18th edition of Jaipur Literature Festival to begin from January 30

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], January 21 (ANI): The Jaipur Literature Festival is set to return for its 18th edition from January 30 to February 3, 2025.
Sanjoy K Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts shared the highlights of the festival during a press conference. He informed the media, "This year the special theme of the eighteenth Jaipur Literature Festival is crime fiction. Many crime fiction writers are coming and poetry is there."
A significant highlight of the 2025 edition is the prestigious Kanhaiya Lal Sethia Award for Poetry, which will honour the eminent Hindi poet Badri Narayan, as per the press release.
Badri Narayan, a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award 2022 for his acclaimed collection Tumdi ke Shabd, is renowned for his evocative poetry interwoven with folk imagery and profound sociological insights. His contributions as a poet, social scientist, and public intellectual have enriched both literary and academic landscapes.
He added, "Another special theme is 'Fractured World' covering sessions under current geopolitics, war and conflict, as well as sessions on theatre, dance, music, poetry, cinema, sports, food, and climate."
The Festival will feature over 600 luminaries, including Nobel laureates, Booker Prize, Pulitzer and Sahitya Akademi winners, policymakers, and acclaimed writers.
William Dalrymple, award winning historian and Festival Co-Director, said in a statement, "The Jaipur Literature Festival, the biggest literary festival in the world, returns with a spectacular lineup, featuring a range of award-winning writers. The Festival continues to serve as a global platform where some of the world's most influential voices come together to engage, inspire, and exchange ideas. It fosters meaningful dialogue across a wide range of topics, bridging perspectives from diverse cultural and intellectual backgrounds."
Sanjoy K. Roy added, "Over the past 18 years, the Jaipur Literature Festival has become a true celebration of ideas and stories, and much of its success is owed to the city of Jaipur and its citizens.
This year there is a stellar lineup of award-winning speakers, including Abhijit Banerjee, Amitabh Kant, Andrew O'Hagan, Anita Anand, Anna Funder, Amol Palekar, Anirudh Kanisetti, Barnaby Rogerson, Benjamin Moser, Cauvery Madhavan, Claudia De Rham, David Hare, David Nicholls, Esther Duflo, Fiona Carnarvon, Geetanjali Shree, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, Gideon Levy, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Ijeoma Oluo, Imtiaz Ali, Ira Mukhoty, Irenosen Okojie, Javed Akhtar, Jenny Erpenbeck, Joe Boyd, John Vaillant, Kailash Satyarthi, Kal Penn, Kallol Bhattacherjee, Katy Hessel, Lamorna Ash, Lindsey Hilsum, Maithree Wickramasinghe, Manav Kaul, Manu S. Pillai, Matt Preston, Miriam Margolyes, among others.
"It is this rich confluence of talent, tradition, and collaboration that continues to make Jaipur the perfect home for the festival," shared Roy. (ANI)