In the distinguished presence of Anjum Katyal, Director of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival; Swagat Sengupta, CEO of Apeejay Oxford Bookstores; and Neeta Sreedharan, Programming Head, Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival,  the 17th edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival (AKLF) was unveiled at a special curtain-raiser at the famous Oxford Bookstore. The announcement confirmed AKLF’s status as one of Kolkata’s most beloved cultural gatherings, honoring literature, thought, and deep conversation. The festival, which brings together some of the most influential and captivating literary voices of our day, will take place at the ancient Alipore Museum from January 9–11, 2026.

The captivating session “The Thrill of the Legend”, which included best-selling novelist Amish Tripathi speaking with Priyadarshinee Guha, was the high point of the AKLF 2026 curtain-raiser.

AKLF 2026 will showcase an outstanding group of authors, intellectuals, artists, and public figures, including Akshay Jaitley, Amit Lodha, Anand Neelakantan, Anita Agnihotri, Anita Nair, Aparna Sen, Arunava Sinha, Bachi Karkaria, Benyamin, Brinda Karat, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Dr. Helmut Böttiger, Durjoy Datta, Jeet Thayil, Jerry Pinto, Luke Coutinho, Mallika Dua, Pamela Philipose, Pavan K. Varma, Priyambada Jayakumar, Ratnaboli Ray, Riri Trivedi, Ruchir Joshi, Satyarth Nayak, Shobhaa De, Sundar Sarukkai, Swastika Mukherjee Usha Uthup and Vijender Chauhan, and others.

The festival will take place across Alipore Museum, Oxford Bookstore, and The Park, Kolkata.

It consists of sessions such as Aparna Sen Unplugged, Crime and Punishment: Tales of the Dark Side, Tok Jhaal Mishti: What Sets Bengal’s Cuisine Apart, Surviving the Dark: Abuse and Women’s Experience, Motherlode: Mining the Myths, Duty Calls: Police and the Crime Thriller, Celebrating the City: Kolkata Stories, and On Living, Dying and Everything that Matters,  among several others.

A dynamic fusion of literature, film, music, history, wellness, politics, food culture, and current social conversation is what the festival promises.

Young readers will be engaged by interactive “meet the author” events, creative workshops, word games, and storytelling at the Oxford Junior Literary Festival (OJLF), which will take place at Oxford Bookstore. OJLF is intended to inspire the next generation of readers and innovators by igniting curiosity and fostering a love of books. In the meantime, the Poetry Café at Alipore Museum will provide a vibrant venue for both established and up-and-coming poets to present their work, promoting a lively interchange of concepts and creative expression.

For more details, visit www.AKLF.IN

Priyanka Dutta