INTERVIEW / In conversation with Lucky Karim: The story behind ‘Born Lucky’
25 September 2026
•
Books & Literature
In August 2026, we sat down with Lucky Karim—a fellow at Refugees International and a refugee and human rights activist from Burma (Myanmar).
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / Lost in translation, looking for home
25 September 2026
•
Books & Literature
Inside Asia’s Hidden Heritage Treasures: ANN releases new e-book on continent’s shared culture
24 September 2026
•
Books & Literature
News Report / NSU Writing Center offers certificate course for professionals
21 September 2026
•
News
Fiction / The winter ballot
19 September 2026
•
Fiction
Poetry / Four poems on healing
19 September 2026
•
Poetry
Poetry / Sacred sorrows
19 September 2026
•
Poetry
Essay / How Tumblr folk tales are rewriting digital dread into quiet sanctuaries
17 September 2026
•
Essay
Essay / The menstruating body and the making of ‘womanhood’ in literature
17 September 2026
•
Essay
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
•
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
“Winter Night Ghost Stories”: Star Literature Year-End Contest
Winter nights are surely the best time for ghost stories or tales of spirits returning from the dead. This year, The Daily Star is preparing for some chilling winter night haunting.
23 September 2022
Homecoming: a short story by Syed Shamsul Haq
My plane landed in Dhaka at 2:30. By the time, I went through customs, it was 4 o’clock in the afternoon. I became restless. How long would it take to go home? No one lived there now. My house stood alone, empty. I left it one month and thirty days ago. I locked the door before I left.
23 September 2022
Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall trilogy, no more
Hilary Mantel, British author of the Tudor series of books known as the Wolf Hall trilogy, passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 22, Reuters reports. The twice Booker Prize-winning author was 70.
23 September 2022
Connecting generations through stories
Some of my most fervent memories from my chaotically loving childhood is of my Nanuji gathering all of us cousins, big bowl of rice and curry in hand ready to be prepped into balls and stuffed into our ravenous mouths, while reading Sukumar Ray’s 'Hajabarala' and 'Abol Tabol'.
23 September 2022
Race and unease in Mohsin Hamid’s ‘The Last White Man’
In The Last White Man, Hamid uses an anodyne, clinical voice to set an atmosphere of unease of a white society panicking within, as a wave of darkness intrudes their skin, turning them impure, perhaps wild.
21 September 2022
Of diverse princesses and demigods: Is racebending in fantasy adaptations enough?
Progress is underway, but some studios are still hiding behind the curtain of racebending as if it will solve all of the problems of race innate to cinema itself. Nonetheless, all of it matters—Ariel and Annabeth being portrayed by young Black women—because what we read and watch feeds our imagination.
21 September 2022
‘Books must make you see things differently': Sunandini Banerjee of Seagull Books on the art of book cover design
The process of designing a book is a combination of the practical and the creative.
21 September 2022
Talent Management in the Post Pandemic World
The book recognises that human capital is the main determinant of organisational performance in modern business and knowledge-based institutional sectors.
20 September 2022
Ginsberg, Dylan, Bhowmik’s anti-war pleas still relevant today
Fifty-one years ago, in this very month of September, Allen Ginsberg visited the Jessore Road. Upon his return to America, he would write the anti-war poem “September on Jessore Road”, which would be monumental in shifting the opinions of Americans to oppose the support of Pakistan in the Liberation War.
19 September 2022
'Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: Le messager du qawwali' launched at AFD
“I deeply admire Mr Khan for his glorious contribution to the music industry. Despite all the cultural differences, his songs resonate with everyone. I remember being mesmerised after witnessing his magic for the first time back home", shared author Dr Pierre-Alain Baud.
17 September 2022
ULAB Literary Salon to discuss freedom of speech today
Writers of both fiction and non-fiction have come under increasing pressure and censorship across South Asia. To discuss these issues, the fifth ULAB Lit Salon brings together a diverse group of experts drawn from policy and its practice, publishing, and media.
17 September 2022
Ritual
Morning sun, and its endearing ardor
swathes my spent body, I awake a ghost.
16 September 2022
I AM FROM…
I am from age-old pickle jars, and dusty ancestral bookshelves
16 September 2022
Home in the World: The Autobiography of a Well-Known Bengali
The dust jacket cover of Amartya Sen’s absorbing and remarkable memoir shows him as a young boy, with his sister and a cousin at home, looking out at the world. An apt cover image of a fittingly titled book about someone who would be always taking in the world as he went all over
16 September 2022
A new reader’s guide to Agatha Christie’s world of crime
Published in 1920, this was Christie’s debut novel that introduced readers to her unconventional detective, Poirot.
16 September 2022
SHOUTxDS Books presents ‘Slam Poetry Nights’ — Episode 1
The poems ranged from mental health issues to individual freedom of expression and every musing in between.
15 September 2022
How I became Tamijer Baap in ‘Khowabnama’
I found myself looking for him beyond the pages of Elias's novel, among the old men who beg on the streets of Dhaka, or in the madman lying on the footpath, trying to say something in a huff or lost in a hallucination on the open road.
14 September 2022
The possibilities of slam poetry
The evening of September 8 at The Daily Star Centre saw an outpouring of verses to a live and very interactive audience. Daily Star Books and SHOUT jointly launched our series of Slam Poetry Nights—an evening, every month, of verses recited in the spirit of creative freedom.
14 September 2022
Akbar Ali Khan: the “Learned” and self-critical scholar
He intended to break down the jargon of economics, history, politics, and the theories behind it and make them palatable to the everyday readers. He inspired people to take part in shaping the tools and mechanisms that drive the governance of the state.
14 September 2022
The Little Mermaid: Has Disney sanitised our expectations from fairytales?
Thanks to 2023's The Little Mermaid, Black and brown girls can finally see themselves as princesses in a film where the protagonist's skin colour is not as instrumental to the story as the princesses' heritage was in Aladdin, Mulan, and The Princess and the Frog.
14 September 2022
Show in Mobile App
Off
Show Sub Category
Off
Show in Homescreen
Off