Tale of two Lit fests: Sunita Williams’ Kerala visit ignites a high-stakes literary showdown

Astronaut Sunita Williams’ visit to Kerala after her retirement from NASA triggered an intense rivalry among the state’s literary festivals. DC Books, which had been inviting her since 2019, quickly secured her appearance at the Kerala Literature Festival in Kozhikode once she retired. Competing organisers, especially the Mathrubhumi Group, also tried to host her but failed.