Bengaluru: A total of 130 speakers will take the stage at the two-day sixth edition of the Bangalore Literature Festival from October 28, with journalists, sportspeople and literary luminaries making for a mixed bag of speakers this year.
The festival, in keeping with its Speak Up and Speak Out theme, will start off with Remembering Gauri, with journalist Ammu Joseph, theatre personality Nimi Ravindran and actor Padmavati Rao on the panel.
Gauri Lankesh, who was assassinated on September 5 by unknown assailants, has dominated the national discourse on free speech and freedom of the press.
International authors at the Festival this year include celebrated Australian cricket writer Gideon Haigh, acclaimed South African writer Imraan Coovadia, Sri Lankan humourist Chhimi Tenduf-La and British journalist Adrian Levy.
Kannada authors are represented by Sahitya Yuva Puraskar winners Shanthi K Appanna, Vikram Hathwar and Abdul Rasheed.
Eminent historian Dr S. Settar will discuss the origin of the Kannada language, and a panel of eminent women autobiographers, including Bhargavi Narayan, Indira Lankesh and the evergreen Dr Vijayamma will be discussing the writings of prominent Kannada women writings.
Cricketer Anil Kumble will join journalists Gideon Haigh and Rajdeep Sardesai in conversation with Sharda Ugra on the topic ‘‘How India’s T20 World Cup Win Changed Indian and World Cricket’.
