Bhubaneswar, April 18: Odia literature is taking the festival route to connect to readers. After a two-day literature fest concluded yesterday and another is on its way.

These fests bring together readers and writers - both luminaries and promising talents - and connect them through interactive forums.

Bhubaneswar-based Dha-uli Review Trust organised the first Odisha Art and Literature Festival on April 16 and 17. An exclusively Odia literary fest, it featured poetry sessions by Ramakant Rath, Sitakant Mohapatra, Pratibha Satpathy, Haraprasad Das and Devdas Chhotray while younger writers such as Paramita Satpathy, Gayatribala Panda, Saroj Bal and Subhranshu Panda took part. There were sessions on future of Odia cinema, future of short fiction, issues facing young publishers, and Odia translations.

"We need to undertake more such initiatives. Understanding the reader's expectation and discussing the issues of Odia literature is significant," said writer Kedar Mishra.

"Usually, we do not get to interact with our favourite authors but these festivals help us to listen to them and also ask questions. It helps us connect with the writers," said Amrita Parida, a college student and Odia literature aficionado.

The third Kalinga Literary Festival will be held at Mayfair Lagoon, Bhubane-swar, on June 18 and 19. Odisha Diary Foundation will organise the fest to celebrate the creative spirit of Odisha and commemorate the literary diversity it offers with the best minds in literature from the state and beyond interacting with each other.

This year, over 100 national and international speakers will attend the fest that is themed on Literature and Democracy.

"Lit fests help sharing of ideas, catapult authors to new highs and bring new readers to literature. However, in most festivals, people authoring in English get more importance. Even a debutant gets more importance for an underrated book," said author Subhranshu Panda.