– India has made great strides forward in terms of sexual and gender freedoms. But still the stories of horror continue, says Tishani Doshi.

The full programme for the Bergen International Literary Festival 2020 has been published.

A number of Norwegian non-fiction authors will be at LitFestBergen next February. “We’re making a commitment to factual literature because it embraces so many good works which combine interesting information with a good literary standard,” says festival director Teresa Grøtan.

Laughter, new insights and surprises are among the qualities that make people keep reading good novels, says Lars Saabye Christensen. He and Ketil Bjørnstad are among the attendants when LitFestBergen welcomes some of Norway’s most prominent fiction writers. 

Young South Africans like poet Koleka Putuma are critical of Nelson Mandela and the idea of a "Rainbow Nation", while professor Njabulo Ndebele seeks to preserve Mandela's heritage. Both will attend the Bergen International Literary Festival next February. 

Syrian writer Khaled Khalifa (b. 1964), a finalist of the National Book Award for Death is Hard Work, lives in Damascus. Next February he will be in Bergen to talk about the daily life in Syria and the role of literature in conflict areas.