Gurugram, March 11 -- In January, crowds spilled out of festival tents on Kozhikode's seafront, jostling their way from one venue to another. The ninth edition of the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) pulled in over 700,000 people. Among the 580 speakers this year were astronaut Sunita Williams, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales and award-winning author Kiran Desai.

The massive turnout led to the festival bookstore being expanded from one outlet to three, with sales crossing Rs.2 crore over five days, excluding revenue from souvenirs and other merchandise. The estimated economic impact generated for hotels, transport services, restaurants, artisans and local businesses is pegged at Rs.130 crore, according to KLF officials.

It was not an isol...