Drukyul's Literature Festival 2023

Reconnecting and Reviving

With a decade long history, Bhutan’s first literature festival is turning a new chapter. Founded as ‘Mountain Echoes’, the festival has been renamed ‘Bhutan Echoes: Drukyul’s Literature Festival’ to more accurately reflect the Bhutanese people and their lived experiences.

At a time of extraordinary change in our world, DLF 2023 will not only provide space to escape into great stories but also a forum to explore issues and the changing definition of travel, immigration, and the need for human and community connection post-pandemic, environment, and holistic wellbeing. The festival will be a place to learn, share, refresh, reflect, reconnect, and reimagine with ourselves and the world.

We hope our audience will engage with the diverse array of voices and stories this year and be inspired by exceptional ideas, books, and dialogues.

Join us this year at ‘Bhutan Echoes: Drukyul’s Literature Festival!

Namita Gokhale

Author, Publisher, Editor and Festival Director

Mita Kapur

Writer and Literary Agent

Binod Kumar Chaudhary

Businessman, Philanthropist, Author and President of Chaudhary Group

Aanchal Malhotra

Oral Historian and Writer

Benjamin Flouw

Artist and Author Based in Marseille

Christopher Kloeble

Writer and Screenwriter

Vandana Bhandari

Educator and Author

Ekta Chaudhary

Teacher, a gardener and an entrepreneur

Erlend Loe

Novelist, Screenwriter and Film Critic

Geetanjali Shree

Author

Jerry Pinto

Editor, Journalist, Novelist, Poet, and Translator

John Wehrheim

Photographer, Writer and Filmmaker

Julia Trouilloud

Attachée for Books and Ideas at the French Institute

Karuna Ezara Parikh

Writer and Poet

Madhura Phatak

Founder and Director of Purnaa Arts

Radha Chakravarty

Writer, Critic and Translator

Raghav Chandra

Author & Director of the Bhopal Literature and Art Festival

Rolf Hermann

Author and Poet

Sheela Tomy

Novelist and Short-Story Writer

Shrayana Bhattacharya

Economist

Vikas Swarup

Diplomat and Writer

Pramod Kumar K.G

Entrepreneur and Literary Advocate

Toby Walsh

Scientist

Timeline and History

2010

Her Majesty the Queen Mother of Bhutan, Gyalyum Ashi Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck co-founded Bhutan’s first literature festival ‘Mountain Echoes’ as a Bhutan- India initiative with His Excellency Pavan Varma, author Namita Gokhale, literary consultant Mita Kapur and Pramod Kumar KG.

2010-2020

Mountain Echoes has been committed to promoting literature, art and culture in Bhutan.

2020

The festival began a new chapter when His Majesty renamed it “Drukyul’s Literature Festival”. Although the festival was deferred for the last two years due to COVID, the Drukyul's Literature Festival launched Bhutan Echoes, a year-round initiative to nurture literary culture in Bhutan.

2022

This year's festival is the first to be helmed by an all-Bhutanese team and will be a hybrid of both online and in-person events.

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Bhutan EchoesDrukyul’s Literature Festival