New Delhi, Sep 27 (IANS): The annual Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF-Kathmandu) will be held on October 15-16 in the Nepalese capital with a view to strengthening cultural dialogue, and religious as well as literary perspectives.

Indian writers including Ashok Vajpayee, Sudhir Chandra, Mridula Garg, Arun Kamal, Ranjit Rae, International Booker Prize winner Geetanjali Shree, Anand Nelkanthan, OM Tanvi, Gagam Gill, Malini Awasthi, Yatish Kumar, Dr Sudha Gopalakrishnan, Paramita Satapathy, Ashok Maheswari (MD Rajkamal Prakashan), Satyanand Nirupam (Editorial Director, Rajkamal Prakashan Group), lyricist Piyush Mishra, Raj Sekhar, poet and theatre activist Vyomesh Shukla, Navita Srikant will be in attendance.

From Nepal, writer and journalist Kanak Mani Dixit, authors like Satya Mohan Joshi, poet and folklore expert Tulasi Diwasa, artist Ragini Upadhyay, Maya Thakuri, Dr. Jagman Gurung, Dinesh Adhikari, Prof. Gopal Bhandari, Basanta Chaudhary, Prof. Basudev Tripathi, Dhirendra Premarashi, Nayan Raje Pandey, Ashes Malla, Manju Kanchuli Tiwari, Nayan Raje Pandey, Dr. Gyanu Pandey, Tirtha Shresth, and over 150 writers will be joining the festival as speakers in this two-day extravaganza.

Yashaswi Prangya Pratisthan, Himalayan Diary Pvt Ltd, Rastrika Sahitya Pratisthan, Nepal-Kalinga Literary Festival have joined hands for KLF Kathmandu Edition to celebrate the spirit of Lord Shiva and Gautama Buddha in the context of Nepal-India literary ties.

The festival will focus on the traditions of Nepal.

"Kalinga Literary Festival Kathmandu will showcase literature, music, dance, poetry and other art forms. It will celebrate the long-standing ties between Nepal and India in the context of the emerging global cultures," said KLF Founder and Director, Rashmi Ranjan Parida.