Sri Lanka launches first international trilingual literary festival

Sri Lanka’s first international trilingual literary festival opened in Colombo on Friday, bringing together writers, poets, scholars, filmmakers, artists and readers working in Sinhala, Tamil and English.

Health and Mass Media Minister Nalinda Jayatissa, Indian politician and author Shashi Tharoor and Colombo Mayor Vraîe Cally Balthazaar inaugurated the Colombo Literary Festival 2026 at Arcade Independence Square.

The six-day festival, organised by Colombo Literary Festival (Pvt) Ltd with the participation of five leading Sri Lankan publishing houses, will continue until July 29. It will remain open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Jayatissa described the festival as an important milestone in presenting Sri Lanka’s identity to the world through literature.

He said the event would provide a platform for people of all ages to discuss and study literature from different perspectives while giving equal space to the country’s three main languages.

The festival will feature literary discussions, book launches, creative workshops, film screenings, cultural programmes, musical performances and book exhibitions.

Organisers said the event aims to go beyond a conventional book fair by bringing Sri Lanka’s literary communities together under one roof and raising the international profile of Sri Lankan literature.

Festival Director Pradeep Samaranayake and representatives of Vidarshana Publishers, Sarasavi Publishers, Samayawardana Publishers, Agenda 14 and Darshana Marketing were among those who attended the opening ceremony.