New Delhi: Jaipur Literature Festival 2026 has unveiled a second list of speakers for its 19th edition, which will be held from 15-19 January 2026 at Hotel Clarks Amer in Jaipur.
The new announcement names a wide-ranging roster of writers, thinkers and public figures. Confirmed participants include Archana Sharma (senior physicist, CERN Geneva), former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian, Nobel Prize-winning economist Esther Duflo, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, satirist Ian Hislop, art historian Debra Diamond, poet-novelist Jeet Thayil and Booker Prize winner Kiran Desai, among others. The festival will also feature nature poet Alice Oswald, novelist Ashwin Sanghi, historian Narayani Basu, nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, Himalayan chronicler Stephen Alter, disability rights activist Tarini Mohan, publisher William Sieghart and Telugu feminist writer Volga.
The announcement pairs Nobel laureate Esther Duflo — who won the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in 2019 — with Canadian journalist and author Tanya Talaga.
The event’s co-director, Namita Gokhale, said the festival will “provide windows to many worlds and glimpses into the future”, while William Dalrymple, another co-director, described the line-up as “one of our most extraordinary” since the festival began. Sanjoy K. Roy of Teamwork Arts and Priya Agarwal, from Vedanta—the event’s presenter, also emphasised the event’s commitment to free expression and storytelling as a force for connection, organisers added.
Alongside panel sessions, JLF 2026 will stage Heritage Evenings, the Jaipur Music Stage and the industry forum Jaipur BookMark, continuing its five-day programme of talks, performances and publishing-industry events, the organisers said. JLF said tickets and further details are available on the festival’s website.