ESSAY / When fanfiction swapped out fans for publishing deals

10 MIN(s) ago Books & Literature
It sounds flippant to put it that way but, the Aeneid, at its core, really is a continuation fic—picking up where Homer’s Trojan War ended and following Aeneas, a minor character in the canon, as he stumbles through an entirely new narrative along with original characters and incredibly expanded lore.
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.
EVENT REPORT / Singing a 900-year-old song: Exploring Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam with Zeba Rasheed Chowdhury
3 January 2026, 10:26 AM
A book talk on Zeba Rasheed Chowdhury’s latest work, the translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam into Bengali, published by Matribhasha Prokashwas held on 27th December 2025, at Bookworm Bangladesh.The event was hosted by scientist and writer Dr. Abed Chaudhury.

Anyone can be a hero: Why I love ‘Percy Jackson & The Olympians’

From mental health struggles to characters with different racial and LGBTQ+ backgrounds, the series shines a light on people—and heroes—of diverse identities.
11 September 2022, 13:00 PM

In ‘Nehai’, Yusuf Muhammad’s doha verses explore the ceaselessness of life

The aim of a dohakar has always been to open the eyes of the masses. Many of the dohas written by the two prominent dohakars, Soroho-Pa and Kabir Das, have modernist, anti-establishment themes, criticising the social, political and religious conventions of their times. 
11 September 2022, 09:25 AM

For fans of 'The God of Small Things', an Ammu-shaped hole in the universe

As a reader, this classic novel will always remain in my heart as a symbol of courage, love, loss and above all, a symbol of enchantment.
10 September 2022, 11:35 AM

Sonabhan Bibi

One year, a week before Eid-ul-Adha, my grandma, Dadi, came to Dhaka from the village and broke into tears. “What happened?” we asked.
9 September 2022, 18:00 PM

The (thrilling) Art of a Serious Literary Pursuit

This is about living in a twilight world of a romance with fiction as well as non-fiction. It’s a ménage à trois that I wouldn’t ever end.
9 September 2022, 18:00 PM

Economics, literature, history: Akbar Ali Khan in books

Dr Khan focused on Bangladesh’s historical roots as “the last major nation-state to proclaim its identity” —a country that changed its statehood twice in less than 25 years. 
9 September 2022, 12:58 PM

First Slam Poetry Night event organised by SHOUT and DS Books

SHOUT and DS Books put on their first Slam Poetry Night.
8 September 2022, 15:53 PM

In the aftermath of the Palestinian catastrophe—'Minor Detail' by Adania Shibli (trans. Elisabeth Jaquette)

This book is an essential read to understand the extent of the erasure of Palestinian history after the Nakba and life under tyranny in its cities.
7 September 2022, 18:00 PM

A deep dive into a poet’s mind

He had lost touch almost completely with his craft, so much so that he wondered if he even had it in him. But even so, for the sake of writing, he wrote. When the pandemic hit, Helal batted off the dust of his desk and sat down to write. Sitting from a foreign land, the ink flowed again.
7 September 2022, 18:00 PM

Within the narrative folds of ‘Amar Dekha Rajnitir Ponchash Bochhor’ by Abul Mansur Ahmad

Amar Dekha Rajnitir Ponchash Bochhor unfolds a very complex process of how the people create cultures, how cultures create political orders, how orders lead to the formation of political parties, how these parties engage with political activities, and how this in turn shapes the central powers in a state.
7 September 2022, 18:00 PM

South Asia Speaks creative writing mentorship open for applications

The free, year-long fellowship for creative writers from South Asia, is accepting applications until September 30, 2022. 
7 September 2022, 07:35 AM

Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2023 open for submissions

Free to enter and open to any citizen, aged 18 and over, of a Commonwealth country, the prize accepts short story entries written in English and translated to English, as well as stories written in Bangla, Chinese, French, Greek, Kiswahili, Malay, Portuguese, Samoan, Tamil and Turkish languages. 
5 September 2022, 13:32 PM

The Day I die

Poignant lines on wishful death
5 September 2022, 12:10 PM

‘I enjoy being alone’: Helal Hafiz

Helal Hafiz has been suffering from glaucoma for a long time, alongside complications with his kidney, diabetes and nerve complications.
5 September 2022, 10:23 AM

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’—One series to fail them all?

What point is Lord of the Rings making in 2022? That people are racist and wage wars? The original trilogy, from two decades ago, was making that same point.
4 September 2022, 08:01 AM

An excerpt from “Relief Work” published in Food Conference

The entire country was submerged in water. The countryside was completely flooded. In some places the tinned roofs of houses or some bamboo poles rose out of the waters to announce the presence of human residence.
2 September 2022, 18:00 PM

Two Poems

If sunflowers shone in the sky and clouds floated in lakes,
2 September 2022, 18:00 PM

Abul Mansur Ahmad (1898- 1979)

A politician and journalist by profession, Abul Mansur Ahmad began his career as a National Congress worker in Bengal.
2 September 2022, 18:00 PM

Why ‘Hawa’ reminded me of Coleridge’s ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’

The song “Shada Shada Kala Kala” seems almost like a visual rendition of “the merry minstrelsy” that breaks out in front of the bride as red as a rose.
2 September 2022, 10:25 AM

No country for honest men in Shahidul Zahir’s “Woodcutter and Crows”

Zahir uses crows as a symbol of magic realism, as found in local folklore, where animals serve as omens of luck both good and bad. The crows seem to bring bad luck to the couple, and wherever they go, the birds follow.
1 September 2022, 07:50 AM
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