Essay / Celebrating literary minds: Reflections on editing festschrifts
26 September 2026
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Essay
“Festschrift” is a German word coined in the 19th century by combining ”fest”, meaning “celebration” or “festival,” with ”schrift”, meaning “writing” or “script,” to signify “celebration writing” or “festival publication.”
Creative Nonfiction / Birthdays to remember
26 September 2026
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Creative non-fiction
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / Lost in translation, looking for home
25 September 2026
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Books & Literature
INTERVIEW / In conversation with Lucky Karim: The story behind ‘Born Lucky’
25 September 2026
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Books & Literature
Inside Asia’s Hidden Heritage Treasures: ANN releases new e-book on continent’s shared culture
24 September 2026
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Books & Literature
News Report / NSU Writing Center offers certificate course for professionals
21 September 2026
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News
Fiction / The winter ballot
19 September 2026
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Fiction
Poetry / Four poems on healing
19 September 2026
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Poetry
Poetry / Sacred sorrows
19 September 2026
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Poetry
Literary Curtains / Patriarchy inversed: Reimagining Rokeya’s Ladyland in 2026
“Ladyland is not perfect,” remarks Sultana, one of the protagonists in the much awaited play, “Project Ladyland 2026”. Produced by HerStory Foundation in collaboration with the British Council and Women of the World Foundation, the play was greeted by a full house this weekend. Staged at the Bangladesh Mohila Samiti theatre, the performance made a splash on Friday, August 14.
Event Report / Special Discussion Marks Abul Hasnat’s Birth Anniversary: ‘Nabiner Shahittya: Shwapna O Shwapnabhongo’
19 July 2026
A special literary discussion titled ‘Nabiner Shahittya: Shwapna O Shwapnabhongo’ was held on Friday, July 17, 2026, at 5:00 P.M. on the third floor of Bengal Shilpalay in Dhanmondi, Dhaka. This discussion was organised to commemorate the birth anniversary of distinguished poet, essayist, and literary editor Abul Hasnat. The event brought together prominent writers and editors to discuss the literary pursuits of emerging authors and the pivotal role editors play in nurturing new literary voices.
News Report / Jamir Nazir wins 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize following AI review
3 July 2026
Set in rural Trinidad, “The Serpent in the Grove” explores themes of betrayal, survival and the resilience of a woman's will.
The shelf / 7 Asian healing fiction recommendations for rainy days
18 June 2026
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The Shelf
You know when the sky trades its brightness for a low, silver hue, and you wrap your fingers tightly around your tea, seeking that small, steady pulse of warmth. This is the essence of healing fiction. Often rooted in the Japanese concept of iyashikei, these stories focus on the quiet spirit through small, everyday moments. You may have already heard of Days at the Morisaki Bookshop or We’ll Prescribe You a Cat. While those popular favourites have opened a door for many, there are a few other tales worth the read.
Reflections / In the age of AI allegations
13 June 2026
Fiction / Body Selim
18 April 2026
Sourav’s Song
No need to wonder what you are:
Bengal’s brightest, closest star
in the night sky - though on the Earth
none noticed your auspicious birth.
6 November 2020
When Empires Collide: China vs America
“It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made the war inevitable,” Thucydides wrote in The History of the Peloponnesian War.
4 November 2020
On stories of domestic violence
Tahmima Anam’s play Shahrazad, written for UK-based arts organisation Komola Collective and live streamed on October 29, 2020, adopts the
4 November 2020
Wreetu’s Comic Book on Menstrual Health
In 2016, while already involved in conducting school-wide workshops on the topic, Sharmin Kabir began to think of ways in which adolescents could be taught about menstrual health in a friendly manner. “What would the children be left with once the workshop was over and Sharmin and her team had left?” she wondered.
4 November 2020
In Search of A Suitable Adaptation
I’ve long come to accept that there’s no such thing as a suitable adaption of a favourite book. Yet, when it was announced that Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy (1993), a novel I have loved through the decades, was going to be adapted by the BBC for a miniseries—and directed by Mira Nair, no less—I couldn’t help but feel hopeful about the possibilities. Could this really be… the one?
4 November 2020
Shaheen Akhtar wins Asian Literary Award 2020
Bangladeshi author Shaheen Akhtar has been awarded the 3rd Asian Literary Award for her novel Talaash (Mowla Brothers, 2009), which depicts the lasting suffering of Birangona women—survivors of sexual violence during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war.
4 November 2020
Last Night We Went to Manderley Again
An adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca seemed especially well-timed, with its theme of imprisonment at home, as well as the timeless pull of social expectations on one’s identity.
31 October 2020
The therapy of horror during a pandemic
Literature can help. It strengthens your mind, gives it a break from reality, helps you see things from a different perspective. It can take you to another time and place.
31 October 2020
10 HORROR NOVELS FROM BANGLADESH AND ABROAD
Halloween is merely a cover--our lives seem plenty steeped in horror this year, confined within physical and psychological walls, breathing in
28 October 2020
The untapped powers of Bengali folk horror
When I was a child, every night, I’d ask my parents to tell me a story when they tucked me into bed. From talking trees to scheming foxes, the mystical realm of Bengali folklore was a bottomless well from which my pre-adolescent mind drank with thirst. It led me to what can only be deemed as the Holy Grail of Bengali folklore: Thakurmar Jhuli (1907).
28 October 2020
“It’s you, it’s me, it’s us”: Bly Manor’s Homage to Henry James
Effigies with their own minds, tinkling music boxes, mysterious cracks in the wall, and a long-haired spectre trailing the grounds of a vast,
28 October 2020
Rumaan Alam’s third novel is impossible to leave behind
Rumaan Alam is interested in contradictions—our presumptions of who should own what, in the textures of modern life.
28 October 2020
Kissed by the dusk: Eugene O’Neill
On the 132nd birth anniversary of Eugene O’Neill, the Shakespeare of American Theater, the question is: did he ever die?
23 October 2020
Translation, Culture and Politics
A discussion of Translation and its theories often remains circumscribed to a discourse arguing about the issues of authenticity.
23 October 2020
Whispers of the Muse: Melania Trump
With the US elections looming, the tabloids are mostly fixated on the orange man. Few know about the roles of his calmer and more composed counterpart,
21 October 2020
On Zadie Smith’s Bangladeshi characters
I am not a Bangladeshi immigrant living in a Bangladeshi neighbourhood somewhere in Kilburn, London like Samad Iqbal and his family from White Teeth (Hamish Hamilton, 2000).
21 October 2020
Do the books on Trump qualify as exposé?
As of this writing, the United States is currently in the final weeks of its most partisan and controversial presidential election in 150 years,
21 October 2020
Hashim & Family: A Sweeping Tale of Immigration and Family Ties
Hashim & Family (John Murray, 2020) takes us on a journey across two countries, spanning two decades. It begins with the titular Hashim moving from East Pakistan to Manchester in the 1960s in hopes of a better living, inspired by his cousin Rofikul, himself an immigrant of a few years.
21 October 2020
The spirits of the forest
The spirits of the forest
16 October 2020
Something missing
Something missing from
this dish and that.
16 October 2020
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