Come & join world renowned architect Channa Daswatte on a tour from Galle to Tangalle visiting a wide variety of Sri Lankan architecture from Geoffrey Bawa to Valentine Gunesekara and beyond!

Tour Guide: Channa Daswatte

Location: A bus will depart from outside Amangalla in Galle Fort at 8.15am sharp.

In association with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau

A Remarkable History!	9.30am – 10.30am
Event Code: 002 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Featuring William Dalrymple

The award winning author will discuss his most recent book The Last Mughal, taking you on a journey through the Indian rebellion of 1857–8 and the deposition of the last Mughal Emperor.

Location: Hall de Galle

Politically Incorrect !	9.30am – 10.30am
Event Code: 003 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Featuring Shobhaa Dé
Glamorous and provocative writer Shobhaa Dé shares with us an insight into her risqué novels and her writing journey.

Moderator: Deepika Shetty

Location: Maritime Museum, Galle Fort

English in Sri Lanka	11.00am -12.00pm
Event Code: 004 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Michael Meyler & Richard Boyle
Hear these experts discuss the use of the English language and its nuances in contemporary Sri Lankan culture and writing.

Moderator: Simon Winchester

Sponsored by Sri Lanka Telecom

Location: Hall de Galle

The Gratiaen: Before & After	11.00am – 12.00pm
Event Code: 005 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Punyakante Wijenaike, Neil Fernandopulle & Seneka Abeyratne

A selection of Gratiaen Award winners discuss the impact of this significant award initiated by Michael Ondaatje on their writing and their lives.

Moderator: Ashok Ferrey

Location: Maritime Museum, Galle Fort

Stylemakers of Ceylon	2.00pm – 3.00pm
Event Code: 008 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Sri Lankan Style brought alive by artist Laki Senanayake, designer Barbara Sansoni, architect Channa Daswatte & photographer Dominic Sansoni.

Moderator : Ashok Ferrey

Location: Hall de Galle

From Page to Stage	2.00pm – 3.00pm
Event Code: 009 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Seneka Abeyratne, Indu Dharmasena, Tracy Holsinger, Delon Weerasinghe and other Sri Lankan playwrights and directors discuss the challenges of writing and performing for an audience versus simply writing for a reader.

Moderator: Sunila Galappatti

Location: Maritime Museum, Galle Fort

Sindbad the Sailor	3.15pm – 4.15pm
Event Code: 010 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Adventurer and travel writer Tim Severin and author researcher Richard Boyle discuss their fascination with Sindbad’s voyages.

Moderator: Simon Winchester

Sponsored by Sri Lanka Ports Authority

Location: Hall de Galle

The Role of the Publisher	4.30pm – 5.30pm
Event Code: 013 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Get the inside scoop from global and Sri Lankan publishing houses on the process: finding talent, editing, marketing and distributing.

Alexandra Pringle – Bloomsbury, UK
Chiki Sarkar - Random House, India
Sam Perera - PH Books, Sri Lanka
Simon Prosser - Hamish Hamilton & Penguin, UK

Moderator:  Nury Vittachi

Sponsored by Printcare

Location: The Hall de Galle

Writing: The Pain & The Pleasure	4.30pm – 5.30pm
Event Code: 014 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Join emerging writers Indran Amirthanayagam, Julian West and Randy Boyagoda discuss what motivates people to write and what it takes to make the distance. The trials and tribulations of getting your first book published.

Moderator: Deepika Shetty

Sponsored by The New Asia Writing Partnership

Location: Maritime Museum, Galle Fort

Traveller’s Tales	9.30am – 10.30am
Event Code: 017 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Featuring Tim Severin, Sandra Hoffmann, Brian Keenan, Chris Stewart & Vikram Seth.

Cross continents and cultures with some of the world’s best travel writers.

Moderator: William Dalrymple

Sponsored by Sri Lankan Airlines

Location: The Hall de Galle

The Power of Poetry	9.30am – 10.30am
Event Code: 018 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00Students: SLR150.00

John Mateer, Tishani Doshi, Jeet Thayil, Indran Amrithanayagam, Sophie Hannah & Vivimarie VanderPoorten.

Join these contemporary poets as they entertain you with their award winning poetry and discuss the process and allure of the poetic form.

Moderator: Jill Macdonald

Location: Maritime Museum, Galle Fort

The Writing Life	11.00am – 12.00pm
Event Code: 019 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Join two of Sri Lanka’s most prominent and provocative story tellers Carl Muller and Yasmine Gooneratne in conversation with Nury Vittachi

Sponsored by Sri Lanka Telecom

Location: The Hall de Galle

Climate Change & Tourism: The Dilemma	11.00am – 12.00pm
Event Code: 020 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Learn about the myths and realities of Climate Change. Explore Sri Lanka’s position from tourism to conservation.

Featuring Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne, Susan Elderkin, Rory Spowers, Kim Kindersley & Ranil Senanayake.

In association with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotions Bureau

Location: Maritime Museum, Galle Fort

Longing & Belonging	2.00pm – 3.00pm
Event Code: 029 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Karen Roberts, Shyam Selvadurai, Randy Boyagoda & Channa Wickremesekera.

Explore the meaning of Diaspora and what impact it has on the writing of these authors.

Moderator: Richard Simon

Sponsored by The University of Melbourne

Location: The Hall de Galle

An Evil Cradling	2.00pm – 3.00pm
Event Code: 030 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Brian Keenan, international travel writer and author shares his intimate account of being held hostage for five years in Lebanon.             

Location: Maritime Museum, Galle Fort

Wild Swans: Life in Exile	3.15pm – 4.15pm
Event Code: 031 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Hear Jung Chang in conversation with her husband historian Jon Halliday about her compelling family history and how it interweaves with China’s journey.

Location: The Hall de Galle

Cricket Mania!	3.15pm – 4.15pm
Event Code: 032 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Hear from Sri Lankan Cricketer Kumar Sangakkara and writers Kamila Shamsie, Tishani Doshi and Rahul Bhattacharya about their passion for the game.

Moderator: Michael Roberts

Sponsored by Etv

Location: Maritime Museum, Galle Fort

The Edge of Prejudice	4.30pm – 5.30pm
Event Code: 034 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Explore the literary treatment of prejudice (racial, sexual, cultural) with contemporary writers Kamila Shamsie, Channa Wickremesekera and Shyam Selvadurai..

Moderator: Rama Mani

Location: Hall de Galle

Whose Narrative is it Anyway?	4.30pm – 5.30pm
Event Code: 035 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Explore the increasingly multicultural nature of writing and the ongoing influence of globalisation, imperialism and postcolonialism with Michael Roberts, Randy Boyagoda, and John Mateer.

Moderator: Nury Vittachi

Location: Maritime Museum, Galle Fort

The Meaning of Everything	9.30am – 10.30am
Event Code: 040 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Featuring Simon Winchester and Hilali Noordeen

A range of eclectic subjects fascinate this well-respected journalist and writer. Hear many stories including the story of the Oxford English Dictionary, a scintillating account of the creation of the greatest monument erected to a living language.

Location: The Hall de Galle

The Female Pioneers	9.30am – 10.30am
Event Code: 041 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Featuring Yasmine Gooneratne, Jean Arasanayagam, Vijita Fernando, Anne Ranasinghe & Punyakante  Wijenaike.

Enjoy a fascinating discussion with these trailblazing writers as they discuss their varied lives and writing passions.

Moderator: Deepika Shetty

Location: Maritime Museum, Galle Fort

A Good Detective and a Good Woman	11.00am – 12.00pm
Event Code: 042 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Featuring Alexander McCall Smith
An in-depth conversation with author of the much feted No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Find out how Precious Ramotswe changed the life of an established author of forty books and distinguished professor of medical law.

Location: The Hall de Galle

Fact or Fiction	11.00am – 12.00pm
Event Code: 043 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Kamila Shamsie, John Zubrzycki, Sandra Hoffmann and Julian West

Some are novelists, some are journalists some are both. Hear them discuss their motivations and the gulf or the bridge between fact and fiction. 

Moderator:  William Dalrymple

Sponsored by Wijeya Newspapers Ltd

Location: Maritime Museum, Galle Fort

Funny Boy Talks to Funny Man	2.00pm – 3.00pm
Event Code: 052 Price: US$8.00 / SLR800.00 Students: SLR150.00

Come and listen to Shyam Selvadurai, groundbreaking author of Sri Lanka’s first gay novel Funny Boy in conversation with Ashok Ferrey, as they discuss love, life and writing.

Location: The Hall de Galle

Sponsored by Emirates