The 11th Karachi Literature Festival is going to be on full swing this weekend at the Beach Luxury Hotel. The Anarchy and City of Djinns author William Dalrymple returns to the literature festival as a keynote speaker. Dalrymple will be speaking with novelist Zaheda Hina at the opening ceremony. He also has a few sessions which promise to be interesting. On Saturday morning, he will be speaking in the main garden about Indian paintings for the East India Company. In the afternoon you can catch the book launch of his latest book, The Anarchy, with an introduction by George Fulton. Dalrymple is one of the founders and a co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival. For film buffs, Framji Minwalla will be in conversation with filmmaker Sabiha Sumar on “Is Pakistan a brave nation” on Saturday at 2:15pm in Jasmine. The session will be moderated by nuclear physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy. This will be followed by a session on stage and teleplays shaping society in the main garden by Kaif Ghaznavi, actor Khaled Anam, Bee Gul, writer Haseena Moin, and actor Sanam Saeed at 4:45pm. The Prisoner’s Omar Shahid Hamid will also discuss “why write fiction” with journalist David Waterman in Aquarius on Saturday. He will also be speaking about his book The Fix while talking about writing cricket with Qamar Ahmed, author of Far More Than A Game. For film buffs, Framji Minwalla will be in conversation with filmmaker Sabiha Sumar on ‘Is Pakistan a brave nation’ on Saturday at 2:15pm in Jasmine. The session will be moderated by nuclear physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy Connoisseur of Urdu poetry are in for a treat as Iftikhar Arif, Kishwar Naheed, politician Faisal Subzwari, Ambareen Hasib Amber, Ahmad Atta, Anwar Shaoor, Harris Khalique, Jawaid Saba, Najma Usman and Zehra Nigah will sit together for a mushaira from 6pm to 9pm. Sunday afternoon should be interesting with director Saqib Malik, Meray Paas Tum Ho’s Adnan Siddiqui and Sangeeta will be in conversation in the main garden with Faseeh Bari Khan, actors Faysal Qureshi and Sheheryar Munawar Siddiqui on Pakistani cinema in the 21st century. History buffs should not miss the launch of Harriet Sandys Beyond That Last Blue Mountain: My Silk Road Journey. If you’re interested in current affairs, don’t mis Kashmir: The Paradise Lost with Victoria Schofield, Athar Abbas, Mushaal Hussein Mullick and AJK’s president Sardar Masood Khan For some laughs, don’t miss young comedians Faiza Saleem, Natalia Gul and Gul Zaib Shakeel redefining satire on Sunday evening. The festival is free for all and will have over 200 speakers, 80 sessions and 20 book launches. The theme of the festival is ‘Across Continents: how the world travels’ and it will explore different aspects of the trans-geographical nature of literature. Organisers said that a number of sessions will look at how the written and spoken word connect across borders and result in a cross-pollination of ideas and inspiration of literary works.