Hay Fever

Unlike Hay-on-Wye,which runs for 10 days,the Hay Festival Kerala will take place over three days from November 12 to 14. “After the Jaipur Literature Festival,we wanted to create a literary event in the south of India. We’d shortlisted Goa,Puducherry and Chennai but we fell in love with Thiruvananthapuram,” says Roy. The backwaters,Kerala cuisine and the ayurveda massage are sure to add to the allure,Roy chuckles. Lyndy Cooke,executive director,Hay Festival,says,“We are very excited to celebrate the Hay Festival in India and Kerala became the obvious choice for its high literacy rate and since it is a popular tourist destination. The festival will create a platform to present Indian writing to an international audience.”

The festival will take place at the Kanakakunnu Palace that belonged to the Travancore royal family. “The setting is perfect,there is an amphitheatre and the palace has sprawling grounds which we will use,” says Roy. Music and other performances will take place at a separate location in Kovalam,a 40-minute drive from the city. The longlist for the authors has been prepared. The festival will feature 40 authors — 20 international authors,10 Indian authors in English and 10 regional writers. “We aim to turn it into an Asia-centric festival,” says Roy.