina will be the keynote speakers at the KLF inauguration while Ahdaf Soueif and
Harris Khalique will deliver the keynote speeches at the closing ceremony. Alexandre Colliex, Claire Chambers, David Waterman, George Fulton,
Harriet Sandys, Julien Columeau, Massimo Ramaioli, Sadia Abbas, Sean Pue, Victoria Schofield, Jochen Hippler, and Bettina Robotka are some of the international names participating in the festival.
The local literary luminaries, academics, and artistes to be featured in the 11 th KLF include Adnan Siddiqui, Ahmed Shah, Ally Adnan, Arfa Sayeda
Zehra, Arieb Azhar, Asad Mohammad Khan, Asad Umar, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Atiqa Odho, Attiya Dawood, Azhar Abbas, Beo Zafar, Bushra Ansari,
Faisal Subzwari, Faseeh Bari Khan, Fawzia Afzal Khan, Faysal Quraishi, Ghazi Salahuddin, Hafiz Pasha, Hamna Zubair, Haseena Moin, Huma
Baqai, Ikram Sehgal, Ishrat Husain, Javed Jabbar, Kaif Ghaznavi, Kaiser Bengali, Kamal Azfar, Khaled Anam, Khalid Ahmad, Kishwar Naheed,
Mahtab Akbar Rashdi, Mazhar Abbas, Mubashir Zaidi, Mushaal Hussein Mullick, Nadeem Farooq Paracha, Navid Shahzad, Neelum Ahmad Basheer, Niilofur Farrukh, Noorul Huda Shah, Omar Shahid, Hamid, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Pirzada Qasim, Reza Baqir, Sabyn Javeri, Sanam Saeed,
Sardar Masood Khan, Sarmad Khoosat, Shamshad Akhtar, Sheheryar Munawar Siddiqui, Sohail Malik, Taha Kehar, Wusatullah Khan, Zafar Hilaly, and Zehra Nigah.
While talking to the media, Arshad Saeed Husain mentioned that this year four prizes will be awarded from the KLF forum. These include the KLF-Getz Pharma Fiction Prize, KLF-Habib Metro Non-Fiction Prize, KLF-Infaq
Foundation Urdu Literature Prize and KLF – Arts Council Sindhi & Balochi Prize. The submissions received for these prizes are evaluated by panels of jury members comprising eminent critics, writers, and scholars. Books
shortlisted for the KLF-Getz Pharma Fiction Prize were announced at the press conference, which include Call Me Al by Sheheryar Sheikh, The
Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali by Uzma Aslam Khan, Red Birds by Mohammed Hanif, and The Selected Works of Abdullah the Cossack by H
M Naqvi. While sharing his views at the press conference, Salman Tarik Kureshi, poet, columnist, and member of the KLF Advisory Board,
