2024 Festival Theme & Artwork

The theme of this year's Festival, 'Satyam Vada Dharmam Chara,' originates from the epic Hindu scripture, the Mahabharata. Translated as Speak the Truth, Practice Kindness, it emphasizes truth and kindness as an essential human quality. It is linked to the philosophical concept of Balinese Hinduism, ‘Tri Pramana’, the three powers within humans: Bayu (wind), Sabda (speech), and Idep (mind), representing the abilities to live, speak, and think.

For more than two decades, our Festival has grown to become Southeast Asia’s most meaningful literature event, showcasing and sharing groundbreaking storytelling from leading writers and thinkers.

This October, the Festival will continue to spark ideas, foster dialogue, and provide a space for engaging world voices. Alongside author in-conversations and panel discussions there will be performances, literary lunches and dinners, guided cultural tours, late night readings, live music and spoken word, as well as, book launches and workshops.

Aligned with this profound theme 'Satyam Vada Dharmam Chara: Speak the Truth, Practice Kindness', the Festival delves into the work of our writers who are creating a difference in the current literary arena. In a world where words are powerful weapons, we are invited to reflect on the influence and importance of literature amidst rapid technological advancements, information dissemination and current events, based on the principles of truth and integrity.

“This year we will present a program that explores how words and ideas can shape public discourse, influence societal norms, and how writers can amplify the values of truth and kindness, against a world that is increasingly going the other way.”

Janet DeNeefe, Festival Founder and Director

The team at Hour Hall transformed the Festival artwork into the official Festival poster, refining fonts, colors, and forms while honoring the integrity of the artwork.

The artwork can be downloaded in high resolution through the link below.

Festival Poster in PDF Format

Download Artwork