Galle Literary Festival announces dates for 2025

The 12th edition of Galle Lit Fest will take place from February 6-9 2025, the Festival’s organisers have announced.

GLF 2025 promises to build on the huge success of the 2024 event – which marked the first running of the Festival since 2019 – providing an open platform for a line-up of Sri Lankan and international speakers.

Following widespread international coverage of the Festival, the organisers expect to see a significant increase in the number of attendees in 2025. The Festival’s marketing promotions will focus in particular on the Indian, Middle Eastern and European markets.

Plans are already underway to curate a vibrant and thought-provoking programme of panel discussions, workshops and creative experiences for fans of literature and the written word.

Talks in 2024 spanned a variety of timely and important topics, ranging from global history and the female body, to sustainable tourism and business ethics. More than half of all scheduled events were sold out, reflecting a healthy appetite for these stimulating conversations. The Festival in 2025 promises to continue this theme, exploring salient issues in a contemporary and global context.

The 2025 event will feature an enhanced entertainment programme, including additional performances, film screenings and live sets, together with an expansion of the Children’s Festival and the welcome return of the North-South University Programme.

Feedback for the 2024 edition has been overwhelmingly positive. Sebastian Faulks, headlining author, labelled GLF, “probably the best literary festival in the world.” Echoing his thoughts, comedian Vidura BR described it as, “[the] best festival I’ve ever been to, not just for literature but the arts as a whole.” Author Moni Mohsin joined the chorus of praised, calling GLF, “one of the most stimulating, fun and beautiful festivals I have ever attended.”

Thinking forward to 2025, Geoffrey Dobbs, Festival founder, said, “Our continued aim for Galle Literary Festival is to inspire learning and understanding through literature and the arts, and for Galle to become, once again, the Indian Ocean’s capital for education, politics and economic development.” To support this endeavour, the Festival is seeking meaningful partnerships with entities which share a smilier vision.