Irrawaddy Literary Festival Charitable Trust

Wonderful to hear ILF author William Dalrymple (http://www.williamdalrymple.uk.com) speaking at the Royal Geographic Society (https://rgshk.org.hk) in Hong Kong this week about his latest work, the fascinating history of the magnificent Koh-i-Noor diamond. The famous piece, with its history of bloodthirsty avarice and murderous intrigue, now sits in a crown made for the UK's Queen Victoria. The crown is part of the UK's Royal Collection on public display in the Tower of London. William's fans will be as pleased as the ILF team to know that William will be taking part in the next ILF (the fifth Festival will take place in November 2019); even better, he will be launching yet another new book. We can't wait!

A poignant picture of the ILF's esteemed patron - taken on the day she was finally released from house arrest. Thank you, Daw Suu, for your continued patronage and interest in the ILF.

ILF is happy to forward this letter from a great Festival participant, Murzban F Shroff. Well done Murzban, you are demonstrating a truly human act of generosity and thoughtfulness:
Dear Friends, I hope this finds you well. This is to request your support in a humanitarian initiative which, I feel, is the need of the hour. As you know, the Kerala floods have been the worst floods experienced by humankind in the last 100 years. The floods have left 250,000 people homeless, 900... dead, and the state reeling under damages to the tune of USD 2.7 billion. It will take 5 years of consolidated effort and investment to rebuild this once-bountiful state of India. As one who has benefited amply from the loyalty and hospitality of Malayalees (the people of Kerala), who has chuckled at their ingenuity and marvelled at their intellect, I have pledged to donate the full sum of my earnings from my novel WAITING FOR JONATHAN KOSHY retailing worldwide on www.amazon.com, from today till the end of this year. Anyone who purchases a copy of KOSHY (himself a Malayalee) from an Amazon site has my assurance that my part of the royalty will, in entirety, go toward this noble cause. Would you be so kind as to help me reach out and spread the word through your network of friends and contacts? There can be no greater joy when the power of words translate into humanitarian actions.
Here are the links to the various amazon sites where the book retails: India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B071X11VHY U.S: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071X11VHY UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071X11VHY Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B071X11VHY With warm regards, Murzban F Shroff
See more

We're all sincerely hoping that one of the greatest writers of our time will grace the next ILF event. ILF team.

ILF Board of trustees is delighted to share Dr Aung Myint's translation of important recent developments, reported at the Press briefing held on 2nd May 2018:

Hello everyone! Here is our video diary of the 2017 Irrawaddy Literary Festival, held in Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YgxJykhP mc&t=6s

Photos from the press conference on 2nd of May.

Photos from the meetings on the 1st and 2nd of May in Yangon to announce the formation of the Irrawaddy Literary Festival Myanmar Board.

The press statement announcing the formation of the Myanmar ILF Board (in English and Burmese).

Birth of the Myanmar Board: at a press conference held in the Pullman Centrepoint Hotel on the 2nd of May, the international trustees of the ILF Charitable Trust and the Myanmar chair and vice-chair of the newly formed Myanmar Board of the ILF came together to announce the official transfer of the Festival's organisation to the Myanmar Board. This is in line with the original vision of the founding director, Jane Heyn, and the Festival's patron, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to transf...er the Festival's organisation to a Myanmar Board to assume responsibility for all aspects of the Festival in Myanmar.
The International Board of Trustees was delighted to agree to the Myanmar Board's request that it continue to identify and support top international writers for future festivals. The two boards are committed to working closely together on the arrangements for the next Festival.
The date of the next Festival will be decided and announced by the Myanmar board soon.
See more

For everyone interested in the Irrawaddy Literary Festival, a snapshot of the ILF 2017. Enjoy!

Congratulations to Ponnya Khin from the ILF team!

"The Irrawaddy Literary festival was one of the highlights of our year. It has been my dream to go to Myanmar and see some of my Myanmese friends again, and I am grateful for the festival for making this a reality. It is one of the most inclusive festivals in Southeast Asia, dedicated to fostering open dialogue between local writers and international visitors. The volunteers and translators were excellent, bringing sessions about local history, politics and society to life. The organisers went out of their way with great generosity, patience and care, to ensure that our experience of the festival was a positive one. Thank you, ILF!"
Thank you Alice for these warm words and for being a wonderful participant. We all hope to see you again at the next ILF. The Team

Thank you Shwegu May Hnin for your kind remarks in The Myanmar Herald: "This is the festival where not only Myanmar writers but also International writers come together and exchange their experiences and opinions...The Yangon writers who have participated this time enjoyed it very much as a meritorious deed of knowledge-sharing and up-country trip together... Holding this festival in Mandalay is quite appropriate for International writers as Mandalay is the place where all My...anmar arts, crafts and cultural heritages are accumulated and rooted.. ILF is the very first and still one and only international literary festival in Myanmar. Its legacy includes The Nobel Myanmar Literary Festival and other literary festivals. We owe the organisers of ILF for this legacy and we all are responsible for sustainable development of this ILF.... So long as we can motivate people to love and like literature again through these festivals, we must carry on the ILF flag without fail in coming years."
See more