New Delhi, Feb 8 (IANS): Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik will inaugurate (virtually) the tenth edition of the Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) which will revolve around the theme ‘Legends of Ancient Bharat and Beyond: Inspiring Lived Experience in the 21st Century’. Set to be held from Feb 9 to 11 at Bhubaneswar, the festival will witness speakers from four nations, including Japan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.

While four women writers -- Nasira Sharma, Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri, Prof. Beena Poudyal and Radhika Iyengar will be given the Kalinga Literary Awards in different categories, the 300 speakers will include Arundhathi Subramaniam, Sandeep Bamzai, Sitakanta Mohapatra, Amish Tripathi, Paramita Satapathy, Usha Uthup, Uday Prakash, K.R Meera, Dr Hindol Sengupta, Milee Ashwarya, Yatish Kumar, Maria Goretti, Koral Dasgupta, Nila Madhab Panda and Sudharsan Pattnaik among others.

These sessions will explore diverse topics ranging from democracy and digital revolutions to cultural nationalism and climate justice. The festival will also unveil over 30 new literary works and scholarly monographs and the winners of the Kalinga Book Awards will be announced on February 11.

Rashmi Ranjan Parida, founder of KLF added: "As India emerges as a global leader, the legends of our ancient past offer a compass for ethical leadership and inclusive progress.”