In January, Jaipur becomes the world's busiest bookshop, and the city's beds fill up weeks before the first session.
The 20th Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) runs from Thursday 14 January to Monday 18 January 2027 at Hotel Clarks Amer. The first list of speakers, released on 9 October 2026, already includes two Nobel laureates, economist Esther Duflo and novelist Olga Tokarczuk, along with Sudha Murty, Geetanjali Shree, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Homi K. Bhabha, BBC journalist Lyse Doucet, actor and writer Dame Meera Syal, mathematician Marcus du Sautoy and fashion designer Prabal Gurung (t2 Online and UNI, 9 October 2026).
Festival co-founder and co-director Namita Gokhale says JLF has grown from "a small festival in Jaipur, Rajasthan" into "the largest and one of the most credible literary events on the planet."
For hosts, a 20th anniversary edition with headline names means one thing: plan now, because many guests already are.