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An open book on a wooden jetty by a calm lake at sunrise, palms on the far shore and a coral sun low in the sky.

Chapter 1:
The Pause.Kollam International Literature Festival

31 December 2026 – 4 January 2027 · Kollam

Get your passExplore the programme

The first chapter begins in92 days · 14 hours · 47 minutes

The Pause

The world never stops.

At the turn of the year, KILF invites Kollam to pause by Ashtamudi Lake: to read, to listen, and to begin again.

Pause. Turn a page.

Why AshtamudiStill water, eight arms around one city, and a wetland worth protecting.

New Year’s Eve

Turn the page.

Shanka Tribe, a Kerala band with organic and tribal trance influences, plays the old year out and the new one in at Ashramam Maidan, right up to the countdown over Ashtamudi.

New Year’s Eve is included with the Festival Pass, ₹499.

The whole evening

The evening · 31.12.2026

  1. 17:00Opening conversation with M. MukundanSreenarayana Guru Cultural Centre
  2. 18:15The lamp is lit at sunsetAshramam Maidan
  3. 19:00The year in books8 Point Art Cafe
  4. 20:30Shanka Tribe, live by the lakeAshramam Maidan
  5. 23:45Countdown on Ashtamudi, with Shanka TribeAshramam Maidan
  6. 00:00Hello, 2027Ashramam Maidan

Voices

Voices by the lake.

ProposedProposed line-up, subject to confirmation.

Literature

Ideas

Cinema and music

See all speakers
A theatre stage under a single spotlight, a palm against a low coral moon.

Signature theatre

Proposed

Khasakkinte
Ithihasam.

O. V. Vijayan’s 1969 novel, staged as immersive theatre by Deepan Sivaraman. Three evenings; seating is limited.

Ashramam Maidan · 1, 2 & 3 January

₹1,500, or ₹1,600 with a Festival Pass

Choose your ticket

Our cause

Keep the waters alive.

Climate change is the festival’s social cause. Ashtamudi is a Ramsar wetland of international importance, and the festival begins by taking care of the lake it sits beside.

  • A plastic-free festival[CONFIRM]
  • One climate conversation every day[CONFIRM]
  • An Ashtamudi clean-up[CONFIRM]
Read about our cause

Plan and join

Three venues.
One shore.

  • Sreenarayana Guru Cultural Centre

    Kollam

  • 8 Point Art Cafe

    Asramam, Kollam

  • Ashramam Maidan

    Asramam, Kollam

All three are in Kollam city, close to Ashtamudi Lake. Look for the rings: one, two or three, on the programme and on the way. Plan your visit

Passes from ₹199

Day Pass ₹299 · Festival Pass ₹499 · Young Reader Pass ₹199

Compare passes

Be part of it

Register as a delegate, or give a few hours on the shore as a volunteer.

RegisterVolunteer

Come for a story.
Stay for the connection.