The eighth edition of the Nepal Literature Festival is all set to take place in Pokhara from Friday. The four-day festival is being organised by Bookworm Foundation and Random Readers Society in Lakeside.

More than 110 speakers are scheduled to take part in the festival, among which 12 are international writers. Similarly, more than 40 sessions will be held on various issues at the festival.

“This year 98 percent of our speakers are fresh faces,” says Ajit Baral, director of Bookworm Foundation. “We had planned to give the platform to new speakers keeping in mind previous suggestions.”

The literature festival, which used to take place in the Capital during its formative years, shifted its base to Pokhara since the 2015 earthquakes.

“The festival also has about 20 percent of speakers who are from Pokhara. It will be interesting to see the locals use the platform,” said Keshav Sharan Lamichhane, chairperson of Random Readers Society.

Meanwhile, the winner of the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature will also be announced in the festival. The winner will receive a cash prize of $25,000.