A Festival to encourage Environmental Literature

Discover eco-lit at India's GLF: Authors, seminars, and awards fostering positive climate action and conservation. Join us for a sustainable literary journey.

on Nov 23, 2023

A Festival to encourage Environmental Literature | Frontlist

GLF was created in response to the critical need for literature that helps us understand our relationship with the world, mend the broken pieces, and promote love and care for the climate through positive climate action.

The third edition of India's first Green Literature Festival (GLF), a venue for all genres of eco-literature, will take place this weekend at the Century Club in Cubbon Park. The festival, which will feature more than 20 authors, a dozen sustainable product stalls, and various seminars, aims to foster "more informed and deeper conversations around important issues," according to Greenlitfest organiser Benedict Paramanand.

According to the festival's website, GLF is a response to the urgent need for literature that helps us understand our relationship with the world, mend the broken pieces, and promote love and care for the climate through positive climate action. "We believe that these conversations will lead to people taking action and influencing policy," he said.

The opening keynote will be delivered by Dr. Ullas Karanth, Founder and Emeritus Director, Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bengaluru, on November 25 at 10 a.m. This is followed by a discussion titled Mega Mammal Myopia: Looking Past the BIG Stars of Conservation, which focuses on the need for the country to develop a more holistic conservation narrative.As Benedict points out, conservation generally focuses on large, iconic creatures, leaving other organisations in an ecosystem out. "Plants and other fauna are also part of the whole system and need to be taken care of and preserved," said Benedict.

Other workshops will cover topics such as green entrepreneurship, cinematic storytelling, the business of green books, how the destruction of landscapes affects livelihoods, and graphic tales, among others. There will also be a number of workshops and master courses led by well-known authors and educators, as well as some interactive events for youngsters.

The GLF Honour Book Awards, the first of its kind in the country, also reward environmental writing in three categories: business, general fiction and nonfiction, and children.

WWF India, India Climate Collaborative, The Rainmatter Foundation, Indian Youth Climate Network, ASLE, Books on the Delhi Metro, The Earth Book Club, and Funky Rainbow are among the event's partners, which are supported by The Habitats Trust and The Rainmatter Foundation. When it comes to the effectiveness of literature in generating a conservation narrative, Rushikesh Chavan, CEO of The Habitats Trust, believes that it allows everyone to participate in the conservation discourse."When it comes to conservation, it is easy to get caught in your silos, but literature helps break down these barriers," he said.