Q. Is there an adequate representation of regional authors at this literary festival?
A: You have to be translated into English to be invited to JLF. I write only in Marathi so the first few years when my books were not translated, I was not invited. The main language here is English though they try their best to include regional language writers. The problem is that most regional language writers find it difficult to get translated into English. You not only need a good translator you need to get published too. I have done two reading sessions here. I read out from both the Marathi and English texts for ten minutes each, which is a great initiative. However, percentage wise the representation of regional writers is very less.

Makrand Sathe