Guwahati: Positioning Assam as a growing hub for global literary exchange, the third edition of the Dibrugarh University International Literature Festival (DUILF) will host more than 150 writers, poets and speakers from 25 countries in February, organisers announced on Friday.
Acclaimed litterateurs expected to attend include Ann Morgan, author of A Year of Reading the World; award-winning Djiboutian novelist Abdourahman Waberi; South Korean author Kyung-sook Shin; renowned Indian writer Yesse Dorei Thongchi; celebrated Australian author Gideon Haigh; and Egyptian novelist Mai Khaled, among others.
Organised by Dibrugarh University in association with the Foundation for Culture, Arts and Literature (FOCAL), a Guwahati-based non-profit trust, the four-day festival beginning February 18 aims to further strengthen India’s footprint on the global literary map.
Alongside authors, the festival will feature storytellers, performers and cultural practitioners, with an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 literary enthusiasts expected to attend.
DUILF 2026 will include author conversations, panel discussions spanning poetry, fiction and international affairs, as well as sessions on films and sports, readings, workshops and community-led cultural experiences.
DUILF curator and chief coordinator Rahul Jain said the festival was conceived as a meeting ground for global literary voices and the cultural imagination of North East India. “The 2026 edition deepens this dialogue by bringing Middle Eastern and North African narratives into conversation with young audiences, students and readers,” he said.
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British author Ann Morgan, who will be attending DUILF for the third time, said the festival offers a rare platform for meaningful exchange. “It is uncommon to see such a wide range of international voices engaging with young people in this way. The warmth and hospitality of Assam help forge connections that last a lifetime, opening hearts and minds,” she said.
