Here’s what JLF 2018 has in store for you

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The Jaipur Literature Festival is back again with its 11th edition at Diggi Palace from 25 to 29 January 2018. This year, the Festival will welcome over 250 writers, thinkers, politicians, journalists and popular cultural iconsfrom over 35 different nationalities. It will feature a spectacular line-up of speakers representing the major awards including the Nobel, Man Booker, Pulitzer,Padma Vibhusan and the Sahitya Akademi Award.

Some of the speakers include Akhil Sharma, award-winning writer and creative writing professor;Amy Tan, author of the widely adapted book The Joy Luck Club; award-winning Indian film director and producer Anurag Kashyap, Indian art critic, art historian, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee,BN Goswamy; former president of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai; English novelist and author of the iconic Bridget Jones Diary, Helen Fielding;Man Booker winner and author of The English Patient Michael Ondaatje;Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter from The Boston Globe’s Spotlight team Michael Rezendes;Sahitya Akademi Awardwinner Mridula Garg; 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laurate Mohammad Yunus, essayist and novelist Pico Iyer, best known for travel writing;New York Times bestselling poet and illustrator Rupi Kaur;Indian classical dancer and Padma Vibhushan awardee Sonal Mansingh;Indian philanthropist and writer Sudha Murty;Academy and Tony Award winning Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard; and Grammy Award winning tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, among others.

The discussions at the Festival will feature around works spanning both Indian and the international literary landscapes; translations will be under the spotlight too in a bid to reinforce a diverse and flavourful cultural matrix. The 2018 edition expects to welcome speakers representing over 15 Indian and more than 20 international languages.