Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Friday, 20 October 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The much-awaited Fairway Galle Literary Festival returns for the ninth time at its home, the UNESCO World heritage site of Galle Fort, Sri Lanka.
In partnership with Fairway Holdings for thethird year, The Fairway Galle Literary Festival will take place from 24 to 28 January.
The Fairway Galle Literary Festival is Sri Lanka’s only dedicated literary festival and will feature renowned and accomplished authors, filmmakers, radio broadcasters, newspaper editors and academics from countries around the world including England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Guyana, Pakistan, India and Tasmania.
Highlights of the 2018 Festival include the attendance of Pankaj Mishra, author of ‘Age of Anger’(2017) andof ShrabaniBasu, whose novel ‘Victoria and Abdul’ has just been made into a major motion picture starring Dame Judi Dench;also in attendance acclaimed film producer David, Lord Puttnam, the recipient of 10 Oscars who memorably brought us ‘Chariots of Fire.’
Other acclaimed writers include BachiKarkaria whose recent publication ‘In Hot Blood’ is the first non-fiction account of the famous Nanavati murder case that was to signal the end of the jury system in India, Alexander McCall Smith, Emeritus Professor of Medical Ethics at the University of Edinburgh, whose popular ‘No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency’ novels follow a female detectivein Botswana.
Yet other authors include Bruce Wannell who is a scholar, linguist and travel writer;his works include ‘Sufism: Mystical Writings of Islam’ (2007) and books on Iran and Ancient Persia. Guyanese - born broadcaster, novelist, poet and academic David Dabydeenis prolific writer whose first collection of poems ‘Slave Song’ (1984) won the Commonwealth Poetry Prize.
HilaliNoordeen is the only living former Sri Lankan President of the Oxford Union (1983) (the other two former Presidents Lalith Athulathmudali and Lakshman Kadirgamar were assassinated). Pakistani journalist and media professional LaaleenSukera’s latest project ‘Austenistan’, is a Jane Austen inspired anthology set in Pakistani society and will be published by Bloomsbury.
Sri Lankan authors will include Nayomi Munaweera whose book ‘What Lies Between Us’ won the Best English Novel at the State Literary Awards 2017, Ashok Ferrey, Channa Daswatte, VivimarieVanderPoorten and CharulathaAbeysekara among others.
Over the years, the Fairway Galle Literary Festival has created a special identity for itself based on content, diversity, organisation and its unique location. The Festival is set in and around the Dutch Galle Fort, originally a 16th century Portuguese Fort but captured by the Dutch in the 17th century.
The Festival aims to engage people in intellectual discussion, animated debates and intimate conversations, while searching to express and learn something new. It hopes to inspire and motivate those who participate through interaction between artistes and audiences. Today, the Festival has become something much more than just than a literary soiree. It also features film appreciation, poetry at teatime, gourmet dinners, schools events, a children’s programme, a Sinhala Day, a Galle Art Trail, classical music concerts, jazz events, cabaret and historic city walks. Two literary prizes, namely the Fairway National Literary Awards and the Edward Lear Prize for Poetry are awarded at the festival.
While portraying literature and the arts, the Festival also embraces the responsibility of sharing and fostering English through creativity. Participants are encouraged to express themselves through the Festival’s outreach programmes in Galle and Jaffna which include the Mini Children’s Outreach Festival, the North South University Collaboration Programand the Teacher Training Program.
The Mini Children’s Outreach Festival will bring together children from Galle, Kurunegala and Jaffna to a programme held in at the Martin Wickramasinghe Folk Museum, which in turn pays tribute to one of Sri Lanka’s foremost authors – MartinWickramasinghe.
The North-South University Collaboration Program brings together students and professors from Sri Lanka’s National Universities to visit and participate in the Festival over five days. The brainchild of former Festival Curator Shyam Selvedurai, this programworks towards reconciliation and bonding of young people from around the island.
The Teacher Training Outreach Program will be held at the Amarasuriya Teacher Training College in Unawatuna for trainee teachers and teachers from schools in Galle. This programwill host Festival authors who will be conducting special workshops for the attendees.
The Festival recognises the critical role that its partners play in its continuance. Its overall success is owing to their distinctive and diverse contributions, which must be noted with great appreciation.
Fairway Holdings is now in its third year as the Title Sponsor.Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau is the Official Destination Partner. Jetwing Hotels is the Official Hospitality Partner. MBC/MTV Networks Pvt. Ltd. is the Official Broadcasting Partner. Sri Lanka Telecom PLCis the Official Telecommunication Partner. Unilever Foods and Amari Galle are Gold Partners.
The US Embassy, Amangalla, The Fort Printers, Anim8 and the Owl and the Pussycat support the Festival as Silver Partners.The National Lotteries Board, Galle Fort Hotel, Fortaleza, Galle Henna Beach, Watermart, Jetwing Travels and MCN are Bronze Partners.The Goethe-Institut, the Embassy of Switzerland, the Embassy of the Netherlands, the High Commission of Bangladesh, Global Affairs Canada, the British Council and the Alliance Française Sri Lanka support the Festival as Cultural Partners.Fort Bazaar Hotel and Spa, Tamarind Hill and The Bartizan are Accommodation Partners. Friends of the Festival comprise Barefoot, Perera Hussein Publishing House, Thomas Gall School, Leena Hirdaramani and Room to Read.Mydeal.lk is returning as Ticketing Partner for 2018 while The Foto Cube is the Photography Partner for 2018. Wijeya Newspapers continues to support the Festival as Exclusive Print Media and Web Partner.
Follow the Festival website at http://www.galleliteraryfestival.com, its Facebook Page @Gallelitfest, and other social media streams on Twitter and Instagram for the full lineup of authors and logistical information.
