Ananke Women In Literature Festival Announces Initial Speakers

Transformative conversations about inclusive publishing, the migratory experience of language, rise of the graphic novel, transnational feminism and media are some of the central AnankeWLF themes.
Ananke Women In Literature Festival Announces Initial Speakers

Eminent names from across South Asia, MENA and beyond will be gracing the third edition of Ananke’s Women in Literature Festival 2023 (AnankeWLF. Planned to be held on April 11th and 12th, independent publishers, authors, filmmakers, artists, writers and journalists will congregate remotely to engage in dialogue focusing on new immersive approaches to storytelling, publishing and experiential interpretations. The conversation will also center on the importance of inclusion in the production and dissemination of the written word, which not only envisions to diversify and democratize the publishing landscape, it offers access and representation.

In 2014, Ananke embarked on a quest for making a positive change. It began with publishing stories, interviews and articles of women’s lived experiences to creating empowering spaces built on the mortars of knowledge, cooperation and by galvanizing women’s collective capabilities. The journey still continues; the vision not only remains the same – year on year – the platform re-affirms its commitment to initiate inclusive conversations and positive narratives in the digital realm and beyond.

Aligned with this objective, the third edition of the Festival is delighted to announce the first set of confirmed speakers who will be sharing their views and perspectives on a variety of topics. Speakers include: Naveen Kishore, Arpita Das, Annie Zaidi, Naima Rashid, Amina Yaqin, Suchitra Vijayan, Meena Kandasamy, Jayson Iwen, Isabel Cole, Hammad Rind, Samya Arif, Sulagna Mukhopadhyay, Safinah Danish Elahi, Taiba Abbas and Nilanjana Bhowmick. More names will be to announced next week.

Talking about his participation, author and poet, Jayson Iwen said: “I look forward to participating in the rich, transformative conversations that are made possible by Ananke’s Women in Literature Festival.”

Jayson Iwen’s book Roze & Blud won the 2020 Miller Williams Poetry Prize and was a finalist for the National Poetry Series. His other published books are Dick, Gnarly Wounds, A Momentary Jokebook, and Six Trips in Two Directions. He co-translated Jawdat Fakhreddine’s Lighthouse for the Drowning and Salim Barakat’s Come, Take a Gentle Stab. His poetry, prose, and translations have appeared in many journals, including Cream City Review, Fence, New American Writing, Nimrod, Painted Bride Quarterly, Pleiades, Tikkun, Water~Stone Review, and World Literature Today.

The event will also feature Spotlight and Publisher’s Corner sessions where guests will talk about their journey, the creative process and the art of publishing.

Partners of the event include Seagull Books, Zuka Books, Neem Tree Press, Yoda Press and Readomania. More partners and collaborators will be announced soon.

Watch this space for more information!

Festival Topics Ideas (not limited to the below) 

  1. Exploring New Pathways to Creativity and Literature
  2. The Language of Grief vis-à-vis the Dialectics of Freedom & Autonomy
  3. The Migratory Experience of Language
  4. Digital Disruption & Content
  5. Decentralizing the human to realize an inclusive world – Ending the era of the Vitruvian man
  6. Reimagining Anthropocene: A post-humanist exploration of climate resilience, urbanism, and nonhuman habitat loss in South Asian fiction
  7. Blurred Lines: On Science, Fiction and Fantasy
  8. The Age of the Graphic Novel
  9. Inclusive Publishing
  10. Publisher’s Corner
  11. Spotlight
  12. Illustrated Resistance
  13. Transnational Feminism in Print and Media

Image design by Nakiya Nava

Share This:

Categories
InternationalNews

RELATED BY