New Delhi, Dec 15 : The Kalinga Literary Festival has proudly announced the longlisted titles in English for its prestigious annual KLF Book Awards, showcasing a diverse range of literary works across various genres. The longlist, featuring fiction, nonfiction, poetry, business, children's literature, translations, and debut works, represents the best of contemporary literature. The shortlist will be revealed on January 15, with the ultimate winners to be announced on February 11, coinciding with the final day of the 10th Kalinga Literary Festival in Bhubaneswar. Additionally, the longlisted titles in Hindi will be announced on December 27. This year's longlist includes notable works such as Amitav Ghosh's 'Smoke and Ashes: A Writer's Journey through Opium's Hidden Histories', Salman Rushdie's 'Victory City', Devika Rege's 'Quarterlife: A Novel', Ranjit Hoskote's 'Icelight', and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan's 'Breaking the Mould - Reimagining India's Economic Future'. These selections exemplify the rich tapestry of narratives that the KLF Book Awards aim to honour. The KLF Book Awards are not just accolades, but a celebration of the enduring power of literature to connect, inspire and transform. As Rashmi Ranjan Parida, Founder and Director of Kalinga Literary Festival, eloquently states, "Literature is the mirror and the lamp of society ' it reflects our realities and illuminates our dreams. At KLF, we strive to honor those literary works that challenge our perspectives, enrich our experiences, and elevate our understanding of the world and ourselves." Over the years, KLF has emerged as an annual flagship programme in the literary-cultural calendar of India with an unwavering focus to rekindle the bearing with literature and foster the culture of reading and writing, overlooking any artificially created hurdles. It offers a democratic international platform with a global appeal and bridges the gap between literature in English and other Indian languages, supremely rich with their literature. KLF Book Awards, established by KLF in 2021, opens up the opportunities to identify, recognise, acknowledge, encourage and honour the literary talents across genres, for both established and new writers. The objective has been to shape the future literary icons. /IANS