Shillong Literary Festival to return in November with new writing prize for Northeast

The sixth edition of the Shillong Literary Festival will be held from November 12 to 14 at Ward’s Lake, with a new initiative aimed at identifying and supporting emerging writers from the Northeast.

Organised with the support of the Meghalaya Tourism Department, the three-day festival will bring together writers, artists, thinkers and readers for discussions, storytelling, performances and other literary events.

A key addition this year is ‘First Bloom: Discovering New Writing from the Northeast’, which will focus on emerging fiction and narrative non-fiction writers from the region. The initiative carries a total prize of Rs 75,000, with Rs 50,000 for the winner and Rs 25,000 for the runner-up.

The festival will also hold two workshops on careers in literature on October 26 at the State Convention Centre in Shillong.

The first session, from 10:30 am to noon, will feature literary agent Kanishka Gupta. The second, scheduled from 3 pm to 5 pm, will feature writers Mitra Phukan and Lalnunsanga Ralte. Each workshop will have 100 seats, with registrations being accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

The 2026 festival follows a pre-festival event held earlier this year at Bikaner House in New Delhi, which featured actor Naseeruddin Shah, 2026 Pulitzer Prize winner Suparna Sharma and journalist Shekhar Gupta.

The Shillong edition will bring together storytelling traditions from the Khasi, Jaintia and Garo communities with contemporary Indian and international literary voices. Discussions are expected to explore literature, culture and their relationship with wider social issues.

Previous editions have featured writers including Banu Mushtaq, Vikram Seth, Shobhaa De, Shehan Karunatilaka and Francesc Miralles.

Last year's festival recorded more than 13,000 visitors. The upcoming edition will also include cultural and culinary programmes, with musicians from the Chief Minister's Meghalaya Grassroots Music Programme performing each evening. Food stalls will showcase local cuisine alongside the literary events.

The festival is also being positioned as part of Meghalaya's efforts to expand cultural tourism and its creative economy by creating opportunities for writers, performers, artists, local businesses and audiences.