Lahore’s celebrated cultural vitality has waned somewhat in recent years. But last month, the city welcomed spring with a raucous new party—a celebration of books.

This past month, Pakistani novelists writing in English also had the opportunity to meet readers from their own country at two different literary festivals in the largest cities of Karachi and Lahore.

Despite the rain last Friday, thousands of people made their way to the Alhamra Art Center in downtown Lahore.

Lahore, widely heralded as Pakistan’s cultural capital, hosted its first-ever literary festival over the weekend, attracting huge crowds to hear some of Pakistan’s literary giants discuss their work, their country and what it means to laugh.

There was a palpable feel-good factor around the literary festival.

The festival’s speaker lineup reads like a who’s who of Pakistani writers.

Organizers of the Lahore event later this month said it was high time the city of Mughal ruins, once famous for its poetry and music, got in on the act.