Shillong, Sep 29: The 6th Shillong Literary Festival will return from November 12 to 14 at Ward’s Lake, bringing together writers, thinkers and artists for three days of books, ideas and storytelling.
Supported by the Department of Tourism, the festival has grown into a major cultural platform set against Shillong’s cherry blossoms — often described as the ‘Kyoto of the West’.
This edition will introduce “FIRST BLOOM: Discovering New Writing from the Northeast” for emerging fiction and non-fiction writers from the region, with a prize pool of Rs 75,000 — Rs 50,000 for winner and Rs 25,000 for runner-up.
As a pre-festival build-up, two workshops on careers in literature will be held on October 26 at State Convention Centre, Shillong. Literary agent Kanishka Gupta will lead the morning session, followed by writers Mitra Phukan and Lalnunsanga Ralte.
This edition follows a prelude at Bikaner House, New Delhi earlier this year featuring Naseeruddin Shah, 2026 Pulitzer winner Suparna Sharma and journalist Shekhar Gupta.
This year will spotlight folklore of Khasi, Jaintia and Garo communities alongside contemporary writing. The festival, which has hosted Banu Mushtaq, Vikram Seth, Shobhaa De, Shehan Karunatilaka and Francesc Miralles, drew over 13,000 visitors last year.
Evenings will feature live music by artists of CM’s Meghalaya Grassroots Music Programme and local food stalls, boosting the State’s creative economy and cultural tourism, the Tourism Department said in a press release.
