India, Nov. 20 -- For years, Jaipur hogged the spotlight - a kind of Coachella for the bookish, where authors became headliners and panels felt like intellectual red carpets. But beyond the Pink City, India is now in the throes of a full-blown literary festival boom. From hill-station salons to beachside symposiums, these festivals are less about hushed readings and more about cultural theatre. The country isn't just reading; it's performing its new literary identity, and we have the ultimate cheatsheet to upcoming literary festivals in India.

In a country as linguistically layered and culturally contradictory as India, one festival was never going to be enough. Literature here doesn't flow from a single river; it erupts from dozens of s...