The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), globally celebrated as the “greatest literary show on earth,” has released another set of speakers for its 19th edition, set to take place from 15 to 19 January 2026 at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur. With this announcement, the festival brings together a truly diverse and stellar assembly of authors, thinkers, artists, and trailblazers from India and around the world. This final speaker announcement completes a carefully curated group of thought leaders and writers, featuring Nobel laureates, Booker Prize winners, Sahitya Akademi awardees, historians, scientists, social commentators, poets, philanthropists, and many others.
This line-up brings together a range of literary talent, including both the festival co-directors, Namita Gokhale and Willian Dalrymple, and featuring celebrated names such as Amish, Anuradha Roy, Anne Applebaum, Alice Oswald, Daisy Rockwell, Deepa Bhasthi, Esther Freud, Jeet Thayil, Kiran Desai, Marie Darrieussecq, Megha Majumdar, Neige Sinno, Richard Flanagan, Ruchir Joshi, Sonya Rhie Mace, along with Sumana Chandrashekar and Tamim Al-Barghouti. Economists Arvind Subramanian and Esther Duflo, along with policymakers such as Nicholas Stern, Radoslaw Sikorski, Abhishek Singh add to the lustre of the final speaker list. Historians, biographers, chroniclers represented include Alex Von Tunzelmann, Fredrik Logevall, Alka Patel, Ella Al-Shamahi Janina Ramirez, Jos Gommans, Fara Dabhoiwala, Avi Shlaim, and Eric Chopra as well as Devesh Kapur.
The festival continues to champion a rich diversity of perspectives, featuring scientists, cultural historians, science journalists, columnists and memoirists such as Archana Sharma, Luke Coutinho, Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Laura Spinney, Timothy Berners-Lee, Rachel Clarke, and Bhawana Somaaya. It also welcomes a distinguished group of academics, art curators, art historians, and biographers, including Debra Diamond, Andrew Graham-Dixon, Helen Molesworth, Sonya Rhie Mace, Priyambada Jayakumar, Marcia Langton, Herald van der Linde, and Ivo de Figuerido along with Justice DY Chandrachud.
Business leaders, nutritionists, and influencers represented are Rujuta Diwekar, Pernia Qureshi, and Ramita Navai, while sports personalities and celebrities like Viswanathan Anand, Vir Das, Stephen Fry, and Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Marwar-Jodhpur. Political personalities and social commentators include Leo Varadkar, Karan Singh, Thant Myint-U, and Vandana Vasudevan. The festival also features prominent voices from journalism, non-fiction and fiction including Sudha Murty, Ian Hislop, Harleen Singh, and Scott Anderson. Spiritual and motivational voices such as Gaur Gopal Das join the festival, further enriching its diversity of perspectives.
Namita Gokhale, co-founder and co-director of the JLF, said, “JLF 2026 captures the spectrum of human imagination – from the poetic to the intellectual, the political to the personal. Each voice in this gathering adds a texture to our shared celebration of ideas, creativity, and the written word. The festival remains a convergence of stories that connect us across languages, histories, and continents.”
William Dalrymple, co-director, added, “This year’s JLF brings together an extraordinary constellation of minds, historians, poets, thinkers, and storytellers from across the world. It’s an astonishing reminder of the power of ideas to inspire, provoke, and transform. I can’t wait for Jaipur to once again become the vibrant crossroads of global thought and conversation.”
Sanjoy K Roy, managing director of Teamwork Arts, said, “With the final speakers confirmed, the 2026 edition reaffirms its place as a global platform where creativity, discourse, and cultural exchange converge. This year’s festival offers a unique opportunity to engage, inspire, and celebrate the transformative power of storytelling.”
In addition to its literary sessions, the Jaipur Literature Festival 2026 will present the Jaipur Music Stage, Heritage Evenings, and the 13th edition of Jaipur BookMark (JBM), offering opportunities for performance, cultural celebration, and industry collaboration. The festival remains committed to being an inclusive, accessible, and democratic space where writers, thinkers, and audiences gather to explore ideas, stories, and debates that resonate locally and globally.
For more details, visit: www.jaipurliteraturefestival.org
