News Report / National Book Awards 2026 announces 25 finalists across five categories
11 October 2026
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News
The National Book Foundation has announced the 25 finalists for the 2026 National Book Awards, with five shortlisted works in each of the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature and Young People’s Literature. The finalists were selected from 1,912 submissions, following the announcement of the longlists in September.
Canadian writer Anne Carson wins 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature
8 October 2026
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News
Interview / Booker-longlisted Kenan Orhan on exile, memory and the art of fiction
8 October 2026
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News
Interview / Silence, faith, and the unseen: Jon Fosse in conversation
8 October 2026
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Books & Literature
Book Review: Fiction / Chasing myths before midnight
8 October 2026
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Books & Literature
News Report / Best-selling British author Jeffrey Archer dies aged 86
7 October 2026
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News
Fiction / The wardrobe
3 October 2026
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Fiction
Poetry / From fawn to shore
3 October 2026
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Poetry
Poetry / Waterhen
3 October 2026
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Poetry
Literary Curtains / Patriarchy inversed: Reimagining Rokeya’s Ladyland in 2026
“Ladyland is not perfect,” remarks Sultana, one of the protagonists in the much awaited play, “Project Ladyland 2026”. Produced by HerStory Foundation in collaboration with the British Council and Women of the World Foundation, the play was greeted by a full house this weekend. Staged at the Bangladesh Mohila Samiti theatre, the performance made a splash on Friday, August 14.
Event Report / “We do not live outside history”: Dr. Azfar Hussain on humanism, fascism, and the July Uprising
26 July 2026
“It is one of those questions that politely pretends to be a title, but secretly aspires to be a life’s work,” began Dr. Azfar Hussain on an overcast evening on the July 23, 2026, addressing a packed forum hall at the University of Liberal Arts, Bangladesh (ULAB), alluding to the title of his public lecture: What Does It Mean to Be Human in the Age of 'Posthumanism' and Global Fascism?
Event Report / “Our Story”: Where parents and children made memories by hand
15 July 2026
A unique and heartwarming workshop, designed to celebrate the beautiful journey of parenthood through creative expression and quality time
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
When all else fails, satirise
This week, the Daily Star Books compiles a list of satirical fiction for our readers to feast on. In sociopolitical climates rife with crackdowns and censorship, satire takes on the burden of giving a voice to matters that cannot be spoken about otherwise.
13 September 2023
The occult thrills of ‘The Centre’
Rarely does a book arrive, a debut no less, that feels as inventive and accomplished as Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi’s The Centre. Her novel is built on the crossroads of interpretation and ownership, of the power of language and of those privileged enough to reclaim it.
13 September 2023
When literature meets food
The author paints an engrossing picture of her experiences and memories, both influenced by food, which is true for most of the people in this world, and particularly for South Asians.
13 September 2023
‘The Dark Elf Trilogy’: The synergy between the novels and graphic novels
By visually capturing the characters, landscapes, and action scenes, the graphic novels enhance the reading experience and offer a fresh perspective on the beloved story.
13 September 2023
5 books for readers with an appetite
The Hundred Foot Journey is the story of an immigrant Indian family who sets up a restaurant right in front of a famous French relais and the feud it ensues.
11 September 2023
The brilliance of Bibhutibhushan: Of sensations, details, and accentual intimacy
Bibhuti Babu’s pen tenderly reveals the nudity of apparently disturbing feelings and emotions that we are so ashamed and afraid to accept and express.
11 September 2023
The beauty of translation and Tagore’s lyricism
"This book is a way for me to express my own emotions associated with Tagore’s lyrics”, Fakrul Alam shared his thoughts at the launch of 'Gitabitan'.
11 September 2023
Feeding desperation
Dickens, a literary luminary of his era, exposes the vicious cycle where hunger and desperation divide society, laying bare the inequities perpetuated by an exploitative system.
11 September 2023
Into the unknown: Fairytale retellings in ‘The Myth Bridge’
The creators discussed the thought process that led to the creation of the characters' journey, the challenges they encountered during the writing and editing process, and the inspiration behind the narrative choices.
11 September 2023
The matriarchy of food
It is a truth universally acknowledged that food is the undisputed sixth love language that Gary Chapman forgot to mention in his 1992 book. Or maybe it’s just the gastronome in me speaking.
8 September 2023
The alterities of hunger
In two of the more prominent fictional works that are part of the diasporic South Asian literary production, Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake and Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, food is presented as a conceptual apparatus that makes palatable the tensions of ‘multiculturalism’ and offers a critique of class barriers—if not always at the level of economics, but at the level of consciousness.
8 September 2023
Navigating the maze of nutrition myths
Unlike online influencers and their various outright claims of right and wrong, Dr Wolrich’s approach is grey.
8 September 2023
Of lost recipes and forgotten flavours
I have always had a rather avoidant recoil to the aftermath of death.
6 September 2023
Dining at Oxbridge: “Formal”, please
I was a little anxious. It was only the second day of my life at the University of Cambridge, and I was already bombarded with instructions on how to dine.
6 September 2023
The perks of being a reader in residence
The goal of this project is to bring together readers to explore literary contributions, showcase artistic quality and celebrate women in the creative world as well as to foster interests and understanding of the accomplishments of female writers and artists.
4 September 2023
The new speculative literary magazine on the block
Veering off from stories for a bit, Fahim Anzoom Rumman’s “The Secret” was a breath of fresh air. The piece seemed to be a cross between a poem and the kind of fable your grandparents would tell you as a kid to get you to fall asleep.
2 September 2023
Pandemic Nocturne 1: December Dirge
Ask me not of Grief.
For I have been burnt by its friendly fire
with blood and bits of oozing mortal flesh
spun flaky and ashen by its biting cold breath.
1 September 2023
jani dekha hobe
that single spot, shunyo, a hole that is filled
to its circumference, I drive and the sun is bigger
than I’ve ever seen and orange, look directly into it
or, i had to write a poem to go along with the first
1 September 2023
In the sand dunes
His face was growing warmer, it seemed as though the intangible entity that was stinging his closed eyes was growing stronger.
1 September 2023
The graveyard in Banani
Love is the enormous mango tree growing directly from an ancient grave, so old that no headstone remains at all.
1 September 2023
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