Lit Sutra is a programme of cultural relations through reading and writing, building on the success of the British Council's festival of Indian writing at London Book Fair 2009.
Over one week in April 2009, in association with Reed Exhibitions’ The London Book Fair, 53 Indian writers representing 15 Indian languages, and their British counterparts, took part in the British Council’s India 09: Through Fresh Eyes cultural programme. This was the biggest festival of Indian writing ever held outside the subcontinent, taking place in nine cities across the UK. The India 09 programme has so far reached 27,300 people directly and over 30 million people through extensive media coverage in the UK, India and internationally. More than 90 Indian publishers exhibited at The London Book Fair’s Market Focus pavilion.
The Lit Sutra legacy work encompasses several different strands of activity in India : the introduction of English literature in to the classroom through the BritLit programme; a series of Creative Writing courses, beginning in Chennai in October 2009; an ongoing discussion of reader development and curriculum development in Indian schools and universities, with a view to these strategies being implemented in 2009 -2010; and a series of writer exchanges, which began with translation workshops in Kolkata and Delhi in August 2009 and continues with writer visits to India and Sri Lanka through the autumn and into spring 2010. This activity will take place across India, at the Jaipur Literature Festival, and at Sri Lanka’s Galle Literary Festival, and writers confirmed include Ian Rankin, Jake Arnott, Tony Lee, Woodrow Phoenix, Sophie Hannah, Claire Tomalin, Michael Frayn, China Mieville, Denise Mina, Mark Billingham, and Andy Diggle.
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