[1] In recent years the profile of the festival has increased substantially, with attendance by many internationally acclaimed and well-known authors and speakers.
In 2024 the festival received recognition for its diversity and openness to spotlighting sensitive issues of the day [2] Galle Literary Festival has featured many notable international, diaspora and local authors over the years including Tom Stoppard, Shehan Karunatilaka, Michael Morpurgo, Julian Barnes Richard Dawkins, Simon Sebag Montefiore, David Thompson, Sashi Tharoor, Shyam Selvadurai, Romesh Gunasekera, Dame Maggie Smith, Richard Flanagan, Siddharth Dasgupta, Ashok Ferrey, Ameena Hussein, DBC Pierre and Tishani Doshi.
In 2024 headliners included Mary Beard, Shehan Karunatilaka, Sebastian Faulks, Christina Lamb, Anthony Horowitz and Alexander McCall Smith.
Other past events included: A talk from Dame Maggie Smith Cabaret from Dillie Keane Fashion show by Beatrice von Tresckow Photo exhibition by Chris Dawes Music from Bangladeshi fusion band Chirkutt Since its inception, Galle Literary Festival has invited international chefs from around the world to host intimate "author dinners".
The 2024 chef lineup included James Lowe (Lyle's, London), O Tama Carey (Lanka Food), Jeremy Lee, Cynthia Shanmugalingam (Rambutan restaurant & cookbook), Karan Gokani (Hoppers, London), Mark Hix, Rishi Naleendra (Cloud Kitchen, SG), Paul Flynn (Tannery Restaurant), Mandy Yin (Sambal Shiok) and Peter Kuruvita