Advertisement

Updated November 13th, 2019 at 19:01 IST

JLF announces second list of speakers for 13th edition

Dexter Filkins, Elizabeth Gilbert and Madhur Jaffrey featured on Jaipur Literature Festival's second list of 25 speaker that was announced on Wednesday

JLF
| Image:self
Advertisement

Pulitzer winner Dexter Filkins, Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame, and culinary expert Madhur Jaffrey feature on Jaipur Literature Festival's second list of 25 speakers that was announced on Wednesday. 

Touted as world's largest free literary event, the festival, now in its 13th edition, is expected to see participation by over 250 authors, thinkers, politicians and popular culture icons, with a special focus on world literature. It will be held from January 23 - 27, 2020 at the Diggi Palace Hotel in Jaipur.

"The festival will once again be a grand marathon of ideas between idealists, realists, visionaries, intellectuals, the avant-garde and the iconoclasts, who will engage in informed discussion and be united by an abiding love for literature," organisers said.

READ: Litfests: Top 5 Literature Festivals For Bookworms To Visit

Among the speakers to watch out for in the second list are Filkins, who won the the Pulitzer prize for covering Afghanistan and Pakistan, award-winning writers Anand Gopal, Anuradha Bhagwati, Asne Seierstad, noted Indian poet Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, and former minister of European Affairs in Portugal Bruno Macaes. "The second list we have announced for January 2020 has an intriguing mix of new and established, popular and unexpected speakers. I am excited about welcoming all these wonderful authors to the festival," said festival co-director Namita Gokhale.

The list also includes a vastly diverse mix of journalists, activists, columnists, broadcasters and poets like Toole, author of seven books, including the bestselling "A Traitor's Kiss"; Delhi-born author Keshava Guha,who writes regularly on politics, literature and sports for a host of publications; novelist and activist Leila Slimani, winner of the prestigious French literature award Prix Goncourt for her second novel, "Chanson douce"; poet Lemn Sissay, who has read on stage throughout the world from the Library of Congress in the United States to the University of Addis Ababa.

"As we gear up for the 13th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival, we reinforce our commitment to bringing the best literary experience for our audiences through discourse and debate. "This year's programme features the best writers and academics from across the world including Nobel laureates, Booker, Commonwealth, Sahitya Akademi, JCB and Crossword prize winners, as well as a host of new voices who will disarm you with their perspective of our world," said festival producer Sanjoy K Roy. 

Sessions by columnists like Neelum Saran Gour and Parvati Sharma; Peter Frankopan, who was named one of the World's 50 Top Thinkers by Prospect Magazine; Paul Muldoon, a former BBC radio and television producer and winner of Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (2003 ); National Book Award finalist Peter Hessler and Magsaysay Award winning journalist Ravish Kumar, are also part of the line-up. 

READ: Saadat Hasan Manto: Here Are Some Best Books Of Literature by Manto

"The names we are revealing this week include some of the great masters of contemporary literature... I can barely believe the talent we are bringing together this year," said festival co-director William Dalrymple.

The list also includes novelist Roshan Ali, author of "Ib's Endless Search for Satisfaction" which has been shortlisted for the 2019 Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize and the 2019 JCB Prize for Literature; Indian academician Shekhar Pathak, recipient of the Padma Shri; UK poet laureate Simon Armitage and Mughal historian Supriya Gandhi. Like previous editions, the seventh edition of Jaipur BookMark (JBM), a platform for publishers, literary agents, translation agencies and writers wanting to talk business along with focussed sessions with major industry players from across the world, will run parallel to the festival.

READ: Litfests: Popular Literary Festivals In India You Must Attend

Advertisement

Published November 13th, 2019 at 18:28 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Bitcoin
a few seconds ago
Faridabad Fire: Massive Blaze Engulfs Factory in Bhankri Village, Panic Grips Locality
12 minutes ago
Riyan Parag
13 minutes ago
Raw Mango
16 minutes ago
Byju's leadership dispute
17 minutes ago
Ravichandran Ashwin
29 minutes ago
INDI Seals Seat-sharing Deal in Bihar, RJD to Contest on 26 Seats, Cong 9
33 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo