The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) announced its first list of speakers confirmed for its upcoming 20th edition. Hosted at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur, the festival promises five days of thought-provoking literary dialogue, intellectually stimulating conversations, and a celebration of cultural exchange.
Celebrating two decades of bringing writers and readers, thinkers and audiences, India and the world together, the Jaipur Literature festival 2027 will feature an extraordinary constellation of voices spanning literature, science, journalism, history, economics, law, technology, food, fashion, culture and the arts.
Among the first speakers announced are Anamika, Tahmima Anam, Omar El Akkad, Avni Doshi, Steve Brusatte, Drummond Money-Coutts, Homi K Bhabha, Shrabani Basu, Louise Kennedy, Prabal Gurung, Sanjoy Hazarika, Isabella Hammad, SY Quraishi, Indira Jaising, B Jeyamohan, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Karan Mahajan, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Damodar Mauzo, Dame Meera Syal, Marcus du Sautoy, Geetanjali Shree, Molly Crabapple, Vali Nasr, Esther Duflo, David Van Reybrouck, Sudha Murty, Olga Tokarczuk, James Wood, Lyse Doucet, and Radhavallabh Tripathi, among many others.
The line-up brings together some of the most distinctive literary and intellectual voices of our time with writers and thinkers representing globally renowned as well as India’s linguistic and cultural diversity. From Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Assamese, Konkani, Kannada, Marathi, Bhojpuri, Sindhi, Manipuri and other Indian literary traditions to major international voices, the 20th edition will celebrate the many languages and perspectives that shape contemporary literature and ideas.
Among the scientific and intellectual voices are Marcus du Sautoy, Simonyi professor for the Public Understanding of Science and professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford; palaeontologist Steve Brusatte; and leading economists, academics and public intellectuals whose work engages with some of the defining questions of our time.
The festival will also spotlight India’s rich and diverse literary traditions, bringing together writers from across its many linguistic cultures. The line-up includes Radhavallabh Tripathi, a Sanskrit scholar and writer; Anamika, a Hindi poet, Dhrubajyoti Borah, an Assamese writer; Makarand Sathe, a Marathi playwright and writer Paul Zacharia, one of Malayalam literature’s leading voices; Damodar Mauzo, a Konkani writer; Vasudhendra, writing in Kannada; Gautam Choubey, a bilingual writer of Hindi and Bhojpuri; Raam Mori, a prominent Gujarati writer; and Jeyamohan, a bilingual writer of Tamil and Malayalam.
From the global politics of our time and histories of empire and migration to questions of caste, democracy, conflict, identity and belonging, Jaipur Literature Festival 2027 will create a space for ideas to encounter one another across disciplines, geographies and generations.
The festival will also bring literature into conversation with other forms of creative expression, with voices such as Dame Meera Syal and Prabal Gurung representing the worlds of performance, popular culture and fashion, alongside magician and storyteller Drummond Money-Coutts.
Sanjoy K Roy, managing director, Teamwork Arts said, “Twenty years on, the spirit of the Jaipur Literature Festival remains unchanged; open access, a space where ideas collide and new conversations begin, and a predominantly young audience who come together for 5 days to celebrate the arts, literature, music, food, design and built heritage.”
Namita Gokhale, writer, co-founder, and co-director, Jaipur Literature Festival, said, “The last two decades have witnessed a small festival in Jaipur, Rajasthan, grow into the largest and one of the most credible literary events on the planet. In our journey across books, ideas and dialogues we have navigated languages, cultures and a world in transition. Our dozen-plus international editions have bonded a multilingual literary fellowship, and a community of writers who give generously of their time and experience. Our loyal and engaged audiences have empowered us to search the multiple truths of narrative and poetry, from the contemporary to the classical, and the everyday to the political. January is the month of the two-faced Janus, who looks at both the past and the future. Come January , the world will once again visit Jaipur, and Jaipur will visit the world , for “the Greatest Literary Show on Earth.”
William Dalrymple, writer, historian and festival co-director, Jaipur Literature Festival, said, “Twenty years of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) is a remarkable milestone for a festival that began as a small literary gathering and grew into one of the world’s great celebrations of literature and ideas. What makes Jaipur unique is the extraordinary range of voices it brings together — from established literary figures to emerging writers, scientists, historians, artists and thinkers from across India and the world. The festival has always been about the excitement of discovery, and this twentieth edition will celebrate that spirit while opening the door to the next chapter.”
The 20th edition will also celebrate Jaipur as the home and heart of the festival, bringing together the world’s literary community in the historic and cultural landscape of Rajasthan.
As Jaipur Literature Festival marks twenty years of ideas, stories and conversations, its landmark 2027 edition will look back at an extraordinary journey while creating space for the voices, questions and stories that will shape the decades ahead.
