The five-day-long Jaipur Literature Festival 2026 concluded with a bang. The largest literary gathering, which happens at Hotel Clarks Amer, brought together esteemed authors, thinkers, publishers, politicians, dignitaries, artists and scores of patrons. Dialogue was free-flowing, the exchange of ideas was evident, and the venues were packed.
With nooks and crannies decked up in pretty colours and artworks, the Baagan space looked mesmerising and unreal. The space was buzzing with young ones soaking in the vibes and clicking ‘gram-worthy images. The workshop area displayed live lac bangle making, block printing, puppetry, and more. There were live performances as well. What I missed checking out were interactive installations and gamified learning booths. There was just too much to attend and see.
There were around 500 speakers, with over 300 sessions across five days. There were free and premium paid experiences. The sessions spanned across the front lawn, Charbagh, Surya Mahal, Durbar hall, Baithak, etc. This year, JLF featured authors and speakers like Kiran Desai, Stephen Fry, Jung Chang, Shobhaa Dé, Amish Tripathi, Banu Mushtaq, Anuradha Roy, Megha Majumdar, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Alice Oswald, Ali Eslami, Amrita Tripathi, Vir Das, Vir Sanghvi, Richard Flanagan, Tim Berners-Lee, Anne Applebaum, Leo Varadkar, Nicholas Stern, Shashi Tharoor, Sudha Murthy, Vishwananthan Anand, and many more. Crossword Bookstores stall and stalls from multiple publishers were to be found near the session venues.
Genres spanning poetry, mythology, graphic and manga novels, contemporary fiction, historical fiction, and more were headlining the entire festival. From a cultural standpoint, performances and engagement zones, along with art installations, live artists at work, and more community-led initiatives, supported the literary festival that drew lakhs. The food stalls were always packed, service was quick, and brands like Coffee Sutra, House on Fire, Tasty Millets, Crazy Coffee, The Waffle Bite, Jyo’s Kitchen, House of Shawarma, Jars N’ More, Burger Farm, and more kept tummies and souls satiated.
The Festival Buzzar brought together many local and Indian brands like The F.A.R. Store, Gulmohar Lane, Leaf The Cashmere Co., Dezires, Poonam Arts. Beads & Beyond, Inde, Moongphali, Nirjhari, Soul Bookstores, Flourish, and more homegrown brands.
I also attended the Writers’ Ball that was hosted by The Leela Palace Jaipur. As the curtains fell on the 19th edition of the famed festival, closing remarks by Sanjoy K Roy, Teamwork Arts – the festival producers – left dignitaries, authors, media, and patrons from all walks of life in awe of the scale and the turnaround of the literature festival that serves as a forum for open dialogue, exchange of ideas across disciplines and more importantly across man-made boundaries.
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