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 / Kobitabela: a soulful afternoon
9 September 2026
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
Of Fireflies and Slime
I stood before the door of the house where my grandmother once lived. Age and infirmity had jaded what might have once been a proper door.
25 September 2020
Sand and Water
Shutters clicked away. Flashes dazzled eyes. News reporters jostled with each other to hold out their mikes as far as their arms allowed. Busy fingers gripped their ballpoints tighter.
25 September 2020
Hot mess—Andrea Bartz’s ‘The Herd’
When it comes to book reviews, I have found an interesting paradox—the better a book is, the easier it becomes to write about.
23 September 2020
Around the world in 80 books with David Damrosch
Literary historian David Damrosch’s travails with World Literature are charted most often by those within academia. During the Covid-19 inertia
23 September 2020
Sketchy memories
Travis Dandro’s King of King Court: A Memoir (Drawn & Quarterly, 2019) is a large, dense book that reads light and fast. The coming of age story is packed with the raw emotional power of the author’s traumatic childhood.
23 September 2020
Nabil Rahman yearns for big truths with few words in ‘Water Bodies’
About this book, I’d like to speak simply. Because Nabil Rahman’s Water Bodies (Nokta/ Boobook, 2020) speaks simply too, without frills or embellishment.
23 September 2020
Commute of an old man
Year 2060: I was a lonely kid. Sometimes I felt as if I lived my whole life alone. There were different people here and there, flittering in and out, at the intersection where our lives crossed, before the roads untangled and moved apart.
18 September 2020
Mathematics and Poetry: Some Impressions
I think I’ve always loved mathematics in my own ways.
18 September 2020
‘Ajob Deshe Alice’: Alice’s adventures now in Bangla
Alice’s Adventures in the Wonderland (1865)
16 September 2020
Humans are innately evil, and other lies we tell ourselves
At some point in time, we decided cynicism was synonymous with intelligence and wisdom. We praised cynics for their realism and scoffed at those who held onto fairy tales.
16 September 2020
Must reads out from Bangladesh in 2020
The 40 poems and photographs of wooden sculptors in Water Bodies reflect poet-artist Nabil Rahman’s experiences with art, immigration, intergenerational trauma, artificial intelligence, spirituality, and more.
16 September 2020
Kabarsthan
As the mangy fingers of fascism grew out of the copper earth,
11 September 2020
The Art of Weaving Time
Maybe you forgot, or dementia possessed you
before our union—how else could you keep aloof
from your soul, your other soul, your eupnoea?
11 September 2020
“Moshla Bhoot” or Ghostly Sacks of Spices
Hajari Biswas was sitting leisurely in his spice-shop. It was around noon and the market price of spices was not going well. There were not too many buyers even though one could detect quite a few foreigners in the market. Hajari was fanning himself with a palm leaf and was dozing off. Suddenly, he woke up at the sound of a familiar voice.
11 September 2020
Orwell’s ‘1984’ was a warning, not a prediction
Two strange events took place in November 2016; Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 48th President of the United States, and George Orwell’s dystopian classic, 1984, suddenly became a best seller again.
9 September 2020
Two books that explore life in psychotherapy
I picked up this book while trying to find a good therapist in this dreary land.
9 September 2020
Growing up with ‘Archie’ comics
As a tiny five-year old in the ’80s, I first discovered and liberated an Archie comic from a teenage cousin the way oil rich countries are liberated: by force. I used superior tactics of crying, pleading, whining and bargaining.
9 September 2020
Begum Rokeya’s Non-sectarian, Pluralist-Inclusivist Imagination
Bengali writer, educationist and pioneering feminist activist, Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932), popularly known as Begum Rokeya, was born at a critical juncture in South Asian history when hostility and bloodshed between Hindus and Muslims was a recurrent experience.
4 September 2020
The House You Cannot Put Colours on
It was a big window, like an arched doorway. It creaked loudly the first time I opened it. It sounded angry, upset. I wondered why?
4 September 2020
In the Halls of the Mughal Kings
A fading comet trail of snippets from the halls of the Mughal Kings remain immortally enshrined in memory’s space.
4 September 2020
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