The Galle Literary Festival has announced its highly anticipated first author line-up for its 12th iteration in 2025. From 6 February - 9 February 2025, the Festival will welcome a high-profile cast of local and international speakers to the Galle Fort. With a programme including International Booker Prize winners, bestselling authors, celebrated translators and stand-up comedians, the Festival’s 12th edition promises to be its most diverse to date. 

The initial line-up reflects the Festival’s commitment to celebrating global voices. 22 speakers from more than 10 countries feature, including the winners of the International Booker Prize in 2024: German author Jenny Erpenbeck and translator Michael Hofmann. Also included in the announcement are British broadcaster Louise Minchin; bestselling authors Afua Hirsch and Sathnam Sanghera; mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik; and Kate Mosse, novelist and co-founder of the Women’s Prize. 

The full speaker line-up features Ravinder Bhogal, Jenny Erpenbeck, Saraid de Silva, Saba Douglas-Hamilton, Afua Hirsch, Michael Hofmann, Sunela Jayewardene, Ramya Jirasinghe, Sharanya Manivannan, Helen Macdonald, Louise Minchin, Greg Mosse, Kate Mosse, Devdutt Pattanaik, Sashi Perera, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai, Aube Rey Lescure, Adam Rutherford, Razeen Sally, Sathnam Sanghera, Philippe Sands and Shyam Selvadurai.

Earlier this year, from January 25 - January 28, 2024 the Galle Fort transformed into a sprawling art gallery through the Art Trail | Galle Literary Festival, and the Exclusive Launch of ARTRA Magazine’s Galle Fort in The Contemporary Edition. On 27 January, ARTRA proudly launched its 66th edition “Galle Fort in the Contemporary, through an exclusive art talk with an exciting panel of legendary artists, art personalities and academics including Jagath Weerasinghe, Channa Daswatte and Chevaan Daniel, moderated by ARTRA’s Editor-In-Chief Azara Jaleel. The Launch of ARTRA’s ‘Galle Fort in the Contemporary’ Edition explored the Galle Fort as a symbol of Sri Lanka’s complex past and its architectural legacy, and delved into the themes and significance of the edition– discussing the cultural significance of the Galle Fort and its enduring appeal through the lens of art and architecture, both local and international. To purchase ARTRA Magazine’s ‘Galle Fort in the Contemporary’ Edition click here

Since its launch in 2007, the Galle Literary Festival has celebrated a wide array of creative arts, ranging from the literary, poetic and culinary to visual arts such as painting and photography. The Art Trail featured a dynamic programme line-up of international and ARTRA’s Emerging Artists | Best of 2023, 2022 and 2020 exhibitions, Meet-the-Artist sessions, open houses to heritage art spaces and exclusive workshops hosted by established contemporary artists. The Art Trail became an exciting platform for passionate dialogue about art, heritage, history and social criticism across a range of artistic mediums, and featured the contemporary works of local and international artists such as Fabienne Francotte, Marco Manamperi, Pulasthi Hadunge,Charles Uzzell-Edwards, Vineet Vohra and more. To find out more about ARTRA’s partnership with the Galle Literary Festival 2024 and our Art Trail success, read here. 

Held largely within the walls of the ancient citadel of the Galle Fort, the Festival has a strong sense of community at its heart. A UNESCO World Heritage Site on Sri Lanka’s southern coast, the Fort was first built by the Portuguese and later extended by the Dutch and British. Now home to one of the island’s most diverse communities, Galle Fort’s cobbled streets, hotels and terracotta-roofed houses generously invite local and international visitors to gather for a long weekend intended to inspire, educate and entertain. 

More speakers for the Galle Literary Festival 2025 will be revealed later this year, followed by the full programme. Ticket information, including details of Early Bird Passes, will be circulated soon and event tickets will be available to book exclusively through the Galle Literary Festival website. For further information about the forthcoming Galle Literary Festival in 2025, visit their website galleliteraryfestival.com