News Report / Two Bangladeshi writers make 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize shortlist
14 April 2026, 16:54 PM
Two Bangladeshi writers—26-year-old Anmana Manishita, a lecturer at BRAC University, and 33-year-old Shazed Ul Hoq Abir, a lecturer at East West University—have been shortlisted for the 2026 Commonwealth Short Story Prize.
14 April 2026, 16:54 PM
News Report / From the ashes: Gaza’s first grassroots library rises amid genocide
12 April 2026, 21:43 PM
Two Palestinian writers, Omar Hamad and Ibrahim Massri, have been working since late 2025 to build a library in Gaza during the ongoing genocide. The Phoenix Library is located in the heart of Gaza City and, per a post from the library’s Twitter/X account, is fast approaching its official opening date despite the Gaza Strip and all of occupied Palestine still being subject to Israeli apartheid violence.
12 April 2026, 21:43 PM
NEWS REPORT / Arundhati Roy’s Mother Mary Comes to Me secures 2026 NBCC Award, continues global recognition
28 March 2026, 17:07 PM
Celebrated author and activist Arundhati Roy’s 2025 memoir Mother Mary Comes to Me (Penguin, 2025) continues to solidify its place in the zeitgeist and its cultural impact well into 2026, with its recent win at this year’s US National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Award in the Autobiography category.
28 March 2026, 17:07 PM
NEWS REPORT / Rishad Choudhury wins Association for Asian Studies’ 2026 Bernard S. Cohn Prize
13 March 2026, 19:30 PM
Rishad Choudhury, a historian and Assistant Professor of History at Oberlin College, has been awarded the 2026 Bernard S. Cohn Prize by the Association for Asian Studies for his book Hajj Across Empires: Pilgrimage and Political Cultures After the Mughals, 1739-1857 (Cambridge, University Press, 2004).
13 March 2026, 19:30 PM
NEWS REPORT / Arundhati Roy skips Berlinale over Gaza comments and festival response
17 February 2026, 19:09 PM
Arundhati Roy, celebrated Indian writer, essayist, and activist, has recently been at the centre of a controversy surrounding the Berlin International Film Festival regarding comments on the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
17 February 2026, 19:09 PM
EVENT REPORT / Md Ashanur Rahman receives the International Creative Arts Award 2025
19 January 2026, 17:38 PM
On January 18, 2026 novelist and essayist Md Ashanur Rahman was awarded The International Creative Arts Award 2025 by the International Creative Arts, Language & Development Research Centre of the University of Dhaka for his outstanding contribution to literature and its role in Enriching Minds and Inspiring Lives.
19 January 2026, 17:38 PM
NEWS REPORT / NSU DEML launches inaugural certificate course in creative writing
17 January 2026, 16:00 PM
The six-week intensive program offers beginners and budding writers mentor-led guidance in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, focusing on Bangladeshi cultural narratives
17 January 2026, 16:00 PM
EVENT REPORT / Bangladesh’s first interactive mental health book launched
15 January 2026, 13:43 PM
The book features 15 chapters covering essential topics such as attachment styles, love languages, and shadow work.
15 January 2026, 13:43 PM
Amitav Ghosh visits ancestral home in Gopalganj
Ulpur village served as the seat of the Zamindari and Jagir of the Basu Roy Chowdhury family.
22 January 2023, 12:23 PM
First look at Rumaan Alam’s ‘Leave The World Behind’ adaptation
Netflix’s adaptation of the novel features Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, Mahershala Ali, Myha'la Herrold, and Kevin Bacon in lead roles, with the film being directed by Sam Esmail, creator and director of popular TV show, Mr. Robot.
20 January 2023, 04:00 AM
‘Eken Babu’ writer Sujan Dasgupta found dead under mysterious circumstances
He was reportedly found lying on the floor of his bedroom, according to the police.
18 January 2023, 12:32 PM
William Dalrymple plays a role in world’s largest Commonwealth heritage conservation programme
The 216-year-old building of the former British Residency of Hyderabad (also known as Koti Residency or Hyderabad Residency) has been fully restored after a remodelling work of nearly 20 years.
16 January 2023, 11:42 AM
Hanif Kureishi's Twitter diary and why he couldn't make it to Bangladesh
"I realised I had to start again as a person and a writer. I had to become a comic writer, a serious writer, a writer who could integrate the madness and most interesting elements on the same page."
16 January 2023, 06:09 AM
‘Border Crossings’ hopes to reconcile diasporic identities
Syed Afzal Hasan Uddin says of first generation immigrants that they—who are already grappling with the duality of their multifaceted identities—were not seen as being Bengali enough by their parents.
14 January 2023, 12:18 PM
Colleen Hoover cancels ‘It Ends With Us’ colouring book on domestic abuse
Readers are questioning how “a coloring book was ever going to ‘tastefully mirror Lilly Bloom’s story’ of violent domestic abuse.”
13 January 2023, 06:32 AM
Dhaka Lit Fest 2023: Kishwar Chowdhury to open a restaurant soon
"I started my journey with a simple dream of writing a book for my children", she shared at the talk.
8 January 2023, 12:16 PM
DHAKA LIT FEST, DAY 3: Big books, big ideas
Author and literary critic Nilanjana Roy moderated a session on "A World Without a Centre", with Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah, Bengali litterateur Amitav Ghosh, and novelist and political analyst Pankaj Mishra discussing how novels play a role in shaping a world that lives with the legacy of colonialism, and the of impacts of climate crises and technology.
7 January 2023, 18:00 PM
3 writers to receive IFIC Bank literary recognition
Among them, journalist and writer Mashiul Alam has been selected as the best writer for the IFIC Bank Literary Award 2020. Celebrated poet and researcher Aminul Islam and litterateur Swikrit Noman have been selected as the best writers for the IFIC Bank Literary Award 2021.
1 January 2023, 11:55 AM
'The VIP passes are a form of sponsorship', Dhaka Lit Fest says
Those who are paying for the BDT 10,000 tickets are allowing us to keep the student and general ticket prices at an affordable rate”, said Kazi Anis Ahmed.
1 January 2023, 07:20 AM
A new book revisits guitar legend Niloy Das
Talking about the artist, co-author Milu Aman said, "Although he was admired in the world of music, many generations did not know him. This is our initiative to spread the word about the 'unsung hero' of our music, Niloy Da, and to get to know him a little more.’’
1 January 2023, 07:06 AM
The best that we read this year
We asked the DS Books editors and contributors about the books that most moved them this year.
29 December 2022, 07:44 AM
Dhaka Lit Fest tickets to go on sale soon
Some attendees have raised questions over why one would hesitate to pay for a literary event if they already spend money on watching films and going to restaurants. Students, however, have expressed opposing views.
26 December 2022, 09:21 AM
Shehan Karunatilaka, Daisy Rockwell and Geetanjali Shree to speak at the 10th Dhaka Lit Fest
The winners of the 2022 Booker Prize and the 2022 International Booker Prize—Shehan Karunatilaka, Daisy Rockwell and Geetanjali Shree—will be speaking at the 10th Dhaka Lit Fest.
15 December 2022, 10:39 AM
Bookworm Bangladesh to reopen in Shahabuddin Park, Gulshan 2
The new branch is expected to open in mid-January, store owner Amina Rahman told The Daily Star.
4 December 2022, 15:07 PM
Slam Poetry Nights 4 goes to Gulshan Paara Uthshab
SHOUT and Daily Star Books jointly organise the Slam Poetry Nights once every month to offer a platform for conversations on art, personal freedom, and the issues urgent to the country’s people, all through the lens of poetry.
4 December 2022, 12:00 PM
SHOUTxDS Books presents 'Slam Poetry Nights' — Episode 3
The December session arrives on Friday, December 2, at the Gulshan Paara Utshab at 3:00-3:45 PM.
1 December 2022, 14:00 PM
Nadeem Zaman’s new novel takes ‘The Great Gatsby’ to Dhaka
To be published by Hachette India in early 2023 and meant to be circulated exclusively in South Asia, the novel is “a story of passion, decadence, infidelity, privilege, identity, and the many confounding faces of love and loss in contemporary Dhaka.
30 November 2022, 12:00 PM
What ails Bangladesh's publishing industry?
The price we pay for the local paper takes advantage of that extra duty, and practically we are stuck with buying low quality local paper with questionable output often.
26 November 2022, 11:38 AM