Oxford University Press (OUP) Managing Director (MD) Arshad Saeed Husain announced that the 6th Islamabad Literature Festival will be held from September 27-29, 2019 in Islamabad.
The festival, centred around the theme ‘The Focus is Tomorrow: Reflecting on the Past’, will feature a line-up of over 150 leading Pakistani and international speakers, authors, academics, journalists, and artists. ILF’s programme has been curated by an Advisory Board comprising prominent literary figures such as Muneeza Shamsie, Harris Khalique, Iftikhar Arif, Mujahid Barelvi, Salman Tarik Kureshi, and Tahmina Aziz Ayub.
“Following its tradition, this year’s festival will bring something unique for everyone. Since the first Islamabad Literature Festival in 2013, which drew over 15,000 visitors, the festival has grown tremendously and continuing the heritage of this literary event, OUP expects a footfall of more than 60,000 at this year’s ILF.”
OUP MD Arshad Saeed Husain further disclosed that Navid Shahzad and Hasina Moin would be the keynote speakers at the ILF inauguration while the closing ceremony would be addressed by Ishrat Husain and Anwar Maqsood. There would be more than 50 sessions with speakers from around eight countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Russia, Sri Lanka, Iran, Germany and China.
The 6th edition of the festival will feature talks, interviews, panel discussions, Urdu and English mushaira, sessions on Pashto and Punjabi writings, readings, author signings, performing arts, and documentary screenings. Moreover, around 9 book launches are planned this year which will be a treat for book lovers.
Aamer Hussein, Anna Suvorova, Bettina Robotka, George Fulton, JochenHippler, Julien Columeau, PatchamuthuIllangovan, Soniah Kamal, Vafa Yazdan Manesh, and H.E. Yao Jing are some of the international speakers participating in the festival. The local literary luminaries, academics, and intellectuals to be featured in the 6th ILF include Abdul Basit, Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Afrasiab Khattak, Amin Gulgee, Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Asad Umar, Asif Yasin Malik, Asghar Nadeem Syed, Athar Abbas, Atiya Khan, FasiZaka, Fouzia Saeed, HM Naqvi, Hafiz A Pasha, Haroon Khalid Akhtar, Hina Rabbani Khar, Huma Baqai, Humayun Saeed, Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, Kishwar Naheed, Maheen Usmani, Moeed Pirzada, Mohammed Hanif, Moneeza Hashmi, Nadeem Farooq Paracha, Nafisa Shah, Nasir Abbas Nayyar, NidaKirmani, Niilofur Farrukh, Noorul Huda Shah, Omar Shahid Hamid, Osman Khalid Butt, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Rasul Bakhsh Rais, Raza Rabbani, Salman Rashid, Sania Nishtar, Shabbar Zaidi, Shahnaz Sheikh, Taha Kehar and Talat Masood.
OUP MD Arshad Saeed Husain further disclosed that Navid Shahzad and Hasina Moin would be the keynote speakers at the ILF inauguration while the closing ceremony would be addressed by Ishrat Husain and Anwar Maqsood. There would be more than 50 sessions with speakers from around eight countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Russia, Sri Lanka, Iran, Germany and China
Some of the exciting sessions planned for the ILF are: Iftikhar Arif: Life and Work; Kashmir: The Valley Seized; Teen Saltanaton ki Daastan (An Historical Chinese Novel) translated by Zahoor Ahmed; Striking Peace in a Nuclear Environment; Depicting the Woman in Literature and Drama; Pakistani Cinema: The Rise, The Fall…and the Rise Again?; Urdu Main Tareekhi Fiction Nigari: Quratulain Hyder, Abdullah Hussein, Intizar Husain; Satire in the Time of Tabdeeli; 1919: Jallianwala Bagh and the Century that Followed; and Potoharka Adabi Manzarnama. Two documentaries, ‘Indus Blues’ and ‘The QalandarCode’, will also be screened at the festival. Performing arts form an integral part of ILF. This year, the performances include Anand Taandav (Dance of Peace and Understanding) by Iftikhar Masih; 22 Crore: A Tribute to the revolutionary poet Habib Jalib by Dugdugi; Jahan e Sufi (folk and qawwali fusion music) by Bakhshi Brothers; Ghazal Night with Hamid Ali Khan; and stand-up comedy featuring Shafaat Ali.
Arshad Saeed Husain has invited the people of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and the entire region to attend ILF and join in the festivities. Sponsorship support is being provided by K Electric, FES, HUBCO, Martin Dow, Tehzeeb Foundation, Embassy of France, US Consulate, Millennium Education, PARCO, British Council, and Goethe Institute. Pathfinder Group is the event’s Security Partner and SI Global is the Technology Partner.
The ILF was launched in April 2013 and has been a resounding success right from the start. Inspired by the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF), the Children’s Literature Festival (CLF) was launched at the end of 2011. The momentum begun in Pakistan with the KLF led not only to the CLF but also to the Lahore and Islamabad Literature Festivals (LLF, ILF), both launched in 2013, and the Teachers’ Literature Festival (TLF) which was launched in 2014. This momentum reflects the depth of our historical literary and cultural roots, and the great desire and energy in Pakistan- irrespective of the city in which the Festival is held-to seek knowledge, understanding, and creative growth.
ILF seeks to create an intellectual space in which the diversity and pluralism in Pakistan’s society and this is expressed by the authors from literary and cultural traditions beyond Pakistan’s borders are freely accessible to people in an open and participatory manner.
Its objectives are to represent intellectual traditions and cultural diversity through languages and academic disciplines, To create a forum for intellectual dialogue and inter-cultural harmony through celebration of writing, publications, and performing arts, To provide opportunities through which the world can see and connect with the literature, culture, and social ethos of Pakistan, and from which Pakistan can encounter what is happening in the world, To promote artistic expression and emerging Pakistani and international literary talent, To encourage counter narratives, cross-pollination of ideas, and apolitical views.