Writers, Thinkers, and Dreamers Unite to Celebrate Literature, Art, and Ideas in Bhubaneswar
KLF 2026 to Host 400+ Voices from Around the World in a Four-day Literary Extravaganz
Bhubaneswar: As the winter sun graces the sacred land of Jagannath, the Temple City of Bhubaneswar is once again poised to become a confluence of words, wisdom, and wonder. The 12th edition of the Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF)—widely regarded as one of the world’s most vibrant gatherings of writers and thinkers—returns from 8th to 11th January 2026 at Mayfair Lagoon, Bhubaneswar. With its unique blend of literature, culture, and conscience, KLF 2026 promises to transform the city into a living canvas of ideas and imagination.
Since its inception, the Kalinga Literary Festival has served as a sanctuary where ideas breathe freely, books find their true readers, and creativity flows without boundaries. Each edition has become a celebration of thought—where poets and policymakers, dreamers and doers, converge to debate, reflect, and reimagine the human experience. The 2026 edition extends this spirit, weaving together sessions on literature, philosophy, art, music, cinema, and the sciences. It will be a mosaic of dialogue, dissent, discovery, and delight—affirming the festival’s global stature as an intellectual and cultural movement. The Festival is curated, produced, and presented by Odisha Diary Foundation.
The 12th Kalinga Literary Festival will unfold across five vibrant venues, featuring more than 400 eminent speakers and thought leaders from India and abroad. The programming will traverse the entire spectrum of human inquiry—fiction and poetry, history and heritage, science and sustainability, philosophy and policy, art and activism. It will spotlight themes ranging from AI and geopolitics to mental health, climate action, gender, identity, and translation. At its heart, KLF 2026 reaffirms its dedication to linguistic plurality, cultural diversity, and India’s timeless literary legacy, positioning itself as both a mirror to our times and a bridge to the future.
The first list of speakers unveils a constellation of celebrated voices who embody the spirit of creative expression and critical thought : Deepa Bhasthi, Banu Mushtaq, Daisy Rockwell, Anuja Chandramouli , Milan Vohra, Shahid Siddiqui,Vikas Swarup, Anand Neelkanthan, Ranjit Hoskote, Ram Madhav, Perumal Murugan, K. Vasuki , Bhawana Somaaya, Dr. Samir Parikh, Divya Jain, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Mani Rao, Ananta Viajay, Hindol Sengupta, Bishhal Paull , Sucheta Khanna , Milee Ashwarya, Kanishk Gupta, Bedangadas Mohanty, Swati Chopra, Shobha T. Srinivasan, Suvir Saran, Preeti Shenoy, Rahul Pandita, Deepa Agarwal , Mehak Jamal, Prof. Jatindra Kumar Nayak, Dr. Chandra Shekhar Hota, Badri Narayan, Chitra Subramaniam, K. K. Gopalakrishnan, Dr. Manjula Shroff, Aparajita Sarangi, MP (Bhubaneswar) Sujit Kumar ( Rajya Sabha MP), Malini Awasthi, Barsali Bhattacharyya, Sanjib Paliwal, Subroto Bagchi, Koral Dasgupta, Sonali Prasad, Radhika Seshan, Himanjali Sankar , Doorva Devarshi, Tanaya Pattnaik, Divya Dutta, Prof. Jatindra Kumar Nayak, Dr. Chandra Shekhar Hota, Ashok Kumar Bal , Nila Madhav Panda, Devdas Chhotray, Bibhu Achary, Surya Deo, Durga Prasad Panda, Guru Ramhari Dash, Lipi Parida, Manoh Parida and Sabyasachi Mohapatra, among others.
From Booker and Sahitya Akademi awardees to cultural historians, artists, diplomats, scientists, and storytellers, this illustrious line-up captures the diversity and dynamism that define KLF.
Ashok Kumar Bal, Writer, Festival Patron, and CEO, remarked: “Kalinga Literary Festival 2026 will be a landmark edition rooted in India’s literary soul yet open to the winds of global thought. Our sessions will traverse the rich tapestry of human experience from mythology to machine learning, from village idioms to world literature. At a time when the written word is competing with the digital din, KLF stands as a reminder that storytelling remains humanity’s most enduring technology.”
Rashmi Ranjan Parida, Festival Co-Director, said: “In our twelfth year, KLF continues to grow not just as a literary gathering, but as a movement of ideas. Every edition builds new bridges between languages and lands, between tradition and innovation. We believe stories connect societies, heal divides, and nurture empathy. KLF 2026 is an invitation to thinkers, dreamers, and readers to be part of a living dialogue that celebrates the power of words to transform lives.”
As the festival returns to the Temple City, Bhubaneswar once again prepares to embrace voices that enlighten and entertain. KLF 2026 is more than an event—it is a literary pilgrimage, a celebration where stories find new meanings and minds find new questions. This January, join the festival that continues to shape India’s creative conscience and inspire generations of readers and writers alike.
Alongside its literary celebrations, KLF 2026 will also host the 10th edition of the Kalinga Art Festival, bringing together painters, sculptors, and visual storytellers in a spectacular showcase of creativity.
Save the Dates: 8–11 January 2026, Venue: Mayfair Convention, Bhubaneswar
Join the movement. Register early and be part of India’s most inspiring festival of literature, art, and ideas.
