Literary Events: Ananke Literature Festival happening virtually in August
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Ananke Literature Festival Returns with a New Name, Expanded Vision and Global South Conversations
The Ananke Literature Festival returns for its seventh edition with a renewed identity and an expanded literary vision, bringing together writers, publishers, translators, academics and literary practitioners from South Asia and beyond for three days of online conversations from August 13-15 2026.
Formerly known as the Ananke Women in Literature Festival, the event has adopted a new name that reflects its evolving scope. While continuing its longstanding commitment to amplifying women’s voices, the festival now embraces a wider literary community, welcoming allies and perspectives from across the Global South.
This year’s theme, Fault Lines: An Unmasking, explores the fractures—historical, political, cultural and deeply personal—that continue to shape societies across borders. Through discussions on migration, identity, language, publishing, memory, translation and resilience, the festival seeks to examine how literature can challenge dominant narratives and create space for dialogue in an increasingly divided world.
Founded in 2014 by Karachi-born, Dubai-based journalist and media consultant Sabin Muzaffar, Ananke began as a digital platform dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements and mentoring emerging voices. Since then, it has grown into an international literary and media initiative, offering digital training, editorial mentoring and opportunities for young women across the world while fostering conversations around inclusion, storytelling and digital advocacy.
The festival is directed by Namrata, who has led its programming for the past three years, curating discussions that bring together established and emerging voices from across the literary ecosystem.
This year’s programme reflects the festival’s interdisciplinary approach. Alongside conversations on migration, belonging, hidden histories and digital identities, several sessions will spotlight translation, independent publishing and literary archives. Marking Women in Translation Month, three panels have been curated by Zubaan, focusing on feminist writing in translation, literature from Northeast India and the publisher’s acclaimed Poster Women Archive, which documents the history of India’s women’s movement. Readomania will also curate a series of festival panels, adding further conversations on literature, publishing and contemporary writing.
Among the featured participants are translator and academic Rita Kothari, author Krupa Ge, and writer and scholar Sabah Mahmood Bashir, who will discuss the evolving landscape of translation across Indian languages.
The festival will feature two keynote addresses. Publisher and author Sahana Ahmed, founder of Bare Bones Publishing, will present Publishing: People, Process, Technology, and the Grace of Time, reflecting on the balance between technological innovation and the time literature needs to flourish. Joining her as keynote speaker is Tara Das, whose work in AI, publishing and literary advocacy has contributed significantly to conversations around books, culture and the publishing ecosystem in South Asia.
Other featured speakers include acclaimed writer and activist Meena Kandasamy, artist and poet Gautam Vegda, writer and academic Bhakti Shringarpure, novelist Rahman Abbas, historian and author Anam Zakaria, translator Fatima Rizvi, and representatives from literary initiatives including Qissa, which preserves immigrant oral histories, alongside independent literary magazines The Indus Auguries and The Little Journal.
Over the years, the festival has benefited from the guidance of distinguished publishing figures including Arpita Das (Yoda Press), Naveen Kishore (Seagull), Urvashi Butalia (Zubaan), Mehr F. Husain (Zuka Books), Dipankar Mukherjee (Readomania) and Aekta Kapoor (eShe). Their continued support has helped shape Ananke into a respected platform for literary exchange, cross-border collaboration and dialogue across the Global South.
As it enters its seventh edition under a new name, the Ananke Literature Festival continues to reaffirm its commitment to accessible, cross-border literary conversations. By bringing together diverse voices from across the Global South, the festival offers a space where literature, publishing and scholarship intersect to examine the complexities of our times.
The seventh edition of the Ananke Literature Festival will premiere on the festival’s YouTube channel next week, where audiences around the world can join these conversations and explore selected sessions from previous editions.
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