Rainbow Literature Festival

Rainbow Literature Festival The Rainbow Lit Fest – Queer And Inclusive, seeks to be inclusive, bringing together different identities and sections of society to explore common ground.

19/06/2026

As part of our series, we revisit a conversation from RLF 2024 that explores what it truly means to create a safe and inclusive workplace.

In this clip, Taru Dahiya, Managing Director, SMB & Startups, Asia Pacific & Japan at Google Cloud, reflects on the idea of psychological safety—not simply as a workplace policy, but as a culture that enables people to speak up, contribute, challenge ideas, and know that their voices will be heard.

Drawing from her experiences as a leader and advocate for LGBTQIA+ inclusion, she highlights the importance of moving beyond policy towards action. Through examples of continuous learning and conversations around privilege, she illustrates how workplaces can better understand the different realities people bring with them, and why inclusion requires more than equal treatment.

What emerges is a reminder that belonging is not created through intention alone. It is built through everyday practices that make space for participation, learning, and accountability.

Because a truly inclusive workplace is not one where everyone has the same experience, but one where everyone has the opportunity to be heard, respected, and supported.

Video Clip: RLF 2024

PsychologicalSafety LGBTQIA DiversityEquityInclusion

FAQ #2As part of our ongoing FAQ series, we're addressing two important points about submissions for the Rainbow Awards...
18/06/2026

FAQ #2

As part of our ongoing FAQ series, we're addressing two important points about submissions for the Rainbow Awards for Literature & Journalism 2026.

The Awards are open to anyone whose work engages authentically and meaningfully with q***r lives, identities, cultures, histories, and communities. You do not need to identify as LGBTQIA+ to submit.

We also want to clarify that poetry is not a category under RALJ 2026. While poetry featured in previous editions of the Awards, submissions this year are limited to:

📚 Fiction
📚 Non-Fiction
🎨 Book Cover
📰 Features
📰 Op-Ed

These FAQs are intended as a companion to the submission guidelines and should not be treated as a complete guide. We strongly encourage all applicants to carefully read the detailed criteria, eligibility requirements, and submission process available on our website.

For complete information:

🌐 www.therainbowawards.in

📅 Submissions are open until 31 July 2026.

***rWriting ***rJournalism Q***rLiterature LGBTQIA Authors Writers Publishers BookCoverDesign Translation

📚🌈 Pride Month Book Club Spotlight #5Our fifth featured club is Read A Kitaab Book Club (Read A Kitaab Book Club ), one...
17/06/2026

📚🌈 Pride Month Book Club Spotlight #5

Our fifth featured club is Read A Kitaab Book Club (Read A Kitaab Book Club ), one of India's largest reading communities, bringing together thousands of readers through book discussions, author conversations, literary events, and meet-ups across multiple cities.

For this spotlight, Read A Kitaab recommends:

📖 Chapal Rani: The Last Queen of Bengal — Sandip Roy (Sandip Roy)

📖 The Yellow Sparrow — Santa Khurai (Santa Khurai

Along with these featured titles, the club also recommends:

📚 Q***rly Beloved — Farhad J. Dadyburjor (Farhad J. Dadyburjor

These recommendations bring together memoir, biography, fiction, and q***r history, offering readers different ways of engaging with questions of identity, gender, belonging, resilience, and community. From the life of legendary jatra performer Chapal Bhaduri to Santa Khurai's journey as a transgender activist, these books remind us of the many stories, struggles, and joys that shape q***r lives across South Asia.

Swipe through to explore the books and learn more about Read A Kitaab Book Club.

***rReads ReadAKitaab Q***rLiterature LGBTQBooks IndianLiterature Q***rHistory TransVoices PrideReads

⏳ 45 DAYS LEFT.What if this year's award-winning work is yours?Submissions for the Rainbow Awards for Literature & Journ...
15/06/2026

⏳ 45 DAYS LEFT.

What if this year's award-winning work is yours?

Submissions for the Rainbow Awards for Literature & Journalism 2026 close on 31 July 2026, and we are inviting entries across Literature, Journalism, and Book Cover categories.

📚 Literature
• Fiction
• Non-Fiction

🎨 Book Cover

📰 Journalism
• Features
• Op-Ed

We are looking for authentic, compelling, and unadulterated q***r writing from India, stories, ideas, histories, investigations, memoirs, reflections, and creative works that engage meaningfully with q***r lives, identities, cultures, and communities.

The Awards are open to authors, journalists, translators, illustrators, book cover designers, publishers, media organisations, and freelancers, depending on the category.

📅 Please note:
Only work that has already been published between 1 June 2025 and 31 May 2026 is eligible for consideration.

All submissions will be read and assessed by our distinguished 11-member jury, comprising writers, journalists, editors, academics, artists, researchers, translators, and cultural practitioners from across disciplines.

Before submitting, we strongly encourage you to read the category-specific eligibility criteria, submission guidelines, and process on our website.

🌐 www.therainbowawards.in

Whether you've been planning to submit for weeks or have only recently discovered the Awards, this is your reminder.

Your work deserves to be read.

📅 Last Date for Submissions: 31 July 2026

***rWriting ***rLiterature ***rJournalism LGBTQIA IndianLiterature Journalism Authors Writers Publishers BookDesign BookCoverDesign

📚🌈 Pride Month Book Club Spotlight #4This Pride Month, we are spotlighting book clubs and the books they believe reader...
14/06/2026

📚🌈 Pride Month Book Club Spotlight #4

This Pride Month, we are spotlighting book clubs and the books they believe readers should be picking up to engage with q***r stories, lives, and experiences.

Our fourth featured club is Bookclub x QIC, (Bookclub x QIC) a q***r book club associated with Q***ring in Chandigarh (Q***ring in Chandigarh 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️) bringing readers together to explore LGBTQIA+ literature, histories, and lived experiences through shared reading and discussion.

For this spotlight, Bookclub x QIC recommends:

📖 Kulli Bhaat — Suryakant Tripathi Nirala

📖 Your Stick Will Not Break My Strength — Sunil Mohan

These two selections span different moments in Indian literary history while opening up conversations around identity, gender, community, belonging, and q***r lives.

Kulli Bhaat is often regarded as one of the earliest Hindi literary works that invites q***r readings, making it an important text in discussions around q***r histories in Indian literature, while your Stick Will Not Break My Strength offers a powerful personal account of trans identity, resistance, healing, and self-determination.

Through its reading circles and discussions, Bookclub x QIC creates space for conversations around q***r storytelling, community, and representation, while introducing readers to both contemporary and historical q***r texts.

Swipe through to explore the books and learn more about Bookclub x QIC.

***rReads BookclubxQIC Q***ringInChandigarh Q***rLiterature IndianLiterature TransVoices LGBTQBooks Q***rStories PrideReads

13/06/2026

What makes a memorable q***r novel?

For Saikat Majumdar, jury member for the Fiction category at the Rainbow Awards for Literature & Journalism 2026, it begins with language.

In this video, Shoaikat reflects on what draws him to a work of fiction: writing that creates a sensory world, language that transports the reader, and stories whose emotional and human depth remains at the heart of the craft.

He also speaks about the power of q***rness in literature — not merely as subject matter, but as a force that animates narratives, shapes desire, and gives life to characters, images, and sentences.

As he looks forward to reading this year's submissions, Shoaikat invites writers to share stories that move, challenge, and stay with their readers.

📚 Submissions for are currently open.

Eligible books must have been published between 1 June 2025 and 31 May 2026.

For submission criteria, eligibility, and process, visit:
🌐 www.therainbowawards.in

📅 Last date for submissions: 31 July 2026

(RainbowAwards RALJ2026 Q***rLiterature Q***rWriting Fiction IndianLiterature LGBTQIA Writers Authors Storytelling)

📚🌈 Pride Month Book Club Spotlight #3This Pride Month, we are spotlighting book clubs and the books they believe reader...
12/06/2026

📚🌈 Pride Month Book Club Spotlight #3

This Pride Month, we are spotlighting book clubs and the books they believe readers should be picking up to engage with q***r stories, lives, and experiences.

Our third featured club is Pride & Prose, the q***r community book club hosted by Naz Foundation (), bringing together LGBTQIA+ readers and allies through discussions, shared reflections, and community-centred engagement with q***r literature.

For this spotlight, Pride & Prose recommends:

📖 Radiant Fugitives — Nawaaz Ahmed (Nawaaz Ahmed)

📖 My Father's Garden — Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar

In addition to these featured titles, the club also recommends:

📚 The World That Belongs to Us — Aditi Angiras & Akhil Katyal

📚 Cockatoo — Yashraj Goswami (Yashraj Goswami)

Together, these books reflect the breadth and diversity of contemporary Indian q***r writing — exploring family, faith, identity, belonging, q***r histories, and transgender experiences through deeply personal and compelling narratives.

Hosted at the New Delhi LGBTQIA+ Centre (New Delhi LGBTQIA+ Centre) , Pride & Prose creates a welcoming space for readers to discover q***r literature, exchange recommendations, and engage in meaningful conversations around q***r lives and storytelling.

Swipe through to explore the books and learn more about Pride & Prose.

***rReads PrideAndProse NazFoundation Q***rLiterature IndianQ***rWriting LGBTQBooks Q***rStories PrideReads

Meet the Awards Coordinator for the Rainbow Awards for Literature & Journalism 2026.Yash Sharma (Yash Sharma) is a Delhi...
11/06/2026

Meet the Awards Coordinator for the Rainbow Awards for Literature & Journalism 2026.

Yash Sharma (Yash Sharma) is a Delhi-based storyteller, q***r trans* advocate, and community organiser whose work sits at the intersections of storytelling, community engagement, q***r visibility, and sexual health advocacy.

As Coordinator of the Rainbow Awards for Literature & Journalism and Project Manager of the Rainbow Literature Festival – Q***r & Inclusive, Yash plays a key role in bringing together writers, publishers, journalists, artists, community partners, volunteers, and jury members to help shape and deliver these initiatives.

He is the Founder and Director of Official Humans of Q***r, a platform documenting q***r lived experiences across India, and has worked extensively in advocacy, outreach, and storytelling with a particular focus on LGBTQIA+ communities.

Yash has been recognised for his work with several honours, including being named to the Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 list (2024) and receiving The Diana Award (2024). Through his work, he continues to use storytelling as a tool for visibility, community-building, and social change.

As submissions for continue, Yash will be one of the key points of coordination behind the Awards process, working closely with applicants, publishers, partners, and the jury.

Learn more about the Awards: 🌐 www.therainbowawards.in

***rWriting Q***rJournalism LGBTQIA Storytelling CommunityBuilding Q***rVoices

📚🌈 Pride Month Book Club Spotlight #2This Pride Month, we are spotlighting book clubs and the books they believe reader...
10/06/2026

📚🌈 Pride Month Book Club Spotlight #2

This Pride Month, we are spotlighting book clubs and the books they believe readers should be picking up to engage with q***r stories, lives, and experiences.

Our second featured club is Reading Matters Book Club ( ), a reading community committed to centring voices that are often overlooked and bringing attention to stories that deserve wider readership and discussion.

For this spotlight, Reading Matters recommends:

📖 Your Stick Will Not Break My Strength — Sunil Mohan

📖 We Are Not The Others — Kalki Subramaniam ( )

In addition to these featured titles, the club also recommends:

📚 And Then He Sang A Lullaby — Ani Kayode Somtochukwu ( )

📚 Roses, In The Mouth Of A Lion — Bushra Rehman ( )

📚 Little Rot — Akwaeke Emezi ()

📚 Sista! An Anthology of Writings by Same-Gender-Loving Women

📚 Refusing Compulsory Sexuality — Sherronda J. Brown ()

📚 Unicorn — Amrou Al-Kadhi ()

For Pride Month, Reading Matters has chosen to spotlight books by transgender authors, drawing attention to voices and experiences that continue to be underrepresented even within broader conversations around diversity and inclusion.

Swipe through to explore the books and learn more about Reading Matters Book Club.

PrideMonth BookClubSpotlight Q***rReads RainbowLiteratureFestival ReadingMattersBookClub TransVoices TransAuthors Q***rLiterature

Have questions about the Rainbow Awards for Literature & Journalism 2026? We've got you covered.As submissions continue ...
09/06/2026

Have questions about the Rainbow Awards for Literature & Journalism 2026? We've got you covered.

As submissions continue to come in, we'll be sharing a series of FAQs to help authors, publishers, journalists, translators, designers, and media organisations better understand the Awards process.

Please note that these FAQs are intended as a companion to the submission guidelines and should not be treated as a complete guide. We strongly encourage all applicants to carefully read the detailed criteria, eligibility requirements, and submission process available on our website.

For complete information:
🌐 www.therainbowawards.in

📅 Submissions are open until 31 July 2026.

***rWriting ***rJournalism Literature Journalism Translation BookCoverDesign Writers Authors Publishers

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