Irrawaddy Literary Festival

The Festival presents three days of discussion panels, workshops and individual talks from the authors, along with a variety of cultural activities: film screenings, photography and art exhibitions and street entertainers.

At the second Irrawaddy Literary Festival Aung San Suu Kyi, Jung Chang, and Fergal Keane returned as keynote speakers, along with newcomers Louis De Bernieres (Captain Corelli's Mandolin), Polly Devlin (All Of Us There) and Caroline Moorehead (Martha Gelhorn: A Life).

The event was initially due to take place in the Kuthodaw Pagoda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Mandalay, but permission that had previously been granted was retracted a day before the opening of the Festival.

The third Irrawaddy Literary Festival took place in Mandalay — at Mandalay Hill Resort Hotel — from 28 to 30 March 2015. International award winning authors and journalists took part, including Louis de Bernières (Captain Corelli's Mandolin), Anne Enright, (The Gathering), Barnaby Phillips (Another Man's War), Ratna Vira (Daughter by Court Order), Colin Falconer and Margaret Simons, along with scores of Burmese writers from all parts of the country including Pe Myint, Khin Maung Nyo, U Nay Oke, Soe Lin, Thantzin, Nay Phone Latt, Nyein Way, Aung Gyi, Thint Naw, and Thin Ma Ma Khaing.

The gathering included Lonely Planet co-founder Tony Wheeler,[18] Jung Chang (Wild Swans) Keggie Carew (Dadland) and other writers, nearly one hundred of them from Myanmar including Shwegu May Hnin, Ju, Nay Phone Latt, Yin Yin Nu, Ponnya Khin, Yi Yi Mon.

The three day programme of events included the usual mix of panel discussions, individual readings, workshops, poetry, films, exhibitions and book stalls.