With the theme of “Literature in a Fragile World”, the 17th edition of Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) 2026 would be held from February 6 to 8, reaffirming its position as Pakistan’s largest and most influential literary gathering.
Organised by the Oxford University and Press, the festival is free and open to the public, to brings together ideas, imagination, and dialogue at a time when literature’s role in shaping empathy and resilience has never been more urgent.
This year’s festival would examine how stories, poetry, and critical thought respond to social, political, and cultural uncertainty and change.
“In an increasingly fractured world, literature remains one of the last spaces where dogmas can be questioned, and humanity can speak to itself without fear,” said Arshad Saeed Husain, Managing Director, Oxford University Press Pakistan.
The upcoming festival will host over 200 delegates from eight countries, featuring more than 90 sessions, 28 book launches in three languages, two documentaries, and two feature films.
The keynote speakers include Senator Sherry Rehman, Mohammed Hanif, Nasir Abbas Nayyar, and Khurshid Rizvi, alongside a distinguished lineup of writers, poets, critics, and thinkers from Pakistan and abroad.
The 17th KLF brings together a diverse gathering of writers, thinkers, and literature enthusiasts, featuring Sharmeen Obaid‑Chinoy — the first female director to win two Academy Awards, creator of over two dozen acclaimed films across 16 countries, and now director of New Jedi Order, her upcoming Ms. Marvel feature.
