KLF 2019 will appeal to a younger audience than before, say the organisers.

The tenth Karachi Literature Festival is being organised with a focus on new, innovative ideas and an appeal to a younger audience, it was said at the press conference by the Oxford University Press today.

Arshad Saeed Husain, who took over the reins as OUP's Managing Director after Ameena Sayied's retirement, gave a brief synopsis of the festival, saying that the theme of the 2019 edition is 'The Focus Is Tomorrow' and its sessions will reflect 'emerging trends', 'new concepts' and 'the impact of social media and technology' on the arts and literature.

KLF 2019 will take place from March 1-3 at its usual venue, the Beach Luxury Hotel.

Husain also announced KLF's new advisory board, which includes Muneeza Shamsie, Bina Shah, Iftikhar Arif, Ahmed Shah, Mujahid Barelvi, Salman Tarik Kureshi and Michael Houlgate (who is the Director of the British Council in Sindh and Balochistan).

Husain said that the advisory board has helped to develop the program, identify speakers and curate the sessions for KLF 2019, which is "a departure from the previous festivals where a very small team was responsible for curating the whole festival." He stressed, "Our focus is on being more inclusive."

He elaborated that KLF 2019 will feature 220 local speakers and 15 international delegates from 11 countries. Over 20 titles will be launched and more than 80 sessions have been planned.

The Karachi Literature Festival Getz Pharma Fiction Prize has been replaced with an award for Urdu prose or...