News Report / National Book Awards 2026 announces 25 finalists across five categories

11 October 2026 • ⁠⁠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.
Book Review: Fiction / Chasing myths before midnight
8 October 2026 • Books & Literature

Fiction / The wardrobe
3 October 2026 • ⁠⁠Fiction
Poetry / From fawn to shore
3 October 2026 • ⁠⁠Poetry
Poetry / Waterhen
3 October 2026 • ⁠⁠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

‘Middle’: Sehri Tales selections, Day 3

The top selections in poetry, flash fiction and artwork for Day 2 of the Sehri Tales challenge; prompt: Middle
26 March 2023

You said

Notun Bazar was burning, burning! /Shops, stores, woodpiles/ Piled up iron, timber, mosques and temples/ Notun Bazar was burning, burning!
25 March 2023

Smell of corpse in the air

I smell corpses rotting in the air to this day
25 March 2023

Poetry, my useless weapon

As bird flocks take wing at the rattle of Sten guns
25 March 2023

‘Candle’: Sehri Tales selections, Day 2

The top selections in poetry, flash fiction and artwork for Day 2 of the Sehri Tales challenge; prompt: Candle.
25 March 2023

‘Shadow and Bone’: new member of the "poor book adaptation club"

This season tries to cover too much ground and misplaces its focus in the process.
25 March 2023

Interview with a Birangona

That evening, a blade sliced through string, through skin, red on red on red. Kutta, the man in khaki says. It is only later I realize it is me he is calling dog. Dog. Dog.
25 March 2023

The Birangona in poetry and conversation

Using a Fulbright fellowship, Tarfia decided to come to Bangladesh to research the war and interview the women whom the Bangladesh government, in 1972, titled Birangona (war heroines). These interviews resulted in 'Seam' (Southern Illinois University Press, 2014).
25 March 2023

5 books about 25th March genocide and the aftermath

Genocide Day is an important day in our national history; the day ‘Operation Searchlight’ was executed. Here are 5 books about the massacre of 25th March and the aftermath that every Bengali should read.
25 March 2023

A night poem

my eyes can barely take the weight of sleep/ now/ now that you are wording sentences on wars
24 March 2023

Take note: How note-taking can come in handy when you’re short of inspiration

Watch this print space for the Talespeople's weekly reflections on creative writing.
24 March 2023

War and peace and poetry and poets

How can you talk about peace without taking into account war? Both are subjects not only of Tolstoy’s great novel but also of the two founding epic poems of Greek as well as Indian literature.
24 March 2023

Cement Swans

On moonlit nights when the perfume of the roses thickened the air, I was in a trance, an ecstasy of body and mind. The beauty of the night has held an allure for me my whole life.
24 March 2023

‘Begin’: Sehri Tales selections, Day 1

The top selections in poetry, flash fiction and artwork for Day 1 of the Sehri Tales challenge; prompt: Begin
24 March 2023

Everything you need to know about Sehri Tales 2023

Sehri Tales has established itself as a Ramadan tradition for writers in Bangladesh. The rules are simple: each night at midnight, for the entire month leading up to Eid-ul-Fitr, Ahmad shares a prompt, and participants have until 6 AM (sunrise) to write original poetry, flash fiction, or create unique art, and then share it online with the hashtag #sehritales2023.
24 March 2023

An invaluable study of Bangladesh's political history

"In Fool’s Paradise" is aptly named as it gives us a glimpse of post-independence Bangladesh, a young nation still struggling to find its identity amidst post-war blows.
23 March 2023

A refugee's tale in Calcutta

Unlike many of the war refugees from Bangladesh in Calcutta, he felt no urge to be involved in the war. He had fled the country to save his life, not to participate in the fight.
23 March 2023

Reading as a form of resistance: Some anecdotes from the 1971 war

After the war, the library authorities placed advertisements requesting people to return any books from the library that they might have in their possession, but the response was poor. The library's hundred-year-old collection was lost forever.
23 March 2023

5 new books that explore family life in fiction

Among the new books we’re excited to read this season, these March releases hold special promise. 
22 March 2023

In her new book, Maria Chaudhuri reimagines Pohela Boishakh for kids

Illustrated by Kazi Istela Imam, Nobo Opens a Door embraces the occasion of Pohela Boishakh—an event that is dear to many.
22 March 2023
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