Mumbai: India’s pioneering festival curator and production house, Teamwork Arts, announced the first tranche of speakers for its much-awaited 18th edition of the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival, scheduled to take place from 30th January to 3rd February 2025, at Hotel Clarks Amer in Jaipur. Globally known as the ‘greatest literary show on Earth’, the Festival will once again bring together a vibrant mix of writers, thinkers and readers to explore the transformative power of literature and its unique ability to connect people across cultures.

The 2025 edition of the world’s grandest celebration of books and ideas will reinforce the timeless power of our stories to bridge divides, foster empathy, and celebrate our shared human experiences. In line with a commitment to sustainability, the 2025 iteration will feature environmentally conscious practices throughout the Festival.

With an engaging lineup of debates, thought-provoking discussions, and unforgettable performances, this year’s programme promises a unique blend of cultural wealth, literary masterpieces, and a focus on a greener future, making it a literary festival like no other.

At its heart, the Jaipur Literature Festival remains a champion of linguistic diversity, providing a platform for a wide array of languages. This year’s sessions will feature works and discussions in languages including Hindi, Bengali, Rajasthani, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Odiya, Sanskrit, Assamese, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, and Urdu emphasising the Festival’s commitment to inclusivity and representation of India’s rich literary heritage.

The 18th edition will feature over 300 speakers across five dynamic venues, offering attendees the chance to engage with a stellar lineup of global and Indian literary figures.

The first list of speakers includes literary luminaries such as 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, promising a series of stimulating and eclectic discussions.

Like each year, the Festival will showcase an impressive range of authors, thinkers, and cultural icons, including 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, and bestselling British novelist David Nicholls, celebrated for works like One Day, that pivots around a poignant and evocative love story spanning two decades and has inspired a Hollywood film and more recently, a widely-watched Netflix series.

The roster of speakers goes on to include historian and writer Ira Mukhoty, who brought the untold stories of powerful women from India’s Mughal Empire in Daughters of the Sun and 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.

Canadian-American author and journalist John Vaillant, famed........

© News9Live