As the forthcoming 17th edition of the prestigious Jaipur Literature Festival, scheduled to run from February 1-5 at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur, draws near, festival producer Teamwork Arts presented a preview of the world’s most sought-after literary show at The Leela Palace in New Delhi.
The festival will, like always, host a spectacular galaxy of writers, speakers, thinkers, sports people, journalists, policy-makers, social activists and more.
The literary extravaganza will see an inspirational range of linguistic diversity with sessions on 16 Indian and 8 international languages. The Indian languages include – Assamese, Awadhi, Banjara Language – Lamani (Lambada), Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Kurukh, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Sanskrit, Tamil, Toda and Urdu.
For its 2024 edition, the Jaipur Literature Festival will host about 550 speakers and artists across a vast array of nationalities, as well as recipients of major awards such as the Booker, the International Booker, the Pulitzer, the Sahitya Akademi, Dada Saheb Phalke Award, the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature, the JCB Prize for Literature and many more.
It will feature a range of themes including Fiction & Non Fiction, Literary Criticism, History, Politics & Current Affairs, Economics, Poetry, Art & Culture, Art & Architecture, Translation, Graphic Novels, Gender, Science & Medicine, Food & Memory, Biographies & Memoir, Mythology, Spirituality & Religion, Mental Health, Fashion & Lifestyle, Law & Justice, Geopolitics, Sports, Crime Fiction, Climate Change + Environment & Climate Justice, Pet Parents + Pets & Animals, Cities, Literary Icons Through The Ages, Bollywood & Cinema amongst others.
Namita Gokhale, acclaimed writer and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, said: “In this, our seventeenth year, we remain committed to the rich diversity of our multilingual literary heritage. We have writers from over twenty-five nationalities. Sixteen Indian languages shall be represented, including those from the evocative oral traditions. We explore a universe of ideas and themes – mathematics to music, camels to cuisine, environment to economics, and fiction to faction. Do look up the brilliant programme on our website.”
“My co-director William Dalrymple and I have pieced together a magical mosaic of prose, poetry and narrative documentary, wherein we try to make sense of our times and understand our place in them,” Gokhale added.
William Dalrymple, writer, historian and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, 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 & 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.”
Dalrymple added: “We are thrilled to introduce our extraordinary line-up in Delhi for the upcoming Jaipur Literature Festival 2024. The festival consistently attracts a huge number of readers, writers & literature enthusiasts from Delhi, and our list of star writers consistently features the great figures from the Delhi literary community. We extend a warm invitation to all our friends from Delhi and across the globe to join us at Jaipur Literature Festival 2024, showcasing what is undeniably one of our most compelling line-up for Jaipur to date. The impressive list includes Paul Lynch, Hernan Diaz, Ben Macintyre, Bonnie Garmus, Richard Osman, Peter Frankopan, Colin Thubron, Mary Beard, Kai Bird, Katie Kitamura, Monica Ali, Nicholas Shakespeare, Damon Galgut, Luke Syon, Katherine Rundell, Merve Emre, Vincent Brown, Amia Srinivasan, Patrick Radden Keefe, Jerry Brotton and many more. It’s going to be utterly extraordinary and should on no account be missed!”
Sanjoy K Roy, managing director of Teamwork Arts, who produce the Jaipur Literature Festival, said: “Embarking on Jaipur Literature Festival 2024, our vision is one of inclusivity, uniting the finest in literary excellence and fostering interdisciplinary conversations on a global scale. Our Festival proudly embodies pluralism, diversity, and multilingualism, showcasing more than 24 languages, with 16 hailing from India. The 2024 edition continues our commitment to fundamental values, focusing on engaging the youth, creating a democratic and accessible platform, and ensuring free and equitable participation for all.”
The Delhi Curtain Raiser at The Leela Palace saw a magical performance by Mohd Rafiq Khan Langa, from the illustrious family of Langa, traditional folk singers of Rajasthan.
Anjali Mehra, chief brand officer and senior vice president marketing, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts said: “It is our proud privilege to partner with The Jaipur Literature Festival for the third year. Through this association we celebrate our shared passion for literary arts, heritage, culture, and tradition. We are delighted to curate special experiences for our guests that are a reflection of true Indian luxury and this literary extravaganza allows us to do that while inspiring meaningful conversations.”
South Asia’s most definitive publishing conclave, the prestigious Jaipur BookMark (JBM), will run parallel to the festival, in its 11th edition, bringing together publishers, editors, literary agents, writers, translators and booksellers from across the world. This year, the forum that focuses on the business of books, will run for 5 days. JBM will showcase a plethora of interesting sessions featuring key stakeholders from the publishing world.
Highlight sessions at Jaipur BookMark (JBM)
Infinite Horizons: The Landscape of Translation
Ranjit Hoskote, Arunava Sinha, Mini Krishnan in conversation with Karthika VK
As more readers across the world reach out for translations, they also receive attention and recognition in book awards. An erudite panel discusses the reach and impact of books that cross linguistic and cultural borders.
Neenda Kaala Uravu: Literary Friendships that Last
Perumal Murugan and Kannan Sundaram in conversation with Vivek Shanbhag
Tamil publisher Kalachuvadu has consistently published Perumal Murugan’s writing over the last twenty years. The latest JCB award for Fire Bird is but one testament to the creative synergy between them. What goes into the making of such a long-standing literary friendship?
Ear to the Ground: Evolving Lists of Indian Language Publishers
Parminder Singh Shonkey, Kannan Sundaram, Gita Ramaswami, Shailesh Bharatwasi, Ravi DC, Esha Chatterjee in conversation with Mita Kapur
The vibrant hum of energy is heard across the landscape of Indian language publishing. What books are finding greater traction? Get a peek into the diverse worlds of Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi, Bangla and Punjabi publishers.
Journeys Across Boundaries
Naveen Kishore in conversation with Sanjoy Roy
Seagull Books celebrated its 40th birthday in 2023. The iconic publishing house has created fine books across borders and boundaries. Naveen Kishore walks us through the extraordinary journey of Seagull, a journey of leaps of faith, friendships and rewarding literary connections.
Digital Dreams: OTT and Publishing
Sahira Nair, Radhika Gopal, Anish Chandy, Anand Neelakantan in conversation with Ananth Padmanabhan
An outside-in view of publishing from specialists in the OTT space. What can publishers do to leverage content, old and new, with the OTT industry? How do they build greater synergy? A session that opens windows to fresh ideas and exchange.
Questing for Data: The Nielsen Report and Other Insights
Vikrant Mathur, Col Yuvraj Malik, Rick Simonson in conversation with Hemali Sodhi
For an industry poised to grow, data on the book market in India remains quite scarce. The Nielsen Report provides valuable insights on the size of the market, trends and the factors that will drive growth. Industry experts unpack key findings and advocate for the collection of more data across the spectrum of publishing.
