Among the many literary luminaries, academics, and intellectuals participating, both from Pakistan and abroad, some of the notable names are Adeel Hashmi, Afzal Ahmed Syed, Ali Akbar Natiq, Amar Jaleel, Ahmed Rashid, Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Arif Hasan, Asif Noorani, Arshad Mahmud, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, Attiya Dawood, Ayesha Tammy Haq, Bina Shah, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Christina Oesterheld, Fahmida Riaz, H.M. Naqvi, Hamid Khan, Harris Khalique, Imdad Hussaini, Jamsheed Marker, Kishwar Naheed, Mahtab Akbar Rashdi, Masood Ashar, Mian Raza Rabbani, Mirza Waheed, Mujahid Barelvi, Nadeem F. Paracha, Nafisa Shah, Najmuddin Shaikh, Nasira Iqbal, Noor ul Huda Shah, Omar Shahid Hamid, Pervez Hoodbhoy, Roger Long, Sabyn Javeri, Salima Hashmi, Sania Saeed, Shabnam, Shazia Omar, Sheema Kermani, Shandana Minhas, Shrabani Basu, Taimur Rahman, Tina Sani, Zafar Hilaly, Victoria Schofield, Zehra Nigah, Zia Mohyeddin, and Zoe Viccaji. “Karachi Literature Festival, the eighth in this city, is like a beacon whose light spreads out far beyond the grounds of the Beach Luxury Hotel—indeed, far beyond this city itself,” said Ameena Saiyid. “The Festival has grown rapidly. Attendance rose from roughly 5,000 in 2010 to 175,000 in 2016” she addedWhile talking to the media, Ameena Saiyid mentioned that four prizes areawarded from the KLF platform every year. These include the KLF-Pepsi Non-Fiction Prize, KLF-Getz Pharma Fiction Prize, KLF Peace Prize (Consulate General of Germany), KLF-Infaq Foundation Urdu Literature Prize, and Italy Reads Pakistan Award (Consulate of Italy). The submissions received for the prizes are evaluated by panels of juries comprising some of Pakistan’s most eminent critics, writers, and scholars. Books shortlisted for these prizes were announced at the press conference.The three books shortlisted for the KLF-Pepsi Non-Fiction Prize are Surkh Salam: Communist Politics and Class Activism in Pakistan 1947–1972 by Kamran Asdar Ali; A Book of Conquest: The Chachnama and Muslim Origins in South Asia by Manan Ahmed Asif; and The Raj at War by Yasmin Khan. The KLF-Pepsi Non-Fiction Prize of Rs 300,000 goes to the best non-fiction book originally written in English in 2015-2016 by a Pakistani or Pakistan-origin foreign national.The KLF-Getz Pharma Fiction Prize will be awarded to the best novel or short story collection originally written in English in 2015-2016. The author (a Pakistani or a Pakistani-origin foreign national) will be awarded Rs 300,000. The Spinner’s Tale by Omar Shahid Hamid, Dear Yasmeen by Sophia Khan, and Karachi Raj by Anis Shivani are the three books shortlisted for this prize.Masculinity, Sexuality, and Illegal Migration: Human Smuggling from Pakistan to Europe by Ali Nobil Ahmad, Purifying the Land of the Pure by Farahnaz Ispahani, and The Footprints of Partition by Anam Zakaria are the three books shortlisted for the KLF Peace Prize which is a joint project of Consulate General of Germany in Karachi and KLF. The award of 3000 eurosis given to a fiction or non-fiction book that promotes peace, tolerance, and international understanding, written by a Pakistani or a Pakistani-origin foreign national, or any foreign national residing in Pakistan. The KLF-Infaq Foundation Urdu Literature Prize of Rs 200,000 will be awarded to the best book of prose or poetry in Urdu.The books shortlisted for this prize include Kulliyaat by Sarwat Hussain, Urdu Adabki Tashkeel e Jadeed by Nasir Abbas Nayyar, and Dahshat mein Muhabbat by Muhammad Hameed Shahid. An overview of the The Italy Reads Pakistan Award, which is a joint project of Metropolid’Asia, KLF, and the Consulate of Italy in Karachi, was also given at the press conference.
“KLF is not merely a local affair. With participants and visitors from all over the country, from all four provinces and all of our major cities, this is truly an all-Pakistan event. More so, with participants from India, UK, USA, Germany, Italy, Bangladesh, and Maldives, it is truly an international event,” said Asif Farrukhi, Co-founder of the Karachi Literature Festival.
This year Pepsi Cois the title sponsor of the event. Sponsorship is also provided by United Bank Limited (UBL); Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Karachi; U.S. Consulate General, Karachi; Manchester Literature Festival; British Council; Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES); DAI Awaaz; Tapal; Engro Foods (Omore); Infaq Foundation; Getz Pharma; British Deputy High Commission (BDHC); Consulate General of Switzerland, Karachi; American Institute of Pakistan Studies; Consulate of Italy, Karachi; and Goethe Institute.