Jaipur: The 18th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival, to be held from 30 January to 3 February, will once again aim to bring together a vibrant mix of writers, thinkers and readers to explore the transformative power of literature, festival curator Teamwork Arts has said.
There would be 300 speakers across five venues, the curator said, announcing the first list of speakers this week. Among them are André Aciman, Anirudh Kanisetti, Anna Funder, Ashwani Kumar, Cauvery Madhavan, Claudia De Rham, David Nicholls, Fiona Carnarvon, Ira Mukhoty, Irenosen Okojie, Jenny Erpenbeck, John Vaillant, Kallol Bhattacherjee, Maithree Wickramasinghe, Manav Kaul, Miriam Margolyes, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Nathan Thrall, Prayaag Akbar, Priyanka Mattoo, Stephen Greenblatt, Tina Brown, V.V. Ganeshananthan, Venki Ramakrishnan, and Yaroslav Trofimov.
In line with their commitment to sustainability, Teamwork added, the 2025 iteration would feature environmentally-conscious practices throughout the festival. As a “champion of linguistic diversity,” the event will also provide a platform for a wide array of languages. This year’s sessions will feature works and discussions in Hindi, Bengali, Rajasthani, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Sanskrit, Assamese, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, and Urdu.
Festival co-director and writer Namita Gokhale said in a statement: “The Jaipur Literature Festival has always been a vibrant meeting place for stories, ideas, and cultures. As we prepare for our 18th edition, we celebrate literature’s power to inspire, challenge, and unite. This year, we welcome an incredible lineup of authors, poets, and thinkers, who will engage our audiences in unforgettable conversations and foster a shared love for the written word.”
Historian, writer and fellow co-director William Dalrymple said the festival had “always been a celebration of the written word, a confluence of diverse voices, and a testament to the power of stories to inspire and connect”.
“This year, as we gather again in the Pink City, we look forward to welcoming a stellar lineup of writers, thinkers, and dreamers from around the world. It’s a space where ideas spark, cultures converge, and conversations thrive–a true carnival of literature for all,” he said.
Teamwork Arts managing director Sanjoy K. Roy said the festival aimed to amplify its impact this year, “not just as a celebration of literature but as a powerful platform for storytelling that resonates with audiences worldwide”.
Speakers
Among speakers will be Indian historian Anirudh Kanisetti, known for his deep dive into South Asian history, whose latest book, The Age of Wrath: A History of the Delhi Sultanate, explores the rise, rule, and impact of the Delhi Sultanate on medieval India.
Also to hold forth will be bestselling British novelist David Nicholls, celebrated for works like One Day, that pivots around a poignant and evocative love story spanning two decades.
The line-up of speakers goes on to include historian and writer Ira Mukhoty, who in her latest book, The Lion and The Lily: The Rise and Fall of Awadh, tells a nuanced and richly layered account of the rise and fall of Awadh in the eighteenth century against the background of the international struggle between Britain and France.
There will also be Canadian-American author and journalist John Vaillant, famed for his exploration of the conflict between nature and humankind in The Golden Spruce, who in his latest book, Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast, takes readers on a riveting journey through the intertwined histories of North America’s oil industry and the birth of climate science, to the devastation brought about by modern forest fires, and the lives forever irrevocably impacted by these disasters.
The festival will welcome Sri Lankan-American novelist V.V. Ganeshananthan, whose latest Brotherless Night is a novel set during the Sri Lankan Civil War, and explores the personal and political turmoil of a young woman navigating her way through the violence.
There will be British-Australian writer and actress Miriam Margolyes, best known for her role as Professor Sprout in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. She has recently released her memoir, Oh Miriam: Stories from an Extraordinary Life, where she shares candid anecdotes from her life, including her experiences with famous personalities and behind-the-scenes stories from her career.
The festival will feature journalist and author Nathan Thrall, whose latest book, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: A Palestine Story, is a gripping portrayal of a fateful day in Palestine that upends lives, loves, enmities, and histories in an act of tragic violence. It won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize.
Harvard academic Stephen Greenblatt will shed light on his latest book Second Chances, co-authored with Adam Phillips, which examines the human capacity for renewal, as seen through Shakespeare and Freud, highlighting human resilience and the complexities of recovery.
Among other speakers are acclaimed authors Andre Aciman, best known for Call Me by Your Name, whose latest work is Roman Year: A Memoir, a deeply romantic memoir of his time in Rome while on the cusp of adulthood; Cauvery Madhavan, whose novels explore personal and family dynamics and the migrant identity; and British theoretical physicist Claudia De Rham, author of A Place in the Sun.
Also featured are Irenosen Okojie, British-Nigerian writer whose works blend magical realism with contemporary themes, and economist Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan, whose exploration of risk and uncertainty has reshaped global thinking.
There will be Indian author Prayaag Akbar, whose latest book Mother India centres around the complexities of modern India through the lives of two young people in Delhi, along with Sri Lankan academic Maithree Wickramasinghe, whose latest book In My Mother’s House: Civil War in Sri Lanka, delves into the profound impact of the Sri Lankan civil war on families, identity, and the broader social fabric of the country.
Attendees can also look forward to a session with Tina Brown, whose work includes The Palace Papers, that looks into the British royal family’s challenges and changes after Princess Diana, covering key events like the rise of Kate Middleton and Harry and Meghan’s royal exit.
Also in the spotlight are Ukrainian-born Italian journalist and chief foreign-affairs correspondent at The Wall Street Journal, Yaroslav Trofimov, a 2024 Pulitzer finalist, whose Our Enemies Will Vanish, is a powerful account of Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion, and Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan, whose latest book Why We Die: The New Science of Ageing and the Quest for Immortality, is a groundbreaking exploration of the science of why and how we age and die.
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