Jaipur Lit Fest is one of the biggest literary celebrations there are, and with every passing year, it only gets better. Starting in 2006, this Jaipur festival has been the host to over 2000 speakers from around the world, including the Nobel Prize-winning Tanzanian author Abdulrazak Gurnah, and other cherished storytellers like VS Naipaul, Shashi Tharoor, Donna Tartt, etc. The festival, that is held each year in the month of January, started in the Diggi Palace Hotel but today has over 300 activities, talks, book releases spread over 10+ venues across the Pink City.
Jaipur Literature Fest 2025
This year, Jaipur Lit Fest’s primary venue will be the Clarks Hotel, Amer, which will see literary lovers from all walks of life light it up from Thursday, January 30th to Monday, February 3rd, 2025. The programme will start with an inaugural ceremony on the 30th morning, with the festival directors and noted authors Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple’s address. Sanjoy Roy of Dreamwork Arts, who produces the Jaipur Lit Fest will also join them in the address.
Most exciting at Jaipur Literature Festival 2025
For lovers of literature, 5 days are barely enough. If you’ve been to Jaipur Lit Fest, you know the vibe we are talking about. There is excitement in the air, and sunny Rajasthan winters just add to the charm. Whether it is networking for budding authors, or readers getting to interact with their favourite writers, this Jaipur festival has it all. But as much as we try, can’t savour everything. If you are in the same boat, make sure you do experience these talks, and then indulge in some more if the time permits.
1. Gyan Seepiyan: Pearls of Wisdom
Start the first day of Jaipur Lit Fest with a bang! At Gyan Seepiyan, catch multifaceted storyteller Javed Akhtar talk about ‘dohe’, rhyming couplets which are an integral part of Hindi verse, and also happen to be the central theme of his next. In this session at the Jaipur Lit Fest, he not only will be talking about composite literary heritage of India and his passion for its different forms, but also launching his upcoming book, ‘Dohe, Mohe, Sohe’.
2. Poor Economics for the Young
If non fiction is more your thing, you can instead opt for this talk at the Jaipur Lit Fest. Poor Economics for the Young is Nobel Prize winning economist Esther Duflo in conversation with renowned illustrator Cheyenne Olivier who she collaborated with, on the book with the same title. The duo talks about their very intriguing book and the early foundation of social awareness and empathy it seeks to establish with young kids.
3. Recipes of a Dalit Kitchen
On the second day of the Jaipur Lit Fest, 31st of January, watch the author of the book ‘Anna He Apoorna Brahma’ or as it is called in English ‘Dalit Kitchens of Marathwada’, Shahu Patole talk to the celebrated food historian and author Pushpesh Pant. The duo discusses the book that was much celebrated in 2024 and the ways in which food acts as a medium of connecting communities. Must attend!
4. House Divided: Making of the Middle East
If you’re a keen reader of historical accounts and analysis, this is a Jaipur Lit Fest talk that you’ll enjoy. On 31st of January, attend this conversation between Tim Mackintosh-Smith and Barnaby Rogerson about his recent book ‘House Divided’, where he explores the Shia Sunni divide in the Muslim world, and how that has shaped the Middle East and world politics as we know it.
5. The First Eco-Warriors: The Extraordinary Stories of the Bishnoi
Jaipur Literature Fest has always been quite ahead in championing local stories, and this talk is a perfect example of this. On February 1st, attend this talk between Narendra Budhnagar Bishnoi and Martin Goodman, the author of ‘My Head For A Tree’. While Bishnoi community’s stellar environment friendly practices have been praised all over the world for many years now, the peg that Goodman’s new release takes is quite interesting. In the talk, Goodman discusses how the Bishnoi's practices not only are an exemplary form of indigenous activism, but also offer a powerful model for sustainable living and resilience.