The Hyderabad Literary Festival is here once again, the 2014 edition promising you a spirited experience with a wide variety of events across ‘Literary Street’ (see map on last page) in Banjara Hills – from the global to the local, from ‘high culture’ to virtuosity playing out in the streets of Hyderabad. True to its motto of ‘Celebrating Creativity’, HLF 2014 will feature a number of distinguished speakers drawn from diverse fields. The literary sessions, to be held mainly at Ashiana, will include talks and interactions with eminent writers, such as historian-biographer Rajmohan Gandhi, dancer-activist Mallika Sarabhai, young filmmaker Anand Gandhi, Sahitya Akademi (2013) award-winners Mridula Garg (Hindi) and Subodh Sarkar (Bangla), writer-publisher Urvashi Butalia, playwright- film director Mahesh Dattani, novelist Githa Hariharan, art historian Jagdish Mittal, Carnatic musician T M Krishna and Bharatanatyam danseuse Rajeswari Sainath among many others. Writers from several Indian languages will be featured, led by Hindi, the Indian language in focus at the festival. Subaltern voices of feminists, dalits, and transsexuals, minority discourses and conversations on Bollywood and crime thrillers add to the kaleidoscope of themes to be discussed. Several writers from other countries, award-winners among them, will showcase their work and present their perspectives at HLF 2014 – including some from Singapore, led by Prof Edwin Thumboo, their unofficial poet-laureate; from Ireland, the Guest Nation at HLF 2014; and from Germany, America and Sri Lanka too.