JLF announces second list of speakers

Jaipur, Nov 1 (IANS) The organisers of the annual Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) has announced the second list of speakers for the 17th edition of the festival set to take place from February 1-5, 2024 at Hotel Clarks Amer, Jaipur.

The second list of 25 speakers has a diverse mix that include Akhil Katyal, poet, translator, scholar and author of ’Like Blood on the Bitten Tongue: Delhi Poems’ and ’How Many Countries Does the Indus Cross’; Amia Srinivasan, academic and author of ’The Right to Sex’; Andrew Quintman, scholar in Buddhist traditions of Tibet and the Himalaya, and author of ’The Life of Milarepa’; Arundhathi Subramaniam, poet and Sahitya Akademi awardee; Bonnie Garmus, copywriter, creative director and debut novelist of 'Lessons in Chemistry'; Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author of best-selling books such as ’The Palace of Illusions’, ’The Forest of Enchantment’, ’The Last Queen’ and ’Independence’; Damon Galgut, Booker Prize winning novelist and playwright; Diana Evans, Orange Award winning novelist, journalist and critic; and noted poet, lyricist and scriptwriter Gulzar.

The list continues with Hernan Diaz, Pulitzer prize-winning author; Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize winning biographer, journalist and author; Katie Kitamura, journalist and art critic, and award-winning author; Kelly Dorji, Bhutanese actor, model and artist and the author of 'The Hidden Rainbow'; Luke Syson, British museum curator and art historian and Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of Cambridge; Justice Madan B. Lokur, former judge of the Supreme Court of India and Supreme Court of Fiji; Malcolm Turnbull, former Prime Minister of Australia; Maria Goretti, television presenter, actor and writer of the cookbook 'From My Kitchen to Yours'; and Merve Emre, academic and writer of 'The Annotated Mrs. Dalloway'.

The festival will also feature former Ambassador Navdeep Suri; Roger Cohen, Pulitzer and George Polk award recipient journalist; Sarnath Banerjee, graphic novelist, artist and filmmaker; Shumona Sinha, award-winning author of 'Down with the Poor!'; Vincent Brown, academic and author of 'The Reaper’s Garden: Death and Power in the World of Atlantic Slavery'; Vivek Shanbhag, author, editor and playwright; and Yascha Mounk, German-born American political scientist and author.

Since its inception in 2007, the festival has hosted nearly 5,000 speakers and performers, while drawing over a million book-enthusiasts from around the globe.