Nagaland Literature Festival opens in Kohima; first NLF prizes today

The sixth edition of the Nagaland Literature Festival (NLF) opened in Kohima on Friday with the theme "From Hearth to Page", exploring how Naga storytelling has moved from tales told around the kitchen hearth to written, published and digital forms, The Morung Express reported.

The two-day festival at Don Bosco Higher Secondary School is organised by the Writers Collective and closes on Saturday, October 31.

First NLF prizes

Writers Collective president Vishü Rita Krocha said this year's edition is special because it introduces the first NLF Prizes, for poetry, short story and essay. More than 80 entries were received, and the winners will be declared at the closing ceremony on Saturday.

She said the group began with four members and now has eleven, and that the festival tries to keep homegrown storytellers at its heart. She also called on the state government to invest more in the arts and literary development of young people, saying organisers should not have to struggle so hard to put on such an event.

Keynote on myths and identity

Delivering the keynote, Dr Kekhrie Yhome, Advisor for School Education, said myths and folklore had long carried moral values, cultural identity and shared experience across generations, and that stories are constantly created, retold and reinterpreted. He drew comparisons with Greek and Roman mythology.

He said writers have a role in challenging stereotypes and in presenting the varied identities and experiences of the Northeast, a region he described as grappling with many identities, ethnic clashes and fragile borderlands. Writing, he said, is a responsibility as much as a task.

Yhome also opened the NLF Fair 2026 and an exhibition featuring work by young design artists Dzeveu Doulo and Eliniu Elah.

Books released

Four books were launched at the inaugural session: Maria by Visemenuo, Aigha Le and The Tragopan's Song by Inakali Assumi, all from PenThrill Publication House, and Faithful Ink by Avila Mongzar, published by Heritage Publishing House.

The programme included a poetry recitation by Müile Samuel Anar, winner of the 2025 NLF Performance Act, and a folk song by Guru Veswuzo Phesao.

Who is taking part

Local publishers PenThrill, Barkweaver, Heritage, Woods Publishers and 6th Finger Publishers are at the festival alongside Scholastic India and a number of local businesses. The edition is supported by the state Tourism department, the Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority and the Department of Women Resource Development.

The festival comes a month ahead of the Hornbill Festival season, when Kohima draws its largest crowds of the year.