The International Writers & Readers Festival which took place from 4^th - 6^th October, 2014 at Kala Academy, Panjim, Goa concluded giving a substantial experience to the organizers as well as the audiences. The Festival witnessed participation from literature stalwarts across the globe along with some well-known personalities from Goa.  In addition to literature, music, theater, and food along with publishers such as Harper Collins, Pan McMillan, Rupa, Red Ink, Penguin played a large role in the festival.



The International Writers & Readers Festival will henceforth be an annual affair for those in love with the written word.



The International Writers & Readers Festival saw the presence of Hon. Shri. Shripad Naik, Union Tourism Minister who opened the second day by lighting the traditional lamp. He said, “I am glad that for the first time, the tourist haven of Goa hosts a literary festival that has brought together writers from six different languages on one platform. It will also enlighten the delegates about Goa’s tourism and literature.



The festival saw sessions by India’s highly acclaimed and leading authors and speakers from all-over the globe. The festival had simultaneous sessions spread throughout three days with a strong emphasis on literature, poetry and politics, facts and fiction, images and painting, as well as focusing on all genres of writing.



Mr. Alaham Anil Kumar, Founder & Director, International Writers & Readers Festival, Goa, 2014 said, “It has been a great experience. We had good participation from the publishers as well as from the globally acclaimed authors. It was our attempt to celebrate literature by bringing global voices, Indian writers and literary heavyweights of regional languages together on one platform and we have successfully achieved it. We will try our level best to continue the legacy this prestigious festival and spread across the importance of knowledge sharing”.



Australian novelist and Man Booker Prize winner, Thomas Keneally, expressed his feeling at the International Writers & Readers Festival, 2014 of being more patient as a writer would have positively affected the quality of some of his books.  He said, “The overwhelming feeling after 50 years of writing is that I am free to continue writing because writing a book is an ageless experience. It’s a spiritual, emotional and psychological experience and it’s wonderful to be still writing. I feel more privileged and blessed to still write and witness such great literature festivals”.