Himalayan Literature Festival 2026 to Bring Global Writers to Kathmandu

Kathmandu, May 15: The Himalayan Literature Festival and Writers Workshop (HLF-WWK) 2026 will be held in Kathmandu from May 29 to June 5, bringing together more than 75 writers, poets, scholars, translators, filmmakers and artists from around the world.

The week-long festival will be hosted at The Malla Hotel and is dedicated to renowned Nepali short story writer Guru Prasad Mainali. This year’s theme is “Ecstasy, Healing, and Creative Writing in the New World Order.”

One of the major attractions of the festival will be the launch of Nepal’s first Poetry Film Festival, which aims to explore the connection between poetry and visual storytelling.

Besides sessions at The Malla Hotel, selected workshops will also take place at culturally and spiritually significant sites across the Kathmandu Valley.

Participants from Nepal, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Austria, Portugal, Poland, Ukraine, France, Denmark, Russia and the Philippines are expected to attend the event.

The programme will include workshops, masterclasses, poetry readings, panel discussions, performances, film screenings and cultural exchange activities.

Internationally recognised literary figures including Pulitzer Prize-winning poets Tracy K. Smith and Paul Muldoon, novelist Jean Hanff Korelitz, poet Tina Chang and literary editor Martin Doyle will participate in the festival alongside Nepali writers.

The festival is being led by Himalayan poet Yuyutsu RD Sharma and festival director Shreejana Bhandari.

HLF-WWK 2026 is supported by several international literary and cultural organisations, including New York Writers Workshop, Asian American Writers’ Workshop, Australia Asia Pacific Writers and Translators, Polish Institute New Delhi and Austrian Cultural Forum.

Organisers said registration remains open for participants from Nepal, the SAARC region and other countries.