Among the world-renowned authors that will be attending are:

Salman Rushdie – the Booker-prize winning author of critically acclaimed and controversial works that include Midnight’s Children, Shame, The Satanic Verses, and most recently, Shalimar the Clown. Mr Rushdie will be in conversation with Barkha Dutt, the best-known face of NDTV.

Kiran Desai – the most recent recipient of the Man Booker Prize, Ms Desai is the author of two books, The Inheritance of Loss and Strange Happenings in the Guava Orchard. She was also published in an anthology of 50 years of Indian writing, edited by Salman Rushdie. Again, Ms Desai will be in conversation with Barkha Dutt.

William Dalrymple – this beloved Delhi resident has written extensively on history, travel and social commentary. He is the author of countless books including City of Djinns, From the Holy Mountain, White Mughals, and most recently, The Last Mughal, which is a highly engaging exploration of the life of Bahadur Shah, the last Mughal emperor.

Amit Chaudhuri – won the Betty Trask Award for his first novel A Strange and Sublime Address while his second Afternoon Raag was also very well received. He is also a poet and edited The Picador Book of Modern Indian Literature.

Baby Haldar - a domestic maid turned writer - is creating waves in the Indian publishing industry. Her first book, Aalo Aandhari (Light and Darkness), was published in 2002 in Hindi. Since then, two editions of the book have been printed. Ms Haldar will be moderated by Urvashi Butalia.

Kiran Nagarkar is one of the most significant writers of postcolonial India. He is an anomaly among Indian writers in that he has written acclaimed novels in more than one language. Cuckold and God’s Little Warrior are favourites among his readers. His wrote his first book in a language in which he had never written before – Marathi. Mr Nagarkar will be moderated by Shoma Choudhary.

Feriyal Ali Gauhar – a Pakistani writer, actress and filmmaker. She has written two novels The Scent of Wet Earth in August and No Place for Further Burials. Ms Ali Gauhar will perform a powerful one-act play addressing the highly-charged issue of violence against women.

Shashi Deshpande – well-known in literary circles for depicting the daily life of the average Indian, she writes in English, but refuses to embellish and package her writing to portray India as exotic, magical and mystical.  Writer, Ira Pande, will moderate.

Ashok Vajpeyi – the distinguished Hindi poet, critic, editor and cultural administrator who was first Vice-Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University will discuss his work with Sheen Kaaf Nizam, eminent Urdu poet and critic from Jodhpur.

Suketu Mehta – a fiction writer and journalist based in New York, Mr Mehta’s first book Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found won the Kiriyama Prize and was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize.  The Moderator will be celebrated writer William Dalrymple.

Jerry Pinto – a poet and journalist based in Mumbai, he has published Surviving Women, Asylum and Helen: The life and times of an H-Bomb.  This session will be moderated by Ravi Singh, Executive Editor of Penguin India. Jerry will read from Leela’s Quilt.

Anupam Mishra – is a Gandhian and an environmental activist who is one of the most knowledgeable people in India on traditional water-harvesting systems.  His works include Rajasthan ki rajat boonde. Moderator, Urvashi Butalia, is a writer, publisher, feminist, historian and co-founder of Kali for Women, India's first feminist publishing house.

John Zubrzycki – this Sydney-based journalist has travelled and worked in India over the past 30 years.  He is the author of The Last Nizam: An Indian Prince in the Australian Outback. The Moderator will be HH Maharaja Gajsinghji Jodhpur and the session is sponsored by the Australian Government through the Australian International Cultural Council.

Ira Pande – will talk about her mother, the highly beloved Hindi writer Shivani (Gaura Pant).  Diddi, Ms Pande's homage to her mother was published in 2005.  The Moderator will be writer, Namita Gokhale.

Tishani Doshi is a distinctive new voice in Indian poetry in English. She will read poems from her collection Countries of the Body published earlier this year and for which she was awarded the prestigious Forward Prize for Poetry.

Bhanu Bharti - One of the most eminent Indian theatre directors, Bhanu Bharti has created a niche for himself and Indian theatre on the world arena. A native of Ajmer, Rajasthan, Mr Bharti will be in conversation with Sanjeev Mishra.

Sheen Kaaf Nizam – is a widely acclaimed Urdu poet whose works include Bayazain Kho Gayee Hain; Saya Koi Lamba na Tha; Lavz dar Lavz, Manto: Aijaaj ke Afsan and Sehra ke Samar.  The Moderator will be Ajay Chopra.

Christopher Kremmer – is the former Australian Broadcasting Commission correspondent in Hanoi and Delhi and his latest excellent book, Inhaling the Mahatma, deals with his years in India and follows The Carpet Wars and Bamboo Palace.  His moderator will be Mark Tully, India's media legend who spent 30 years with the BBC, and 20 as Chief of Bureau.

Seemantini will speak on her father, Ranghe Raghav ji, one of the most prolific Hindi fiction writers of Rajasthan. Seemantini, a poet herself, will read excerpts from Ranghe Raghav’s vast work.

Kaifi aur Mein – the moving play by Shabana Azmi and Javed Akhtar exploring the life of Kaifi Azmi will also be performed. It is based on the book by his wife, Shaukat Azmi.

In addition, panel discussions bringing together key players from the world of publishing in India and abroad will be interspersed with the programme. One, led by Antara Dev Sen, Editor of Little Magazine will gather prominent contemporary poets, Keki Daruwala and Dilip Chitre in a reflection on the lives of great Indian poets, Nissim Ezikiel, Dom Moreas and Kolatkar, who died in 2005.

Book launches and an evening of open-mic session with Caferati will also take place. Workshops for children are scheduled to take place for two mornings and will be led by Paro Anand – an established children’s author – and the illustrator, Atanu Roy. A Fiction Writing workshop will be led by Jugal Mody.

Ravi Singh (Penguin India), Marc Parent (Buchet-Chastel, Paris), David Godwin (David Godwin Associates literary agency) and representatives of all of the leading publishing houses in India will be attending.

A Kavi Samellan at Jawahar Kala Kendra will revisit the roots of Rajasthan poetry. In an evening performance, seven of the most outstanding poets from each of the cultural regions of the state will come together to explore the timeless themes of romance, humour, valour, history and political satire.

The Jaipur Literature Festival is a joint collaboration with the Jaipur Heritage International Festival, 13-22 January 2007. For full programme information and a word on our sponsors, please visit: www.jaipurfestival.org

Mita Kapur,

Jaipur Literature Festival
Jaipur Heritage International Festival.
Tel: +91 141 222 2728
Email: mita@kapurs.in