Video highlights from the 2012 Neustadt Festival

October 18, 2012

The annual Neustadt Festival of International Literature and Culture attracted its highest attendance ever this year. Celebrating the works of 2012 Neustadt Prize laureate Rohinton Mistry, the festival was a thrilling celebration of literature as well as Indian dance, music, and culture. See what the festival's all about in this highlights reel compiling the four days of events.

For more coverage, read about the 2012 Neustadt Festival in this article from the Norman Transcript featuring Mistry's acceptance speech at the closing banquet and the official announcement of the 2013 laureate of NSK Neustadt Prize for Children's Literature, Naomi Shihab Nye.

In his acceptance speech, Mistry said with a tinge of humor, “I have looked at the names of Neustadt Laureates, judges, and nominees from years past and I’m not convinced... I’m not convinced that I belong among them, but the esteemed 2012 jurors have made their choice, and who am I to argue with them.” 

In addition to thanking the jurors and the Neustadt family for awarding him the prize, Mistry's speech was laced with a capella song and completed with the reading of an excerpt from his newest novel, Family Matters, providing the hundreds of attendees with a truly profound and intimate experience.

Jen Rickard Blair is the art and web director at World Literature Today.