With most things going virtual this year, the Jaipur Literature Festival 2021 has also followed suit. This year, the festival will take place in a virtual avatar from 19th – 21st February and then 26 – 28 February. The first list of speakers has also been announced, and it includes a motley of writers, diplomats, and distinguished speakers from various fields like Albie Sachs, Bibek Debroy, Carlo Rovelli, Daniel Simpson, John Zubrzycki, Marina Wheeler, Michael Sandel, Moin Mir, Moni, Mohsin, Navtej Sarna, Oliver Craske, Prasoon Joshi, Priya Atwal, Ramachandra Guha, Ranjit Hoskote, Sarbpreet Singh, Shashi Tharoor, Shylashri Shankar, Simon Winchester, Stephen Brusatte.

According to the organizers, the aim is to create a more immersive experience using augmented reality, providing access and easy participation to readers from all across the globe. “The Jaipur Literature Festival 2021 will appear in an exciting virtual avatar, with great writers and stellar speakers from around the planet reaching out to readers and JLF enthusiasts everywhere. These disruptive times have enabled us to curate a uniquely diverse literary platform and to create what could be termed a living library. The magical spirit of the festival, with its joy, curiosity, and sense of wonder, will be live this coming February for all those who cherish books, ideas and dialogue,” Namita Gokhale, writer and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival was quoted as saying.

“Despite pandemics and political upheavals around the world, the Jaipur Literature Festival continues to spread its wings and has transformed itself into one of the world’s most popular online spaces for profound discussions about books and writing. While this year’s Jaipur will be a quieter affair than usual, our commitment to literary excellence continues undimmed as we present one of our most extraordinary lists to date,” author and co-director William Dalrymple said.

(Article extracted from The Indian Express with minor revisions made to the headline by Sakshi Selvanathan)