December 21-25, 2025
Festival Theme
This year’s thematic lens will explore: “States of Stories: Bihar & The North East”
- The storytelling traditions, folk narratives, poetry, and contemporary literature from Bihar and North Eastern states (Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim).
- Literary icons from these regions alongside emerging writers, poets, lyricists, and performers.
- Cultural intersections through cuisine, craft, music, and oral traditions from both regions.
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Diaspora Focus: Routes to Roots
Possible Partner Countries for Cultural Collaborations:
Mauritius Laos South Africa South Korea Bhutan Cambodia Thailand Seychelles | Sri Lanka Trinidad and Tobago Nepal Vietnam Japan Indonesia Suriname Fiji |
Through the “Routes to Roots” segment, we aim to:
- Celebrate literary and cultural connections of Indian-origin communities abroad.
- Highlight diaspora literature reflecting migration, memory, and identity.
- Invite authors, scholars, and artists from these countries to participate in panel discussions, performances, and readings.
- Build diplomatic and cultural bridges with partner embassies and cultural institutions.
Festival Features
- Sessions
- Mainstage Conversations: with literary legends and young influencers.
- Regional Spotlights: Dedicated segments for Bihar and each North Eastern state.
- Language Labs: Workshops in Maithili, Bhojpuri, Magahi, Angika, Bajjika, Surjapuri, Hindi, Bodo, Assamese, Manipuri, and more.
- Diaspora Dialogues: International panels exploring literature of displacement and belonging.
- Youth Takeover Stage: Performances, poetry slams, and talks by new-age storytellers and social media writers.
- Attractions: Heritage Walks & Literary Trails around Nalanda and Rajgir.
- Interactive session cum Press meets in various locations: Patna, Mumbai, Guwahati, Kolkata, New Delhi & Nalanda.
- Other Highlights
- Book Fair & Publisher Pavilion.
- Tribal and Folk Art Exhibitions.
- Local Cuisine Festival.
- Poetry Under the Stars (Evening open mic & musical poetry sessions).
- Diaspora café.
- Various outdoor activities such as Yoga, meditation, laughter therapy etc.
- Music Jam Session.
Long-Term Vision
- Establish Nalanda as a permanent hub for literary and cultural scholarship.
- Foster a literary tourism circuit around Nalanda-Rajgir-Bodh Gaya-Vaishali.
- Develop archival and translation projects for regional literature.
- Mentor young curators, translators, and writers through year-round fellowships and residencies.
Young Brigade segment at Nalanda Literature Festival’25
- 10 Credible Novelists Under 30 (Global)
These emerging authors have been recognized for their unique voice, awards, or viral success:
- Leila Mottley (b. 2002) | USA | Nightcrawling (Booker Prize Longlist)
- Caleb Azumah Nelson (b. 1993) | UK | Open Water (Costa First Novel Award)
- Akil Kumarasamy | USA | Half Gods (Young South Asian diasporic voice)
- Saba Sams | UK | Send Nudes (Short story collection, Gen Z perspective)
- Jyoti Patel | UK | The Things That We Lost (Winner, #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize)
- Mira Sethi | Pakistan | Are You Enjoying? (Satirical youth voices from South Asia)
- Anuk Arudpragasam | Sri Lanka | A Passage North (Booker Prize shortlist, under 30 when debuted)
- Téa Obreht | Serbia/USA | The Tiger’s Wife (New Yorker 20 under 40, began young)
- Xuan Juliana Wang | China/USA | Home Remedies (Short stories on immigrant youth)
- Nikita Gill | India/UK | Fierce Fairytales (Instagram poet, popular among Gen Z)
- Five Young Writers with Bihar Connections (Under 30)
Emerging or promising voices from Bihar, writing fiction or literary prose:
- Alok Ranjan Jha – Short story writer from Gaya, active in online Hindi literary circles.
- Iram Fatima – Young Muslim woman author from Patna; writes feminist fiction in Urdu and Hindi.
- Raghav Sinha – Debuted on Amazon KDP with YA fiction; from Muzaffarpur.
- Nisha Kumari – Mithila-based storyteller writing in Maithili and Hindi (folk-modern fusion).
- Shubham Kumar – Spoken word performer from Bhagalpur; experimenting with prose-poetry and Gen Z storytelling on Instagram.
✅ We should also consider launching a “Call for Manuscripts” or “Young Voices of Bihar” contest to spotlight more.
Also, can start something like “Nalanda Literature Prize”
