The Mathrubhumi International Festival of Letters (MBIFL) has unveiled a new visual identity for its eighth edition, to be held from January 28 to 31, 2027, at Kanakakkunnu Palace in Thiruvananthapuram. The identity was introduced through a front-page French window advertisement across Mathrubhumi’s editions in Keralam.
The design centres on a reworked ‘Ka’, inspired by the Malayalam letter. It is built as an open structure that can adapt across different formats and applications.
MBIFL ’27 is expected to bring together more than 500 writers, thinkers and artists from India and overseas. Alongside literature, the four-day programme will feature film screenings, performances, design conversations and discussions on politics, media, innovation and contemporary issues.
Festival chairman M V Shreyams Kumar said the festival aims to make literature a starting point for wider conversations on society and culture, adding that the identity takes it back to the roots of language while opening up new possibilities. As the festival enters its eighth edition, it remains committed to bringing together voices from different cultures, disciplines and perspectives. Festival director Mayura Shreyams Kumar said a literary festival must be a space for ideas, encounters and conversations, and that MBIFL ’27 begins with renewed energy. Fellow director Devika Shreyams Kumar said the festival should reflect a world that is complex, curious and constantly changing. Its conversations, she added, span literature, cinema, design, politics, science, food and technology, and the new identity mirrors that open, evolving spirit.
