BLF 2025 to get bigger, greener and bolder at Freedom Park

For schedules, registrations and author bios, visit the BLF website or follow blrlitfest on X and Instagram.

Bengaluru

The Bangalore Literature Festival (BLF), the city’s flagship celebration of books and ideas, is gearing up for a landmark 14th edition with an expansive line-up of nearly 300 authors, speakers, performers and thinkers from India and across the world. Scheduled for December 6 and 7, the festival will take place at a new venue — Freedom Park, Seshadri Road — offering a larger, greener and more accessible space in the heart of Bengaluru.

Once the city’s central jail, Freedom Park today stands as a reminder of Bengaluru’s transformation from a site of confinement to a space of community expression. “Public spaces, like literature and people, evolve and carry new meanings,” said civic evangelist and festival founding team member V Ravichandar, calling the venue symbolic of the city’s spirit.

A staggering line-up of global and indian voices

The 2025 edition brings together some of the biggest names across genres. Among the headline speakers are International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq, British crime writer Clare Mackintosh, renowned AI journalist Karen Hao, poet-novelist Kazim Ali, Australian playwright Julie Janson, author and parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor, leading essayist Pankaj Mishra, and bestselling authors Amish, Chetan Bhagat, Shobhaa De, and Anand Neelakantan.

Other notable participants include filmmaker Gauri Shinde, comedian Vir Das, poets Akhil Katyal and Arundhathi Subramaniam, former R&AW chief Vikram Sood, mathematician Chandrashekhar Khare, conservationist Ullas Karanth, and celebrated Bengaluru names like Sudha Murty, Rohini Nilekani, Jeet Thayil, Anita Nair and Vivek Shanbhag.

The festival will feature a rich mix of fiction, history, crime writing, geopolitics, economics, social development, AI, gender, mythology, pop culture, food heritage, mental health, sports writing, translations, and more.

Authors across domains and borders

The two-day event hosts prominent writers across categories:

• Novelists and fiction writers such as Anjum Hasan, Aishwarya Jha, Stephen Alter and Sonora Jha.
• International guests including Philip McLaren, Tony Hughes-d’Aeth, Hilary McGeachy, Thammika Songkaeo and poet James Shea.
• Historians such as Anirudh Kanisetti, Kavitha Rao and Vikrant Pande.
• Crime and thriller authors including Harini Nagendra and Ramjee Chandran.
• Romance writers, speculative fiction voices, and business thinkers from Arvind Subramanian to Harish Bhat.
• Health and well-being experts like Nandita Iyer and Sujata Kelkar Shetty.
• Journalists including Manu Joseph, Anna MM Vetticad, Diaa Hadid and Nandini Ramnath.
• Karnataka’s literary voices, from folklorist Krishnamurthy Hanuru to environmental writer Nagesh Hegde.

Top publishing industry figures — including Chiki Sarkar, Udayan Mitra, and Karthik Venkatesh — will also participate, many of them at LitMart, the festival’s pitching platform for aspiring authors.

A festival designed for dialogue and discovery

This year’s venue allows for large outdoor gatherings, quiet reading corners, historic corridors for intimate conversations, and multiple program stages — four for the main sessions and three dedicated exclusively to children.

True to tradition, BLF will host LitMart, ScreenLit, and an expansive festival bookstore. Award ceremonies include the Atta Galatta–BLF Book Prize, the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Book Prize, the Deodar Prize, and the BWW RK Anand Book Prize.

Children’s literature carnival (C|L|F)

The popular C|L|F returns with 75+ sessions for ages 4+, 8+ and 12+, featuring storytellers, illustrators, writers, magicians, musicians and theatre artists including Roopa Pai, Aditi Krishnakumar, Menaka Raman, Priya Kuriyan, Nina Sabnani and Savio Mascarenhas.

Music, performances and cultural highlights

The mornings will open with performances such as Aeri Sakhi by Smita Bellur and Universe in a Pot by Sumana Chandrashekar and Saitejas Chandrashekar.

Open to all, easily accessible

Entry is free, with recommended registration. The venue is within walking distance of Central College (Purple Line) and Majestic (Green Line) Metro Stations. Paid parking for two-wheelers and four-wheelers is available next door.

A civic celebration of words

Backed by Friends of BLF and supported significantly this year by the Infosys Foundation, the festival continues its mission to celebrate Bengaluru’s creative spirit. Festival Director Shinie Antony said, “If you live from one edition to the next, the wait is over. Prepare to be taken by storm — a storm of beautiful, apt, necessary words.”