Jaipur Literature Festival 2026 begins 15 January with five days of ideas and inspiration

Kolkata, 7 January, 2026: The Jaipur Literature Festival 2026, presented by Vedanta, will return from 15–19 January 2026 with its most ambitious edition to date. The world’s largest free literary gathering will host over 500 speakers and 300 sessions across its iconic venues—Front Lawn, Charbagh, Surya Mahal, Durbar Hall, and Baithak—spanning literature, history, politics, science, technology, climate action, poetry, and performance.

Highlights include Kiran Desai on her Booker-shortlisted novel The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny; Gopalkrishna Gandhi reflecting on India’s journey in The Undying Light; and Banu Mushtaq, winner of the International Booker Prize 2025, discussing Heart Lamp. Global voices such as Stephen Fry, Viswanathan Anand, Percival Everett, Richard Flanagan, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and Jimmy Wales will join leading Indian authors including Sudha Murty, K.R. Meera, Prasoon Joshi, and Anuradha Roy. Sessions will also spotlight poetry, graphic novels, climate narratives, and satire, with contributions from Alice Oswald, Jeet Thayil, Megha Majumdar, and Ian Hislop.

Festival Co-Director Namita Gokhale noted, “Nothing human is alien to us. We celebrate multilingual discourse, from Japanese manga to India’s twenty-two national languages. Come January, the world will visit Jaipur, and Jaipur will visit the world.”

Co-Director William Dalrymple added, “This edition may well be our most ambitious yet. Nobel laureates, pioneering scientists, historians, poets, and novelists will gather in a Jaipuri crucible of ideas, fermenting bold debates on geopolitics, AI, fiction, and poetry.”

Producer Sanjoy K. Roy emphasized, “With speakers from more than 25 countries, the Festival is a testament to cultural exchange and the enduring value of public discourse. It is a meeting ground for communities and a celebration of creative expression.”

The Jaipur Literature Festival 2026 promises five days of exceptional dialogue, performances, and discovery.

Full schedule: jaipurliteraturefestival.org