The 13th edition of the three-day Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) concluded on Feb. 23 with a rousing qawwali performance by Sher Miandad Khan, a former recipient of the Pride of Performance Award.
The annual event, staged at the Alhamra Arts Center on Lahore’s Mall Road, drew tens of thousands to its free and open-to-all sessions. Apart from the sessions that sparked literary discourse, the crowds thronged the stalls of booksellers and food vendors, highlighting the festive atmosphere that heralds spring in the Punjab capital.
Day 1
LLF2025 kicked off on Friday, Feb. 21, with an opening ceremony featuring brief remarks by various dignitaries. Among the speakers gracing the stage were LLF Chairman Iqbal Z. Ahmed; DAWN Media Group’s Hameed Haroon; Deputy Head of the E.U. Delegation Philipp Oliver Gross; British Council Pakistan Country Director James Hampson; Alliance Française Lahore Director Fabrice Disdier; and LLF Founder and CEO Razi Ahmed.
In his address, the LLF chairman [Editor’s Note: Iqbal Z. Ahmed is also the Chairman and CEO of the Associated Group, the parent company of AG Media, which publishes The Standard] praised the LLF’s accomplishment in becoming a Lahore institution within just 15 years. He also announced that France had honored the LLF CEO with the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) for his contributions to the arts and cultural exchanges.
During the ceremony, Razi Ahmed announced lifetime achievement awards for Rashid Ahmed and acclaimed writer Ikramullah for their contributions to literature and scholarship. Alongside British Council’s Hampson, he also announced the winners of the Lok Dastan Prize 2025 writing competition.
Following the opening ceremony, the first day of LLF2025 formally commenced with sessions highlighting Urdu and Punjabi writing; art produced when Sikhs ruled the Subcontinent; and book launches of Society Girl and Jahanara. A particularly moving session with Palestinian Azza el-Hassan discussed how colonial violence has impacted the perception of Palestine globally. The day ended with a qawwali performance by Shafqat Salamat Ali and a screening of Bangladeshi filmmaker Shaheen Dill Riaz’s Ironeaters.
Day 2
The second day of LLF2025, Feb. 22, started at 11 a.m. and continued until 5:15 p.m., with parallel sessions underway in four halls, offering a cornucopia of choices for visitors who swarmed the venue throughout.
A highlight of the second day’s festivities was a session on the Age of A.I. Panelists such as authors Peter Frankopan, Julia von Lucadou and Mohsin Hamid joined journalists Jessica Bruder and David S. Tonge in discussing the growing prominence of artificial intelligence and the benefits and pitfalls awaiting humanity.
The day also included sessions on climate change, a pressing concern for Pakistan, and the launch of Broken Threads: My Family from Empire to Independence, penned by British-Pakistani author and journalist Mishal Husain.
Further, the day featured sessions on new Urdu literature; Sufi wisdom; and women’s participation in Urdu writing. Spanish historian Eduardo Manzano Moreno regaled audiences with takes from Al-Andalus, the Muslim-ruled region in the Iberian Peninsula from 711 to 1492. Author Ayeda Husain similarly discussed her work unpacking the history of tarot, from its Eastern origins to Western appropriation. In special back-to-back sessions, two Sri Lankan authors—Sunela Jayawardene and Razeen Sally—launched their new books at LLF2025.
Haji Noor Deen (Mi Guangjiang) also conducted a workshop on Arabic calligraphy.
Saturday’s sessions concluded with an Urdu mushaira featuring literary giants such as Iftikhar Arif, Yasmeen Hamid and Fatima Hassan, among others.
Day 3
The third and final day of LLF2025 started at noon and continued until 6 p.m., again with parallel hourly sessions across four halls.
Among the various book launches, including of works penned by F.S. Aijazuddin, Syed Nomanul Haq, Athar Tahir, Diana Darke and Nasir Abbas Nayyar, were sessions on art in South Asia and science fiction and fantasy fiction. A session on human tenacity with journalist Bruder, Palestinian el-Hassan, and authors Karen Joy Fowler and David Wagner found a surprising link with Pakistan, as Fowler recounted how a Pakistani doctor saved the life of her son.
Sunday also included panels addressing South Asia’s economic woes and Mughal art and architecture. Additionally, a session discussing plays saw Austrian writer Clemens Berger and author Lucky Fricke debating theater with Pakistan’s own Fatima Amjed and Meher Jaffri.
As the curtains fell on LLF2025, the festival once again proved its role as a beacon of literary and intellectual exchange, celebrating diverse voices from across the globe. With thought-provoking discussions, engaging book launches, and vibrant cultural performances, the event reaffirmed Lahore’s status as a thriving hub of ideas and creativity.
As attendees departed with books in hand and inspiration in their hearts, the anticipation for next year’s edition was already palpable—promising yet another celebration of literature, art, and dialogue in the city of storytellers.