

KALPETTA: The third edition of the Wayanad Literature Festival (WLF) will be held at Dwaraka in Mananthavady from December 20 to 23. The biennial festival will bring together writers, filmmakers, artists, academics and cultural figures from across the world to Wayanad.
“A literature festival in a remote agrarian landscape draws its strength from the community itself. It becomes a celebration of ordinary people, their resilience, creativity and need for representation,” Dr Vinod K Jose, founder and director of WLF, told reporters in Kalpetta on Thursday.
Curator and senior journalist Leena Gita Reghunath said the festival’s growing popularity reflects its independence and strong programming. Curator V H Nishad said WLF has evolved into a vibrant community space that celebrates diversity and meaningful cultural engagement.
The early bird delegate pass is priced at Rs 799, while daily entry ticket for adults costs Rs 50. Tickets are available through the festival website. The list of speakers for the 2026 edition will be announced in the coming months.
The inaugural edition of WLF in 2022 featured more than 100 speakers and attracted around 20,000 visitors. By 2024, WLF had expanded significantly, hosting over 400 speakers and drawing more than 1.1 lakh attendees. The 2022 edition was inaugurated by then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, while then Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah opened the 2024 edition.
Past participants
The previous two editions featured prominent personalities including Arundhati Roy, Justice Jasti Chelameswar, Christophe Jaffrelot, John Keay, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Prakash Raj, Basil Joseph, K Satchidanandan, N S Madhavan and others.