KOLKATA: Kolkata International Foundation for Arts, Literature and Culture will host the Little Magazine Festival 2026 on Sept 12 and 13, bringing together 25 little magazines, editors, poets, writers and literary enthusiasts for a two-day celebration of Bengal’s independent literary culture.Scheduled from 3 pm to 8 pm on both days, the festival will feature discussions, conversations, poetry readings and a special exhibition of old, rare and historic little magazines and periodicals, including publications that are seldom accessible to the public.The festival seeks to foreground the little magazine movement’s role in nurturing emerging writers, experimental forms and alternative ideas. Often described as the “nursery of literature,” little magazines in Bengal have long served as spaces for literary innovation and dissent, while also engaging with art, theatre, dance, society, politics, environment and wider cultural debates.Prabal Kumar Basu, eminent poet and Chairperson of KIFALC, said many major names in Bengali literature had emerged from the little magazine movement. “This festival celebrates the love, dedication and creative spirit behind these publications, while also bringing rare and historic magazines to the public that are otherwise difficult to access,” he said.The participating magazines will primarily include publications that emerged around or after 2000, placing contemporary voices alongside archival material from earlier decades. The exhibition is expected to offer visitors a chance to trace the journey of little magazines through rare issues, historic periodicals and printed works that have shaped literary and cultural conversations but are not commonly available in public collections.The festival will be inaugurated by Anil Acharya, Bengali scholar, essayist and editor of Anustup, who will also speak on the opening day. Biswajit Roy will join a discussion on the second day, while poetry readings by invited poets will be held across both evenings.Arunava Sarkar, editor of Bhashalipi, described the festival as an important initiative for bringing together little magazine editors, poets and literary voices. He said the inclusion of an exhibition of rare publications made the event “a unique celebration of the Little Magazine movement, created with immense passion and receiving an enthusiastic response from the public.”KIFALC sees the festival as more than a literary event, positioning it as a meeting ground for writers, editors, poets, artists and creative practitioners from different disciplines. The initiative is intended to encourage conversations across generations and create a larger platform for documenting and strengthening Bengal’s little magazine communities in the years ahead.
