Tribute to Agatha Christie at 2016 Apeejay Kolkata Lit Fest

A movie premiere, poetry cafe and heritage photowalks are some of the key features of the seventh edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival 2016 (AKLF) beginning on January 14 next year and commemorating the 125th birth anniversary of English crime novelist Agatha Christie.

The literary extravaganza will begin with the all-India premiere of National Award winner Aparna Sen's film "Saari Raat" based on playwright Badal Sircar's eponymous play.

The inaugural event, to be held at the Nandan cultural complex, will see the launch of the book "Badal Sircar: Towards a Theatre of Conscience". The four-day long festival will conclude on January 17.

A variety of events and literary initiatives have been curated specially as a tribute to Agatha Christie.

These include the launch of book "A For Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie" by Kathryn Harkup in association with Britain's leading crime writing festival, Bloody Scotland, said festival director Anjum Katyal.

A session on commonalities in crime writing across borders featuring a panel of international crime writers has also been planned.

"In addition, issues in contemporary India in the fields of politics, economics, cinema and literature will be in the limelight. There will be book launches and sessions by award winning authors and personalities such as Lord Meghnad Desai, Christine Manfield, Barkha Dutt, Vir Sanghvi, Bharati Pradhan, Meera Syal, Salil Tripathi, Shatrughan Sinha and Saba Naqvi," said Katyal.

Man Booker Prize winner Ben Okri will launch his new novel "Age of Magic".

A poetry cafe, school and college campus lit fests as well as heritage photowalks will be woven in with the main event spanning venues like the Victoria Memorial and Town Hall.

Participating countries include Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, Bhutan and Pakistan among others.