# Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters

The Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters or MBIFL, started in 2018, is an annual literature event held at the Kanakakkunnu Palace in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
This festival brings together a diverse array of speakers from multiple fields, including renowned writers and authors, influencers and celebrities, politicians, and sports personalities. The last edition of MBIFL was held from February 8-11, 2024.
The next edition of the festival is scheduled for February 6-9, 2025. The theme of the 2025 edition of MBIFL is ‘Currents of Change’. Celebrating the power of letters and ideas, MBIFL offers a unique platform for intellectual exchange and cultural enrichment.

## History and organisation
### Founding

MBIFL was conceptualised and started in 2018 by the Mathrubhumi group.

### 2024 edition

The fifth edition of the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL) centered around the theme "Exploring Plurality." The festival aimed to comprehensively explore the promise of plurality by embracing diverse perspectives, cultures, and identities. Held from February 8 to 11, MBIFL 2024 featured an illustrious lineup of leading writers and thinkers from around the globe, including several prominent international and national speakers such as Francesc Miralles, Mansoura Ez-Eldin, Fırat Sunel, Subhashini Ali, Sakshi Malik, and Ramachandra Guha.
The festival delved into different realities, challenges, solutions, and opinions, fostering greater understanding and empathy while breaking down barriers and promoting social cohesion. Through its celebration of diversity and differences, MBIFL 2024 encouraged the expression of pluralism in all its forms.

### 2023 edition

The fourth edition of the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL) was on the theme "Shadows of History, Lights of the Future", and it coincided with the centenary celebrations of Mathrubhumi. This edition forayed from the shadows of the past to the illuminating light of the future, where the shadows represented the experiences, learnings, and realities of history, and the light symbolized the wisdom, imagination, and innovative ideas that guide humanity forward.
Held from February 2 to 5, 2023, the fourth edition of MBIFL embraced a rich tapestry of literature, art, culture, politics, technology, science, gender, and more. The event featured distinguished speakers from around the world, including Nobel Prize winner Abdulrazak Gurnah, Booker Prize winner Shehan Karunatilaka, and Man Booker International Prize winner Jokha Alharthi, among other prominent voices.

### 2020 edition

The third edition of the festival took place from January 30 to February 2, 2020, under the theme "Shrinking Spaces, Transcending Letters." The festival sought to identify and celebrate the intellectual efforts to resist the ongoing challenges to democratic discourse while elevating the role of letters – an enduring inspiration for literature across cultures and civilizations. Over 350 speakers, including Lemn Sissay, Margaret Busby, Dean Atta, and Alexander McCall Smith, participated in this edition.
In 2020, the inaugural "Book of the Year" award was presented to Blue is Like Blue by Vinod Kumar Shukla, translated into English by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra and Sara Rai.

### 2019 edition

The second edition of the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL) centered around the theme 'Known Lands; Unheard Voices', was held from Jan 31-Feb 3.
The festival had eminent speakers from Europe, the US, the West Indies, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. MBIFL '19 had a large contingent of close to 50 foreign speakers including poets, novelists, graphic novelists, filmmakers and journalists. There were over 100 speakers from Kerala in addition to the leading Indian writers in English and other languages.
Even though the festival strived to create a platform for discourses and a confluence of minds, the underlining aspect of the festival is literature and its various forms, and the voices that have not been heard here before.

### 2018 edition

The first edition of the Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL) was held at the Kanakakkunnu Palace from February 2-4, 2018 on the theme ‘For the Love of Literature’
The 3-day event brought together over 100 international and Indian writers, speakers, and performers. It tapped into Kerala's young and emerging talent, allowing aspiring writers to engage with literary masters.
Writers and speakers from over 10 countries participated, offering high-profile conversations, choreographed reading sessions, augmented reality experiences, impromptu performances, and workshops by renowned photojournalist Raghu Rai. The festival also explored traditional Kerala cuisine and celebrated the region's syncretic culture, continuing the legacy of literature and its significance.

### MBIFL Book of the Year

| Year | Title | Author | Remarks |
| 2020 | Blue is Like Blue | Vinod Kumar Shukla | translated from English by Arvind Krishna Mehrotra and Sara Rai |
| 2023 | Wanderers, Kings and Merchants | Peggy Mohan | |
| 2024 | Quarterlife | Devika Rege |