The Fairway Galle Literary Festival 2019, which began on Wednesday with top international and Sri Lankan authors, will conclude tomorrow at the Galle Fort.
The annual literary festival has attracted literary enthusiasts across the globe since its first launch in 2007.
British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka James Dauris tweeted, “Here in Sri Lanka the renowned Galle Literary Festival is in full swing, again with an impressive line-up of British novelists, historians, playwrights and journalists. It was great fun hearing Anthony Horowitz and Lucy Fleming talking to a full house about James Bond and Ian Fleming.”
A full-day Sinhala program that brought together ‘most thought-provoking and creative poets, novelists, translators, columnists, theatre directors and critics for discussion, debate and readings’ was also held for the third consecutive time this year. A Tamil Day of the festival was also held.
The children’s program, which commenced yesterday, will conclude today at the Thomas Galle School. The event for children aged two years and above includes sessions with local and international writers and performing artistes, along with ‘live action re-enactments of parts of the Trojan War and the Ramayana, a Mission to Mars with the Game Masters from Lanka Comic Con, literary quizzes, a treasure hunt and a safari based on the endangered species in Sri Lanka’.
The childrden will also take part in storytelling sessions, interactive workshops with leading authors and an art therapist, a poetry sessions with Ohan Hominis and Larry T Hill and theatre workshops with Tracy Holsinger, Brandon Ingram and Kimaya de Silva.
A discussion with Madeleine Thien on ‘Don’t Say We Have Nothing’, followed by a conversation with Kamila Shamsie on ‘Home Fire’ and Anne Enright on ‘The Works’, will be held today.