Jaipur Literature Festival to be held from Jan 19 to 23 at Hotel Clarks

The sixteenth edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) will be held between January 19-23 at Hotel Clarks, Amer, Jaipur.

The Festival will offer a representation of prominent Indian languages and multiple foreign languages with sessions spread across 5 venues with over 250 speakers.

The first list of 25 speakers released today includes winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature Abdulrazak Gurnah; Sahitya Akademi awardee, Hindi poet, translator and writer of Aienasaaz, Anamika; author of the recent Nomads: The Wanderers Who Shaped Our World, Anthony Sattin; DSC Prize shortlisted Sri Lankan author Ashok Ferrey; one of India's highest-selling English fiction writers Ashwin Sanghi; Naga writer Avinuo Kire whose latest novel is Where the Cobbled Path Leads; the first mixed-race woman author to win the Booker Prize for her Girl, Woman, Other - Bernardine Evaristo; the two-time Booker Prize shortlisted Chigozie Obioma; translator of the International Booker winner novel Ret Samadhi/Tomb of Sand, Daisy Rockwell; celebrated Indian actress, director and writer Deepti Naval.

The list continues with Booker Prize-winning British novelist Howard Jacobson; Mumbai-based poet, novelist, short story writer, translator & well-known journalist Jerry Pinto; author of the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award longlisted book Intimacies, Katie Kitamura; distinguished mathematics professor and author of The Big Bang of Numbers: How to Build the Universe Using Only Math, Manil Suri; Prize-winning author of the bestselling books The Written World and The Language of Thieves, Martin Puchner; Turkish-American author, academic, and literary critic Merve Emre; 2022 Booker Prize shortlisted author of Glory, NoViolet Bulawayo; Indian writer, blogger and translator Rana Safvi; Booker-nominated American-Canadian author, filmmaker and Zen Buddhist priest Ruth Ozeki.

The Festival will also feature author of the bestselling Empireland: How Imperialism Has Been Shaped Modern Britain which inspired Channel 4's Empire State of Mind, Sathnam Sanghera; Booker-shortlisted author of The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, Shehan Karunatilaka; winner of the 2019 Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar Award, Tanuj Solanki; author of the New York Times Editors' Choice book The Immortal King Rao, Vauhini Vara; American historian and academic Vincent Brown and journalist Vir Sanghvi.

Namita Gokhale, writer, publisher, and Co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, said: "As we prepare to welcome book-lovers to Jaipur in January, we are delighted to share some of the stellar names who will be joining us."

William Dalrymple, writer, historian and Co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival, said, "This year we are proud to present a galaxy of some of the greatest writers on the planet: a fabulous array of Nobel, Booker, Pulitzer, Sahitya Academy, Women's Prize and Baillie Gifford award winners, laureates and medallists."

Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, who produces the Jaipur Literature Festival, said: "The Jaipur Literature Festival will feature some of the greatest minds of the contemporary world including Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah, Booker Prize nominees and winners including Bernardine Evaristo, Howard Jacobson, Chigozie Obioma, NoViolet Bulawayo and celebrated Indian authors Ashwin Sanghi, Deepti Naval, Jerry Pinto and many more. This year will also focus in celebrating languages with a programme concentrated on Indian and world literature."

Audiences will also get to savour the Festival's signature Morning and Evening Music sessions with performances by leading artists and virtuosos. The signature handmade and artisanal Festival merchandise and books by participating authors will be available both at the Festival Bazaar, the Festival Bookstore and online on the Jaipur Literature Festival's official website.

--IANS