Shillong Literary Festival 2026 to take place in November; check all the details here

The prelude to the festival was held in New Delhi`s Bikaner House last weekend. Photo Courtesy: File pic

The Shillong Literary Festival 2026 is all set to take place in November later this year, as announced during the New Delhi Prelude, held at Bikaner House last weekend. It was inaugurated by bringing together leading voices from literature, governance, cinema, journalism, and the creative arts.

Organised by the Department of Tourism, Government of Meghalaya, the two-day national prelude was an attempt to be a lead-up to the main Shillong Literary Festival scheduled to be held in Shillong from November 12 to 14.

The festival aims to showcase Meghalaya's rich cultural identity and literary traditions while expanding the national footprint of the state's creative ecosystem.

The initiative also seeks to strengthen culture-led tourism, encourage local talent, and position Meghalaya as a growing hub for arts, literature, music, and ideas.

A major highlight of the opening day was an engaging conversation between the state's Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma and senior journalist Shekhar Gupta, where discussions revolved around leadership, governance, youth aspirations, culture, and the evolving identity of Northeast India.

Discussing the vision behind these initiatives, Sangma added how the festival ties into a strategy to develop multi-event platforms, expanding on events like the Cherry Blossom Festival to ensure year-round engagement rather than random occurrences. Expressing his delight on the growth of Shillong Literary Festival, he said, "We started off small. Now, we are seeing it grow. It has become a calendar event; and more importantly it is known throughout the country. And we thought that bringing it to Delhi- this prelude, would expose this entire event and would be able to reach out to the other parts of the country."

He added, "We hope that in the years to come, it will become a much-much bigger event, not just nationally, but even globally."

The evening culminated with legendary actor Naseeruddin Shah captivating audiences through 'The Elephant and the Tragopan', a special reading from Vikram Seth's celebrated 'Beastly Tales from Here and There'. He interspersed the poems with James Thurber's works and read out his four stories to the literary enthusiasts, who filled the house. Reading Thurber's works like, "The bear who let it alone," "The Tiger who would be king," "The owl who was God" and "The very proper gander," before Seth's works, Shah drew a parallel with the calls nature's offerings and human's greed.

The session "Readings from Khasi and Garo Classics" featured Prof. Streamlet Dkhar reading from U Soso Tham's Ki Sngi Barim u Hynniewtrep and her own work, Na Thwei Pyrkhat U Longshuwa. Dr. Crystal Cornelious D. Marak presented D. S. Nengminza's Seokgimin Poetryrang and Ku·bak-Ma·o Sanirang, exploring Garo topography and the oral traditions of the gods Goera and Salgra. The readings celebrated the rich ancestral heritage and linguistic history of the region.

The second day of the festival featured discussions on Northeast literature, ecology, food, translation, and identity through sessions such as Shillong on a Plate and Once Upon a Time at a Literature Festival. The sessions will feature prominent speakers including Shobhaa De, Maharani Priyadarshini Raje Scindia, Sanjoy Hazarika, Namita Gokhale, Patricia Mukhim, and several others.