Jaipur, Nov 19th: The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF), hailed globally as the “greatest literary show on earth,” has unveiled the final roster of speakers for its 19th edition, scheduled from 15th to 19th January 2026 at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur. The announcement completes a carefully curated line-up of authors, thinkers, artists, and trailblazers from India and around the world, featuring Nobel laureates, Booker Prize winners, Sahitya Akademi awardees, historians, scientists, social commentators, poets, philanthropists, and more.
This year’s line-up includes the festival’s acclaimed co-directors Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple, alongside celebrated authors such as Amish, Anuradha Roy, Anne Applebaum, Alice Oswald, Daisy Rockwell, Esther Freud, Jeet Thayil, Kiran Desai, Marie Darrieussecq, Megha Majumdar, Neige Sinno, Richard Flanagan, and Ruchir Joshi, as well as voices like Sumana Chandrashekar and Tamim Al-Barghouti. Leading economists Arvind Subramanian and Esther Duflo, policymakers Nicholas Stern, Radoslaw Sikorski, and Abhishek Singh, and historians including Alex Von Tunzelmann, Fredrik Logevall, Alka Patel, Ella Al-Shamahi, Janina Ramirez, Jos Gommans, Fara Dabhoiwala, Avi Shlaim, Eric Chopra, and Devesh Kapur will share their insights.
The festival further embraces a rich diversity of voices from science, culture, and academia, including Archana Sharma, Luke Coutinho, Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Laura Spinney, Timothy Berners-Lee, Rachel Clarke, Debra Diamond, Andrew Graham-Dixon, Helen Molesworth, Priyambada Jayakumar, Marcia Langton, Herald van der Linde, Ivo de Figuerido, and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. Prominent business leaders, nutritionists, and influencers such as Rujuta Diwekar, Pernia Qureshi, and Ramita Navai, along with sports personalities and celebrities like Viswanathan Anand, Vir Das, Stephen Fry, and H.H. Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Marwar-Jodhpur, will add to the festival’s vibrancy. Political figures and social commentators, including Leo Varadkar, Karan Singh, Thant Myint-U, and Vandana Vasudevan, will also participate. Literary voices in journalism, non-fiction, and fiction include Sudha Murty, Ian Hislop, Harleen Singh, and Scott Anderson, while spiritual and motivational insights will be shared by Gaur Gopal Das.
Namita Gokhale, Co-Founder and Co-Director of JLF, said,
“Jaipur Literature Festival 2026 captures the spectrum of human imagination—from the poetic to the intellectual, the political to the personal. Each voice adds a unique texture to our shared celebration of ideas, creativity, and the written word. The festival remains a convergence of stories that connect us across languages, histories, and continents.”
William Dalrymple, Co-Director, added,
“This year’s JLF brings together an extraordinary constellation of minds, historians, poets, thinkers, and storytellers from across the world. It’s a powerful reminder of the ability of ideas to inspire, provoke, and transform. Jaipur will once again become the vibrant crossroads of global thought and conversation.”
Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, said,
“With the final speakers confirmed, the 2026 edition reaffirms JLF’s place as a global platform where creativity, discourse, and cultural exchange converge. This year’s festival offers a unique opportunity to engage, inspire, and celebrate the transformative power of storytelling.”
In addition to literary sessions, JLF 2026 will host the Jaipur Music Stage, Heritage Evenings, and the 13th edition of Jaipur BookMark (JBM), providing spaces for performance, cultural celebration, and industry collaboration. The festival continues to champion inclusivity, accessibility, and democratic dialogue, bringing writers, thinkers, and audiences together to explore ideas, stories, and debates that resonate both locally and globally.