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

Into the rhyme and reason of poetry

To be human is to be a poet. And I will tell you why.
21 March 2023

Fantasy book series you might be missing out on

The best fantasy book series seem to have figured the formulae out in their own unique ways.
20 March 2023

'Teestar Kanna' brings Teesta shoal residents to tears

Poet and writer Ishor Dulon Roy, author of Teestar Kanna, told The Daily Star that many of his relatives live on the Teesta shoal. Once they were all rich, all now lost to the river erosion.
20 March 2023

‘Monstrous fancies, misshapen dreams’: My ambivalence with ‘Dorian Gray’

“How tragic it would be if you were wasted”, made me smile in a melancholic way. I know moments when “unnecessary things are our only necessities”. And I’ve not been hesitant to give “rebellion its fascination” and “disobedience its charm.”
19 March 2023

Home and its place in Bangla literature

When we study the effects of urbanisation on formerly relevant concepts of home, newer images pop up and we find them coexisting with the previously established one.
18 March 2023

Of ‘BONOBIBI’ and music as a form of storytelling

The verses remind us that a withering, war-torn Earth can still birth new life and hopes of freedom.
18 March 2023

Will you hear my wishes

Today, I am no dead man. But I am not happy, I will not lie to you.
17 March 2023

On Coke Studio Bangla x Meghdol’s ‘BONOBIBI’ and music as a form of storytelling

When Coke Studio Bangla released Meghdol’s Bonobibi, their second song of season 2, listeners found themselves torn between loving the song and questioning it. Questioning as to why the song was done under the banner of Coke Studio, a project funded by an American-based multinational corporation; questioning what qualifies Meghdol, a band known for singing about urban life in Dhaka city, to sing about tales originating in the Sundarbans; and why the song didn’t delve deeper into the history and background of the stories they were trying to tell. It has raised a wider question about how music plays a role in storytelling.
17 March 2023

The University Press Limited heads to Chittagong

On Saturday, March 18, UPL will inaugurate its new sales centre in Chittagong at Jamal Khan Road’s Sanmar Spring Garden.
16 March 2023

A memoir that helps understand development

Perhaps the most important contribution of the book lies in providing intimate insights into how NGOs work in Bangladesh.
16 March 2023

Can ideology win over desire?

Set in 1990s Dhaka against the backdrop of the military occupation, the novella follows the lives of a young university professor, his wife, and their house help, Phulbanu. The story is narrated entirely from Phulbanu’s perspective. 
16 March 2023

5 new books to read this week

Set in the backdrop of a nameless forest, the narrative of the play 'Ekti Moragachh O Charjon Narir Shopnobhongo' revolves around characters of William Shakespeare’s creation.
16 March 2023

A diverse longlist for the 2023 International Booker Prize

Novels from India, the Caribbean, Ukraine, Spain, Bulgaria, Ivory Coast, France, Germany, Mexico, Sweden, China, Norway and South Korea in the longlist.
15 March 2023

How Netflix’s ‘Shadow and Bone’ adaptation can be improved

Season 2 of 'Shadow and Bone' will be out on Netflix on March 16—how can it do better justice to the texts than Season 1?
15 March 2023

Grow Your Reader Foundation raises the 'Flag of Peace'

Grow Your Reader Foundation instals mobile, street, and online library stations in different corners of Bangladesh, and has been providing teacher training facilities since 2016.
13 March 2023

Love the Oscars winners? Here’s what you should read

The book behind the Oscar-winning adaptations, and books about the history of the award
13 March 2023

To survive is to hope, in Nasreen Jahan’s ‘Urukku’

Originally published in 1993, 'Urukku' by Nasreen Jahan is a dive into the life of a young woman and a powerful commentary on human need.
12 March 2023

Ghazala Wahab to speak at ULAB Lit Salon on Tuesday

Also a journalist, Wahab will speak about her nonfiction, Born A Muslim, a book that talks about the increasing political irrelevance of Muslims in India and the importance of feminist interpretations of the Quran, besides highlighting other relevant socio political issues.
12 March 2023

Advice for Pliny the Elder, Big Daddy of Mansplainers

Great Man, now that you are dead, allow me to squeeze your hand. The sage bushes in Umbria are heavy with bees, so I’m killing them with hypnosis.
10 March 2023

Where are indigenous women’s stories?

Indigenous women are read even less. There are multiple root causes–lack of editorial support for indigenous authors writing in their mother tongues, the predominance of oral traditions, gender inequality and bias.
10 March 2023
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