Galle Literary festival

Step One: Being Handed the Setting

Every story needs a setting, the place where everything happens and characters meet and part ways. For the Galle Literary Festival 2024, I was given the job of drawing that setting: the festival’s official map.

It was an honour. GLF celebrates literature, culture, and community, and it takes place inside Galle Fort, one of the most atmospheric places in the country. The goal was clear: capture the festival’s energy and character in a map that was both useful and beautiful.

Step Two: Speaking GLF’s Language

One of my first decisions was to build on the festival’s existing branding. GLF already had a bold colour palette and distinctive typography that regular festival-goers know well, so those became the foundation.

The map needed to fit naturally with everything else at the festival, but it also needed to offer something new. I thought of it like writing a new chapter in an author’s established voice.

Step Three: Adding Galle Fort’s Character

Then came the fun part. Inspired by Galle Fort’s architecture and the decorative motifs seen in GLF venues and materials, I added fine illustrations that echo the textures and look of the place.

From small directional icons to playful details around each venue, the map became more than a list of directions. It became a tribute to Galle’s many layers, the old walls and winding lanes that have been part of so many stories.

Step Four: Five Days, Plenty of Tea

This is the less glamorous part. The whole map was completed in five days. Writers can spend years on a single book. I had less than a week to map the place where those books would be discussed.

With tea, passion, and the occasional 1 a.m. labelling sprint, the process was intense but very rewarding. When you’re working that fast, every decision counts. Clarity came first, and the decorative details had to justify their place.

Step Five: Seeing It in the Wild

Seeing the map printed on a huge board at the festival was something special. People stopped to find their way, pointed out landmarks to friends, or simply took a moment to look at the details.

I felt as though my younger self, the kid who drew treasure maps on scraps of paper, had finally been given an official commission.

Step Six: A Keepsake for the Story

I hope the map did more than guide thousands of people from one session to the next. I hope it’s now folded into a book somewhere as a bookmark, a reminder of a week spent surrounded by stories, creativity, and the warmth of Galle.

Authors get the stage and readers get the stories. I was happy to draw the setting.