Speakers - Himalayan Literature Festival

Speakers 2024

Yuyutsu Sharma

Yuyutsu Sharma is one of the few poets in the world who make their living with poetry. Named as “The

Yuyutsu Sharma

Yuyutsu Sharma is an internationally acclaimed poet and editor. Named "the world-renowned Himalayan poet" by The Guardian, "One-Man Academy" by

Yubaraj Ghimire

Yubaraj Ghimire is currently the editor of Deshsanchar, a journalistic multimedia venture in Nepal. Previously, he worked as a journalist in prestigious Indian

Usha Sharma

Tony Barnstone

TONY BARNSTONE teaches at Whittier College and is the author of 22 books and a music CD, including Pulp Sonnets; Beast in the

Tom Lutz

Tom Lutz is the author of books of fiction, nonfiction, photography, history, and philosophy. He lives in southwestern France. He

Tim Tomlinson

Tim Tomlinson is the author of the chapbook Yolanda: An Oral History in Verse, the poetry collection, Requiem for the Tree Fort

Swati Chandra

Swati Chandra is a bilingual writer working in English and Hindi. A recipient of the HLF-WWK 2026 Poet Fellowship Award,

Suzanne Roberts

Suzanne Roberts is an acclaimed American author, poet, essayist, and travel writer whose work explores the intersections of nature, memory,

Sharon Rundle

Sharon Rundle is an Australian writer, editor, and literary advocate whose work has fostered meaningful cultural dialogue between Australia and

Shailendra Sakar

Leading Nepali poet and short story writer Shailendra Sakar stands as one of the most compelling and courageous literary

Ruth Danon

Distinguished American poet Ruth Danon’s fourth collection of poetry, Turn Up the Heat, was published by Nirala Series in 2023.

Rukmini-Bhaya-Nair

Rukmini Bhaya Nair is a Delhi-based poet and professor of linguistics and English at the Indian Institute of Technology. Described by

Rob Fenn

Ravi Shankar

RAVI SHANKAR Pushcart-prize winning poet, author, editor, translator, and professor, Ravi Shankar is the author and editor of over fifteen books and chapbooks

Radhika Sharma

Radhika Sharma is the author of Parikrama: A collection of short stories and Mangoes for Monkeys, a novel.

Pratisara Sayami

Pramod Snehi

Pankaj-Bisht

Nisha Sharma

Narayan Wagle

Narayan Wagle was a Nepali-language journalist for almost three decades, covering the eventful periodof Nepal's recent history extensively and edited

Mike Jurkovic

Mike Jurkovic is the 2025–2027 Ulster County Poet Laureate, an acclaimed American poet, broadcaster, music critic, and literary arts advocate

Michelle Gallen

Michelle Gallen is an acclaimed Irish novelist whose work brings together dark humour, social history, memory and the intimate realities

Karna Shakya

K Satchinandan

K Satchidanandan (b.1946) is a pioneer of modern poetry in Malayalam, a bilingual critic, playwright, editor, fiction writer, translator and

Julie Williams-Krishnan

Julie Williams-Krishnan is a fine art and freelance photographer, artist, and educator who teaches photography and leads workshops at university and

Joyce Maynard

Joyce Maynard is the New York Times bestselling author of fourteen novels, five works of nonfiction, and the long-running

Jean Hanff Korelitz

Jean Hanff Korelitz was born in New York City and is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Cambridge University. She

Jami Proctor Xu

Jami Proctor Xu is an award-winning bilingual poet and translator who writes in Chinese and English. Her poems and translations have been

Jami Proctor Xu

Jami Proctor Xu （徐贞敏）is a bilingual poet, essayist, translator and mother who writes in Chinese and English. Her poems and translations have

Jafreen Uddin

Jafreen Uddin is the Executive Director of the Asian American Writers’ Workshop. She is the first woman to lead the

Hope Edelman

Hope Edelman is the author of eight nonfiction books, including the international bestsellers Motherless Daughters and Motherless Mothers. Her books

Heidi Meißnitzer

Heidi Meißnitzer (Austria) is a distinguished cultural policy expert and advocate for international cultural dialogue and cooperation. With nearly three

Felicity Volk

Australian Ambassador to Nepal, Felicity Volk has published two novels, Lightning (Picador Australia) and Desire Lines, (Hachette Australia). She studied

Dwarika Shrestha

Colm Tóibín

Colm Tóibín is one of the world's most acclaimed contemporary writers, acclaimed for his luminous prose, emotional depth, and masterful

Chakchaki Rajbanshi

Carolyne Wright

Carolyne Wright is an acclaimed American poet, memoirist, translator, and Fulbright scholar whose work bridges continents, cultures, and languages. A

Carola Mair

Austrian writer, feminist, and filmmaker Carola Mair’s work centers on human rights, gender equality, and social justice. A global documentary

Bhuwan Thapaliya

Anand Gupta

Agnes Marton

Agnes Marton is a Hungarian-born poet, writer, editor, and curator, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, founding member