Beyond stereotypes: Rupert Grey’s ‘Homage to Bangladesh’

Rupert Grey, a descendant of Charles Grey and best known professionally as a leading libel and copyright lawyer stood against this statement. “If Bangladesh is a basket case,” Grey tells The Daily Star, “then it is so in the best possible way.” For him, the term collapses under the sheer vitality of the country. A single square metre of a Bangladeshi street, he argues, holds more energy than entire neighbourhoods in London. Where life in England often unfolds in rigid routines, Bangladesh thrives in spontaneity—where a hanging lighter at a tea stall can become a moment of shared choreography.
25 January 2026, 12:24 PM Books & Literature
FLASH FICTION / The rickshaw artist
24 January 2026, 01:52 AM Books & Literature
FLASH FICTION / Pirouette of a phoenix
24 January 2026, 01:48 AM Books & Literature
POETRY / Memories
24 January 2026, 01:36 AM Books & Literature

EDITORIAL / Why read?
22 January 2026, 00:00 AM Books & Literature
THE SHELF / 7 new books to look out for in 2026
22 January 2026, 00:00 AM Books & Literature

INTERVIEW / Reclaiming the unwritten: Kanika Gupta on colonialism, embodiment, and the art of remembering

Gupta shares her insights on reclaiming forgotten histories, reimagining myths, and connecting ancient narratives to contemporary ecological and social concerns.
22 November 2025, 11:51 AM Books & Literature
EVENT REPORT / An eco-critical look at Sultan: Reading the manuscript of ‘Sultan Er Krishi Jiggasha’
With the aid of Duniyadari Archive, Pavel Partha’s soon-to-be-published book Sultan Er Krishi Jiggasha is a new addition, which looks at Sultan’s work from an eco-critical perspective.
8 November 2025, 11:43 AM Books & Literature
NEWS REPORT / “Curious love letter”: Wole Soyinka responds after US cancels visa
He responded to the situation with grace, mentioning “I like people who have a sense of humour".
30 October 2025, 10:45 AM Books & Literature

Surviving in a stagnant industry: What are emerging publishers doing differently?

Preexisting publishers are struggling to sustain in the market since the Covid-19 and the recent rise in paper prices. How are smaller and emerging publishers faring? 
2 February 2023, 07:56 AM

Amar Ekushey Boi Mela: An essence of Bengali excellence

This celebration of the Language Movement which happens in the Boi Mela allows the ideas associated with it to be passed down from one generation to another. Boi Mela has become a focal point for the discussions surrounding the Language Movement. 
1 February 2023, 15:37 PM

Horror, mystery, and adventures shape Shah Alam Shazu’s 52nd book

Char Goyenda Mohabipode, the 52nd book by author and journalist, Shah Alam Shazu, is being published in this year’s Ekushey Boi Mela by Anannya. The book consists of five stories whose themes mainly centre around detectives, horror, mystery and adventure. 
1 February 2023, 13:44 PM

One Hundred Years of ‘Siddhartha’: One man’s journey to enlightenment

"Perhaps you cannot find what you are seeking, because you seek too much."
29 January 2023, 12:53 PM

Young writers and poets awarded by IFIC Bank and ‘Kali O Kalam’

The prestigious Kali O Kalam Torun Kabi O Lekhak Puroshkar 2022 was conferred on January 28 at an award ceremony at Bengal Shilpalay in Dhanmondi, Dhaka.
29 January 2023, 12:02 PM

A recollection of dedication and integrity: Matiul Islam launches his second memoir

“A hero of history – every page of his life is like that of a novel, full of stories,” said actor and director Afzal Hossain, while introducing the first finance secretary of Bangladesh Md Matiul Islam.
28 January 2023, 18:00 PM

Why I disagree with ‘Bangaleer Mediocrityr Shondhane’, the book that got Adarsha banned from Boi Mela

Where Faham Abdus Salam calls Bengalis mediocre, in my soon-to-be-published book, Before You Shame My People, I see Bangladeshis as a highly promising nation of tortured people who, at the same time, have dissented against and been crushed by the powers of colonialism, imperialism, and an ancestral and oligarchical political system.
27 January 2023, 13:28 PM

The Russian novelist who predicted a nuclear apocalypse

Dmitry Glukhovsky says sales of his books depicting life in the Moscow Metro after a nuclear apocalypse have been booming since Russia put him on a "wanted" list for opposing the war in Ukraine and he was forced to flee abroad.
27 January 2023, 09:00 AM

Family of feelings: Iffat Nawaz's 'Shurjo's Clan'

Part memoir, part magical realism, this is a story about identity and the idea of home.
26 January 2023, 10:20 AM

On Prince Harry's memoir: Spare us the drivel, please

Harry’s dig at the paparazzi is the underlying theme of his life-story.
26 January 2023, 08:09 AM

Censorship in Boi Mela: A cause for concern?

Bangladesh needs to formulate a national book policy, as well as a comprehensive bibliography policy, alongside guidelines for the rights of authors and publishers, for contracts, and higher standards for editing and translating. 
26 January 2023, 06:47 AM

Kaamil Ahmed publishes ‘first book-length exploration’ of Rohingya lives abroad

I Feel No Peace is the latest in this string of books exploring the Rohingya experience. It offers, in particular, a narrative account of their history and their experience with NGOs and the UN. 
25 January 2023, 15:00 PM

Recognising excellence in translation

Saleha Chowdhury has been nominated in the Ajibon Shommanona (Lifetime Award 2022) category. Translators Venkateswar Ramaswamy and Shahroza Nahrin were jointly nominated in the Borshoshera Onudito Boi 2022 (Best Translated Book of the Year 2022) category.
25 January 2023, 10:08 AM

Marriage of art and industry: A book illustrates the Hamiduzzaman Sculpture Park

70 percent of these beautiful sculptures are built from the leftover scraps of the Summit Gazipur (464 MW) Power Plant.
24 January 2023, 12:50 PM

Defining Haiku poetry with poet Quamrul Hassan

Haiku is a poem in three lines that captures the image of a single moment in the reader’s mind.
23 January 2023, 12:30 PM

Amitav Ghosh visits ancestral home in Gopalganj

Ulpur village served as the seat of the Zamindari and Jagir of the Basu Roy Chowdhury family.
22 January 2023, 12:23 PM

Revisiting German and Bengali folklore in ‘Myth Bridge’

Here, Rapunzel, Hercules, Bon Bibi, and King Solomon might be having a gala time over tea, or fighting their own battles.
21 January 2023, 12:06 PM

Ghosts in Bangla literature and culture

“Bhoot”, the Bangla word for ghost, derives from the Sanskrit word Bhūta, referring to living beings and the past. Later, it also came to mean ‘disembodied spirit.’ Ghost stories carry a special tradition in Bangla literature and the root lies in folklore and rural culture.
20 January 2023, 18:00 PM

First look at Rumaan Alam’s ‘Leave The World Behind’ adaptation

Netflix’s adaptation of the novel features Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, Myha'la Herrold, and Kevin Bacon in lead roles, with the film being directed by Sam Esmail, creator and director of popular TV show, Mr. Robot.
20 January 2023, 04:00 AM

To be human for the corporation: Olga Ravn’s ‘The Employees’

These characters, human and machine alike, are invited to provide witness statements about their working environment to a commission, which form the entirety of the novel—a design that helps Ravn bring about an atmosphere of tension.
19 January 2023, 12:30 PM