JLF 2024 lines up literary luminaries

By Mitali

Pulitzer Prize-winning luminary Hernan Diaz, alongside distinguished figures such as art critic and writer Katie Kitamura, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, journalist-novelist Raj Kamal Jha, and cultural commentator Mary Beard will grace the 17th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), scheduled to take place from February 1-5. Termed as “the Kumbh of literature”, the forthcoming festival will unfold its chapters at Hotel Clarks Amer in Jaipur.

As in previous years, the Pink City will serve as the stage for a diverse mix of great writers, thinkers, humanitarians, politicians, business leaders, sports people and entertainers—all convened on one platform to champion the freedom of expression and engage in thoughtful debate and dialogue.

Among the luminaries gracing the podium are Damon Galgut, winner of the 2022 Booker Prize; debut novelist of Quarterlife Devika Rege; best-selling American author of The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death, Jeff Goodell; prize-winning and bestselling broadcaster Jerry Brotton; acclaimed Hindi novelist and writer Mridula Garg, and award-winning author of three novels, Nilanjana S Roy. The list further unfolds with the inclusion of award-winning journalist-author Patrick Radden Keefe; fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani; British writer Ben Macintyre; recipient of 47 honourary doctorates, RA Mashelkar, and former chief justice of Orissa High Court, S Muralidhar, among other luminaries.

Namita Gokhale, writer, publisher, and co-director of JLF, remarked, “The Jaipur Literature Festival brings the world to Jaipur and takes Jaipur to the world. We also bring an interplay of world literatures across continents and cultures. The joyous multivocality and spontaneous cosmopolitanism of the Jaipur Literature Festival reflect in every aspect of our literary imagination and programming.”

Like its previous 16 editions, JLF will feature a broad spectrum of languages and host sessions that delve into literary works in Assamese, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Urdu, and seven international languages.

Reflecting on the 17th edition, William Dalrymple, writer, historian, and co-director of the festival, asserted, “Every year, we try and raise the bar at the JLF, but 2024 will be our finest festival yet. We are proud to present almost all the year’s most celebrated writers from around the world.”

Running parallel to the JLF, the tenth edition of the Jaipur Book Mark (JBM) will bring together a diverse array of publishers, literary agents, writers, translators, translation agencies, and booksellers from across the globe. This year, the spotlight will be on emerging trends such as AI, podcasts, micro-audio content, Indian-language publishing platforms, OTT and publishing, self-publishing, rewriting the rulebook in retail and marketing, the ecosystem of translation, educational and trade publishing, and the honouring of stalwarts in Indian publishing, among other pertinent subjects.