Teamwork Arts, producer of the annual Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) and the international editions of JLF, has announced the dates for the ninth edition of JLF London at the British Library. The festival will run from 10 – 12 June 2022 at the British Library to celebrate books, creativity, dialog, diversity, and varied intellectual discourse.
JLF London will encapsulate the spirit of the iconic festival, with its pervasive sense of inclusiveness and community, and come again to the heart of London with a caravan of writers and thinkers, poets, balladeers, and raconteurs, bringing alive South Asia’s unique multilingual literary heritage at the British Library.
The upcoming ninth edition of the JLF London will bring together some of the world’s most renowned writers, thinkers, artists, and entertainers to engage in some of the most pressing issues of today that include – India@75; the urgency of borrowed time (climate change); the 50th anniversary of the 1971 war; translation; poetry; art and music; business; history and many more.
The Festival features a stellar line-up, including English radio and television presenter Anita Rani; British journalist and broadcaster and the author of several highly acclaimed books Anthony Sattin; award-winning travel writer and novelist Colin Thubron; Indian-born British writer, playwright, screenwriter Farrukh Dhondy; 2022 International Booker Prize winning author of Ret Samadhi/ Tomb of Sand, Geetanjali Shree; 2010 Booker Prize winning British novelist and journalist Howard Jacobson; member of the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee and Director of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC; author of the novel Butterfly Fish, and short-story collections Speak Gigantular and Nudibranch and multiple awards Irenosen Okojie; one of India’s most experienced and acclaimed television professionals and journalists Karan Thapar.
The list continues with Caribbean born author of mixed African and Indian parentage Kris Manjapra; Indian politician and a Member of parliament Mahua Moitra; award-winning, bestselling writer whose work has been translated into twenty-six languages Monica Ali; author, screenwriter and one of the most prominent UK voices on diversity and inclusion in the arts Nikesh Shukla; renowned historian and biographer Ramachandra Guha; celebrated Indian singer and musician Remo Fernandes; third-term Member of Parliament, bestselling author of twenty-three books, and former Under Secretary- General of the United Nations Shashi Tharoor; Indian journalist, historian, and the author of the bestselling Victoria & Abdul Shrabani Basu; British historian, television presenter and author of Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, Monsters: History’s Most Evil Men and Women, Jerusalem: The Biography Simon Sebag Montefiore; historian of South Asia and author of two acclaimed books, Sixteen Stormy Days and Imperial Sovereignty and Local Politics Tripurdaman Singh.
Namita Gokhale, Sahitya Akademy recipient author, and Festival co-director said, “JLF returns to the British Library this June to present live encounters with a range of diverse voices and perspectives that examine the changing axis of the world. Life and literature, poetry and music, history and geopolitics, ideas and debate, in a not-to-be-missed summer weekend.”
Sanjoy K Roy, managing director, Teamwork Arts said, “JLF London returns in person to the British Library, bringing together an amazing array of writers and speakers including this year’s International Booker Prize winner Geetanjali Shree, Ramachandra Guha and a special stand-up segment by Dr Shashi Tharoor.”
The Jaipur Literature Festival in India is a global literary phenomenon, having hosted more than 5000 speakers and artists, and welcomed over a million book-lovers from across the globe over the past decade. JLF London at the British Library brings the universal, democratic, and inclusive core values of the Festival to the UK.
