Jaipur Literature Festival expands across seven North American cities

Newyork,UPDATED: Aug 19, 2026 09:42 IST

The US and Canadian editions of the Jaipur Literature Festival will bring together more than 100 global voices across seven cities from September 11 to October 4, organisers said on Tuesday. The line-up includes author-politician Shashi Tharoor, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Kai Bird, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, Booker Prize-winning author Yann Martel and economist Arvind Subramanian.

JLF USA and JLF Toronto will be held in North Carolina, Los Angeles, Seattle, Colorado, Toronto, New York and Houston, marking the festival's largest presence so far in North America, according to a statement by JLF USA. The events will feature writers, thinkers, historians, artists, entrepreneurs and other cultural voices in conversations on artificial intelligence, technology, geopolitics, history, empire, Indigenous rights, climate change, faith, migration, diaspora, entrepreneurship, art and food.

"From discussions on the impact of AI on work, culture and society to conversations on the changing global balance of power, the program explores many of the ideas shaping contemporary life," the statement said.

Along with Tharoor and Bird, the speakers include Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani, author Sam Dalrymple, diplomat-author Lakshmi Puri, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Vijay Seshadri and Indian-American businessman Kanwal Rekhi. The seven-city programme will begin in North Carolina from September 11 to 13, followed by Los Angeles from September 14 to 16, Seattle from September 17 to 20, Colorado from September 22 to 23, Toronto from September 25 to 26, New York from September 29 to 30 and Houston from October 2 to 4. Los Angeles and Toronto will host the festival for the first time.

The programme will also include a travelling visual art exhibition by documentary photographer Vicky Roy, with his work to be shown in Los Angeles and Seattle, the organisers said.

At a virtual press preview, Teamwork Arts Managing Director Sanjoy K Roy, whose company produces the Jaipur Literature Festival, said its global editions aim to create a platform for discussion, debate and dissent while promoting knowledge and innovation. On the themes of the US and Canadian editions, Roy told PTI that the programmes would differ from city to city depending on local audiences, institutions and collaborators. "Every city obviously has a different need, and even in some cities, different venues have different needs," he said, adding that the festival builds its programme around the character of each host city.

The organisers said working with local institutions and cultural organisations was a defining feature of the international festival, making each edition a series of locally rooted encounters rather than a uniform touring programme. Roy said around 35 per cent of the festival's programming is fiction, while nearly 65 per cent is non-fiction, covering subjects from mathematics and science to history, politics, sociology, philosophy, food, gender and migration. He also stressed the need to bridge the divide between arts and sciences, saying creative thinking and scientific discipline together could contribute to innovation and the development of modern economies.

The Jaipur Literature Festival is held annually in Jaipur, while its international editions are staged across Australia, Europe, North America, Ireland, the UK and West Asia. The JLF website says the festival went international in 2014 with its first London edition, and in 2027 it is preparing for its 20th edition in Jaipur.

With PTI Inputs

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