New Delhi : Come November and Kerala could play host to the likes of Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith, Sting or even Bill Clinton at the Hay Literature festival scheduled to be held in its capital Thiruvananthapuram.

The festival which is annually held in Hay-on-Wye, Wales in the UK and which organisers say attracts nearly one lakh visitors annually brings together authors, Nobel laureates, musicians, filmmakers and thinkers.

"We have identified the Palace in Thiruvananthapuram and the beach as the venues for the festival in November which will bring together 10 to 15 international authors, 10 leading Indian authors along with 15 local regional writers," Sanjoy K Roy, Teamwork Productions, which is organising the event, said.

The first edition of the three-day event commencing from November 12, 2010 is expected to host an estimated 40 leading authors who will lead discussions, readings and debates in the tranquil settings of Thiruvananthapuram.

While previous editions of the festival have featured Bill Clinton, Sting, Salman Rushdie, Desmond Tutu, Margaret Atwood, Gordon Brown, Zadie Smith and Vikram Seth, final list for Kerala is yet to be announced. "We are very excited to celebrate the Hay festival in India and Kerala became the obvious choice for its high literacy rate and popular tourist destination.

"The festival will create a platform to present Indian writing to an international audience," says Lyndy Cooke, executive director, Hay Festival. In Kerala the event is expected to comprise of about 30 events including conversations and performances as well as workshops and collaborations with educational institutions, say organisers.

"The Hay on Wye festival is an absolute delight for any book lover and we look forward to its first India edition. Besides the razzmatazz of literature, the festival will also generate and explore new ideas on arts, poetry and storytelling," says Roy.

Since 1987 the festival in UK has grown to be a mega event featuring over 500 events across 10 days with interviews, talks and debates celebrating important figures of the literary, politic and artistic worlds, surrounded by music and exhibitions.