Anticipation is building for the seventeenth edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), scheduled to take place from 1 – 5 of February at Hotel Clarks Amer in the pink city of Jaipur. In its annual celebration of literature, this Kumbh of literature is set to host an ensemble of writers, speakers, thinkers, and humanitarians, each contributing their unique perspective to the discourse. The festival’s program is said to be a testament to its commitment to linguistic diversity, featuring a captivating array of 10 Indian languages and 7 international languages.
For its 2024 edition, the festival will host over 250 speakers from across a vast array of nationalities, as well as recipients of major awards such as , the Booker, International Booker, the Pulitzer, the Sahitya Akademi, Padma Shree, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Baillie Gifford, the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, the JCB Prize for Literature and many more.
Announced recently, the program will feature a range of themes including the fiction & non fiction, crime fiction, literary criticism, history, politics and current affairs, poetry, art and culture, translation, graphic novels, gender, science and medicine, food and memory, biographies and memoir, mythology, spirituality and religion, mental health, fashion and lifestyle, law and justice, geopolitics, sports, climate change, environment and climate justice, pet parents, pets and animals, cities, literary icons through the ages, art and architecture, bollywood and cinema, economics amongst others.
Sharing her thoughts on the program Namita Gokhale, writer, publisher, and co-director of the JLF, said, “The Jaipur Literature Festival brings the world to Jaipur and takes Jaipur to the world. It is our commitment to showcase Indian languages and writers and platform voices that represent the rich diversity of Indian literary traditions.From Sanskrit and Awadhi , to Oriya, Asamiya , and Bangla, from Tamil , Malayalam and Kannadigas, to Hindi, Rajasthani, Urdu and Punjabi , we present a spectrum of Indian languages and literary sensibilities. We have a special emphasis on oral traditions which explores expressions of indigenous and tribal voices and identity.”
“We also bring an interplay of world literatures across continents and cultures. The joyous multi-vocality and spontaneous cosmopolitanism of the Jaipur Literature Festival reflects in every aspect of our literary imagination and programming.” Gokhale mentioned.
Talking about the programme for the upcoming 17th edition of JLFl, William Dalrymple, writer, historian and co-director of the JLF, said, “Every year we try and raise the bar at the Jaipur Literature Festival, but 2024 will be our finest festival yet. We are proud to present almost all the year’s most celebrated writers from around the world: the greatest novelists and poets, environmentalists and investigative journalists, historians and biographers, scientists and economists, artists and art historians, travel writers and humourists, literary critics and philosopher-feminists – a free-flowing gathering of great literary minds and extraordinary thinkers that is like a global super symposium or mega university opening its gates for anyone who wants to attend for five whole days for free. It’s going to be utterly extraordinary and should on no account be missed!”
Sanjoy K. Roy, managing director of Teamwork Arts, producer of the JLFl, said, “In 2024, the 17th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival focuses on themes including literary criticism, science and medicine, environment and climate justice, law and justice, mental health, and geopolitics. A constellation of award winning writers including luminaries like Damon Galgut, Mary Beard, Hernan Diaz, B Jeyamohan, Simon Schama, Mridula Garg, and Marcus du Sautoy will headline the distinguished line-up.”
South Asia’s publishing conclave, the Jaipur BookMark (JBM), returns to the annual JLF with its eleventh edition. The JBM is the vibrant B2B segment of the Jaipur Literature Festival that focuses on the business of publishing and books. From ideas and conversations that sparkle to the serious business of selling rights, JBM is the open and creative space where publishers, authors, translators, editors, agents and retailers meet and build relationships that lead to better business. This year, the focus would be on emerging trends – AI, podcasts, micro audio content, Indian language publishing platforms, OTT and publishing, self- publishing; rewriting the rulebook in retail and marketing; the ecosystem of translation; Indian language publishing; educational and trade publishing: areas of common concern; honoring stalwarts in Indian publishing. JBM will run from 1st to 5th January, parallel to JLF..
The full program can be accessed on the website.
