Shillong: Booker Prize-winning authors Kiran Desai and Damon Galgut will headline the sixth edition of the Shillong Literary Festival, to be held at Ward's Lake from November 12 to 14, the organisers said on Saturday.

Desai won the 2006 Booker Prize for her novel 'The Inheritance of Loss'. Her latest novel, 'The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny', was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize.

South African novelist and playwright Galgut won the 2021 Booker Prize for 'The Promise'. He has been shortlisted for the prestigious award three times, and his works often explore history, memory, family and the legacy of apartheid.

The two authors are the first major names announced for the festival, with more writers, thinkers and literary figures expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks, the organisers said.

The three-day event will bring together writers and readers while showcasing the literary heritage and storytelling traditions of Meghalaya's Khasi, Jaintia and Garo communities alongside national and international literary voices, they said.

As part of its pre-festival programme, the organisers will host 'First Bloom: Discovering New Writing from the Northeast', an open call for emerging writers in fiction and narrative non-fiction. Entries will close on October 20, with the winner receiving Rs 50,000 and the runner-up Rs 25,000.

Three workshops are also planned. A session on career opportunities in the book industry by Kanishka Gupta and a creative writing workshop by Mitra Phukan and Lalnunsanga Ralte will be held on October 26 at the State Convention Centre in Shillong.

A photography workshop, 'Ways of Visual Practice', featuring Menty Jamir, Indrajit Khambe and Bipin Aspatwar, is scheduled for November 11.

The festival is supported by the Meghalaya government's Department of Tourism.

This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.