Oxford Bookstores, today announced the much-awaited 13th Edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival from 21st January to 23rd January.AKLF2022 will also mark the beginning of the Centenary year celebrations for the iconic Oxford Bookstores.The 3-day literary extravaganza will celebrate the written word with a splendid line-up of authors, journalists, influencers, thinkers, poets, international best-selling writers and Bollywood actors. AKLF2022 will focus on fiction, non-fiction, gastronomy, mental and physical health, poetry, politics, current affairs, parenthood, translations, history, children’s and adult literature among other themes, through 24 interactive sessions.
AKLF2022 will be live-streamed on the official facebook and YouTube handles of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival as well as across Oxford Bookstores.
Speaking on this edition, Priti Paul, Director Apeejay Surrendra Group and Oxford Bookstores said, “As we grapple with the enormous challenge of imagining a post-pandemic world, we believe this is also a time for reflection and hope, of lessons learned, and opportunities discovered. Oxford Bookstore and Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival have both utilized the digital space proactively through the past year, as a realm for carrying out projects and conversations, as well as for conceiving new ideas. We believe that an important uniting thread at this time is the cause of books. The space occupied by Literature and Books, whether on the ground or in the virtual world, will flourish. It is in this spirit that we present the 13th – and our very first Virtual edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, which will importantly celebrate and usher in the Centenary Year of the much loved Heritage Oxford Bookstore”!!
Maina Bhagat, Director Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival and Apeejay Oxford Bookstores said, “The 13th Edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival, sets its sights on our fast-evolving world, and the changes that lie in store in the years ahead. Curated meticulously to meet the challenges of the Virtual format, with a view to continuity and innovation, and with delegate participation from across 3 time zones, this acceleration to digital connectivity has not stopped us from moving forward with this key initiative. The Festival is packed with thought-provoking, entertaining and informative sessions. Importantly, it commemorates and ushers in the Centenary Year of the iconic Heritage Oxford Bookstore – an integral part of the life and times of this great city. It will be our pleasure to share this journey with you in the coming months”.
The 13th edition of AKLFwouldhost more than fifty national and international delegates fromaround the globe. Some of the eminent speakers who will be part of the thirteenth edition of Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival include bestselling and award winning author William Dalrymple;award-winning children’s author, Andy Griffiths; poet, novelist and journalist,JeetThayil;filmmaker and writer,VandanaKohli;author, speaker and mythologist,DevduttPattanaik; columnist and novelist, Shobhaa De;French diplomats, Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens and Dr. Christine Cornet;author, journalist and film critic, Anupama Chopra;journalist, author and columnist, SeemaGoswami;film director, screenwriter and actor,Aparna Sen;renowned journalist and TV anchor, VirSanghvi;author, Dr. Kalyan Ray;renowned Bollywood actors like KabirBedi, Tusshar Kapoor, JugalHansraj; poet, journalist and dancer, Tishani Doshi;eminent journalist and authors,SagarikaGhose, Nandini Sengupta, Nilanjana S. Roy,Samrat Choudhury, Sandip Roy; Journalist, Hospitality and Food blogger,Sourish Bhattacharyya; celebrity chefs,Sanjeev Kapoor and Vikas Khanna;veteran Indian theatre actress,Dolly Thakore; noted writers likeTerri Cole, Shantanu Guha Ray, Saikat Majumdar,Karuna Ezara Parikh, SudeepChakravarti, VivanMarwaha;celebrity performer and eminent radio jockey, Mir Afsar Ali;film director, Rahul Rawail; translator,Arunava Sinha; French novelist, journalist and historian,Irène Frain; global leading holistic health guru, Dr. Mickey Mehta; well-known food blogger, IndrajitLahiri;to name a few.
Along with marquee sessions, the thirteenth edition of the Festival willalso witness the announcement of the Shortlist of the seventh edition of the Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize by jurors, Dr. Alka Pande,Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Priti Paul, Shobhaa De, Kunal Basu and guest jury, Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens.
