Vedanta Presents Jaipur Literature Festival 2026: Most Expansive Programme Yet
Chennai: The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) 2026, presented by Vedanta, will run from January 15–19, 2026, unveiling its most ambitious programme to date. The world’s largest free literary gathering will feature 500+ speakers and 300 sessions across its iconic venues—Front Lawn, Charbagh, Surya Mahal, Durbar Hall, and Baithak.
Highlights
- Kiran Desai on The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
- Gopalkrishna Gandhi on India’s journey from Partition to present
- Banu Mushtaq, International Booker 2025 winner, on Heart Lamp
- Stephen Fry on creativity and wit in A Bit of Fry
- Viswanathan Anand revisiting his memoir Lightning Kid
- Percival Everett, Richard Flanagan, Tim Berners-Lee, Jimmy Wales, Leo Varadkar, among global voices
Indian & Global Luminaries
The line-up includes Sudha Murty, Amish, Shobhaa De, Prasoon Joshi, Navtej Sarna, Anuradha Roy, Ashwin Sanghi, Gurcharan Das, Anand Neelakantan, alongside Nobel laureates and international icons such as Esther Duflo, Anne Applebaum, Stephen Greenblatt, Fredrik Logevall.
Festival Voices
- Namita Gokhale, Co-Founder & Festival Co-Director: “Our 19th edition has a special focus on subjects as diverse as Artificial Intelligence and ghostly tales. Come January, the world will visit Jaipur, and Jaipur will visit the world.”
- William Dalrymple, Co-Founder & Festival Co-Director: “The 2026 edition may well be our most ambitious yet, bringing together Nobel laureates, pioneering scientists, historians, poets, and performers in a spirit of genuine intellectual encounter.”
- Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts: “With speakers from more than 25 countries, the festival is a testament to the power of cultural exchange and the enduring value of public discourse.”
The Jaipur Literature Festival 2026 promises five days of exceptional conversations, performances, and creative engagement, reaffirming its place as the world’s leading literary gathering.
