Book Review: Nonfiction / The courage to speak: The life, ideas, and legacy of Ambassador M. Serajul Islam
25 August 2026
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Reviews
Ambassador Islam passionately believed that a nation of 180 million people should chart its own path, maintaining good but never subservient relationships with global powers. He was acutely aware of “our traits as a nation” but remained firm in his belief that the country could only thrive under Lincoln's doctrine of government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
Literary Curtains / Patriarchy inversed: Reimagining Rokeya’s Ladyland in 2026
23 August 2026
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Books & Literature
Book Review: Fiction / A novel of radical softness
20 August 2026
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Books & Literature
BOOK REVIEW: FICTION / Cooking up heat
20 August 2026
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Books & Literature
Event Report / In Transit: The Third Annual Slam Poetry at North South University
19 August 2026
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News
Essay / Poet Shamsur Rahman’s drama translation: Eugene O’Neill’s ‘Marco Millions’
15 August 2026
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Essay
Poetry / Coins in the wishing wells
15 August 2026
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Poetry
Poetry / Reminiscence of life
15 August 2026
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Poetry
News Report / P. Paramita’s ‘Appetite’ sells out on launch day at New York’s Strand Bookstore
13 August 2026
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News
Interview / In conversation with Sonia Bahl: Author of ‘Eighteen Inches Apart’
What becomes increasingly evident across Bahl’s three novels is her sustained fascination with the emotional significance of almosts and maybes.
News Report / Kazuo Ishiguro set to return with new novel in 2027
20 June 2026
Ishiguro’s novels have, over his 40-plus-year career, ranged from historical fiction to fantasy to science fiction.
Event Report / Dhaka Zine Mela 2026: A celebration of creativity and community
11 June 2026
On June 6 and 7, 2026, at Goethe-Institut, Dhanmondi, Zine Mela Dhaka 2026 was held, organised by Sister Library (Dhaka) and Colors Publishing. The two-day event brought together independent artists, writers, and creators to celebrate self-publishing, artistic expression, and community engagement.
The shelf / 7 Asian healing fiction recommendations for rainy days
18 June 2026
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The Shelf
You know when the sky trades its brightness for a low, silver hue, and you wrap your fingers tightly around your tea, seeking that small, steady pulse of warmth. This is the essence of healing fiction. Often rooted in the Japanese concept of iyashikei, these stories focus on the quiet spirit through small, everyday moments. You may have already heard of Days at the Morisaki Bookshop or We’ll Prescribe You a Cat. While those popular favourites have opened a door for many, there are a few other tales worth the read.
Reflections / In the age of AI allegations
13 June 2026
Fiction / Body Selim
18 April 2026
Warm Red
A portrayal of a complex psychology, "Warm Red" tells the story of a terribly insecure man.
21 August 2022
‘Emily’ and creative freedom in literary biopics
It got me thinking that we are fascinated by the behind-the-scenes lives of our cultural obsessions, and the personal lives of authors can come to feel like public possessions just as much as their works. It is this sense of ownership that can risk conflict over films about literary icons.
20 August 2022
Rickshawallah
Under the blazing sun,
The man stands-
strong hands holding on to brake,
and legs tapping out a rhythm on pedals,
pearls of sweat glistening down
the small of a tanned back,
19 August 2022
When Your Mother is Sick – A hermit-crab fiction
Keep relatives at a distance, they will never visit but will always give untimely advice or spill half-true family secrets.
19 August 2022
Muting Shakespeare: Watching Richard III in Shakespeare in the Park
Shakespeare in the Park is a New York institution.
19 August 2022
How Partition impacted the Dhaka book trade
With the expansion of the publishing business, bookshops also sprang up in various parts of Old Dhaka, particularly in Chawkbazar, Islampur, Mughaltuli and Patuatuli. It is estimated that the number of bookshops in Dhaka till 1900 were no less than 40.
19 August 2022
Habibur Rahman's 'Thar': Unpacking the language of the Bede community
Rahman defines the Thar language and its characteristics, origins, and variations and the ethnic identity of the Bede people.
17 August 2022
Partition and the Dhaka book trade
In the first instalment of ‘Books On Record’, our new digital series on book history, Shamsuddoza Sajen writes about the impact of the Partition of India on Dhaka’s book trade. Read the article on The Daily Star website and on Daily Star Books’ Facebook and Instagram pages.
17 August 2022
Syed Waliullah: husband, artist, thinker, writer
The book includes excerpts from Syed Waliullah's diary, snapshots of his editorial for Contemporary magazine, handwritten edits on his pieces for Shaogat magazine, and a comprehensive bibliography of the author's work and achievements.
17 August 2022
Geetanjali Shree's 'Tomb of Sand': A woman and her many borders
There is a plot embedded here, but this novel is so much more: a long, winding journey, centred on a family, with acute eyes on love and distances within a family, but also through language, Partition and imposed borders, and so much more.
17 August 2022
2023 International Booker Prize judges announced
Chairing next year’s judges’ panel will be Leïla Slimani, the French Moroccan novelist known for books like Lullaby (2016) and Adèle (2019).
17 August 2022
Remembering the Poet Shamsur Rahman -- from Susmita Islam’s Phirey Phirey Chai
Remembering Shamsur Rahman on his death anniversary
17 August 2022
Mashiul Alam joins prestigious Iowa International Writing Program
Journalist and author Mashiul Alam has been selected as a resident of the 2022 Iowa International Writing Program (IWP), among the world’s most prestigious creative writing residencies.
16 August 2022
Post-Partition period in books: Prabhas Chandra, Tajuddin, and Ahmed Kamal offer testimonies
On the 75th anniversary of the 1947 Partition, we look back at the testimonies of the veteran politician, Prabhas Chandra Lahiri; the young political activist, Tajuddin Ahmed; and Professor Ahmed Kamal's book comprising research on and stories of the time.
15 August 2022
‘Mujib’ graphic novels: ‘Drawing a young Mujib and ensuring its acceptability was my biggest challenge’
I had to go through any and every film I could find that was set around the 1950s and after to understand how the society was during that time.
15 August 2022
Musing on the Revolutionary Poetics of Sukanta Bhattacharya
On Sukanta Bhattacharya and his revolutionary poetics
15 August 2022
How Salman Rushdie’s ‘Midnight’s Children’ changed my life
Metaphors have never made more sense to me than when these two swapped but intertwined lives personified India and Pakistan, the two newborn countries, whose births were marked by blood, pain and trauma.
14 August 2022
How I feel about Virginia Woolf being part-Bengali
Maybe I loved her so because we were daughters of the same soil, to some extent, at least. It made me smile. But I also sneered at myself a little bit, because her soil had also ripped apart mine for over 200 years.
13 August 2022
Shamsur Rahman, Al Mahmud, Shaheed Quaderi translated in new Bangla Academy book
The poems of Shamsur Rahman, Al Mahmud, and Shahid Qadri have been translated by Kaiser Haq, M Harunur Rashid, Kabir Chowdhury, Zillur Rahman Siddiqui and Rifat Munim for the edition.
13 August 2022
Bangabandhu’s speech at the national literature conference in Bangla Academy
Honourable president [of Bangla Academy], president of the reception committee, guests from abroad, representatives from the diplomatic corps and the respected audience,
12 August 2022
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