Jaipur Literature Festival New York 2026
The Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) returns to New York for its tenth annual edition, bringing an afternoon and evening of books, ideas, culture, history, and conversation to Asia Society.
Presented in partnership with Teamwork Arts, JLF New York brings together acclaimed writers, thinkers, journalists, academics, and commentators for conversations spanning literature, politics, history, technology, and contemporary culture. This year’s participants include Kai Bird, Sam Dalrymple, Mahmood Mamdani, Susan Goldmark, Nitin Seth, and more.
The September 30 program ranges from Sam Dalrymple’s exploration of the partitions that reshaped modern Asia to discussions of artificial intelligence, empire and colonialism, and Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Kai Bird’s examination of controversial attorney Roy Cohn.
Born in Jaipur, Rajasthan, JLF has grown into an international celebration of literature and ideas. Its New York edition brings that spirit to the city with nearly six hours of conversations and opportunities to discover new books, writers, and perspectives.
Schedule
3:40–4:20 PM
Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia
Sam Dalrymple in conversation with Prashant Jha
4:30–5:10 PM
There Is A Ghost In My Room
Sanjoy K. Roy in conversation with Shoaila Abdulali
5:20–6:00 PM
AI: The Modern Double Helix
Nitin Seth, Vinita Gupta and Meredith Broussard in conversation with Roopa Unnikrishnan
6:10–6:50 PM
Slow Poison: Uganda and the Afterlives of Empire
Mahmood Mamdani in conversation with Neeraj Kaushal
7:00–7:50 PM
American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn’s Dark Journey
Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark in conversation with Sree Srinivasan
Schedule and speakers are subject to change.
