Jaipur Literature Festival

'Taliban won't capture power in Afghanistan soon'

Dismissing the prospect of Taliban gaining control of Afghanistan in the near future as unlikely, journalist-author Jason Burke on Thursday said India should not expect too much warmth in bilateral relations with Kabul. ...  

The best tweets from Jaipur Literature Festival

The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival 2013 is possibly the most high profile gathering of litterateurs in Asia. ...  

There is a cultural emergency in India, says Salman Rushdie

Author Salman Rushdie, who's book Midnight's Children is now a film has said that there is a cultural emergency in India. Speaking to CNN-IBN Deputy Editor Sagarika Ghose, both Rushdie and the film's director, Deepa Mehta said they are deeply worried about repeated attacks on creative freedom in India. ...  

Won't be bullied by terror any kind: Jaipur Lit Fest organiser

The Jaipur Literature festival began on Thursday under heavy security with Pakistani authors attending the programme as scheduled. Controversy surrounded the festival again this year with the Bharatiya Janata Party's youth-wing protesting against the participation of Pakistani authors following tension at the Line of Control. ...  

Jaipur Lit Fest is South Asia's biggest literature festival: Amrita Tripathi

CNN-IBN's Amrita Tripathi joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on Jaipur Literature Festival. ...  

Pak authors to participate in Jaipur Lit Fest despite protests

Amidst tight security arrangements in Jaipur, the Literature Festival is all set to kickstart on Thursday. After the controversies of 2012, Pakistani authors are likely to participate in the Lit Fest this year after the organisers assured that there was no threat to them. ...  

Controversies at Jaipur Literature Festival this year

Jaipur Literature Festival kicks off this week but not without controversy. A group of Islamic clerics has protested the presence of any of the authors who read from the 'Satanic Verses' last year, while the RSS and BJP are reportedly asking for Pakistani participants to be kept out. ...

No change in Jaipur Literature Festival's schedule: Sanjoy Roy

Sources in the Rajasthan Police said that members of the BJP and the RSS in the state were opposing the participation in the event by seven Pakistani authors. ...

Won't get bullied by fringe elements: Sanjoy Roy

Amidst reports of threat to the Jaipur Literature Festival by Islamist groups and reportedly by members of the BJP and the RSS, the organiser of the event, Sanjoy Roy has said that the event will be held as per the schedule. ...  

Jaipur Lit Fest: After Islamist groups, event faces threat from RSS, BJP

After a few Islamist groups threatened the organisers of Jaipur Literature Festival against allowing the four authors who had read out passages from Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses at the event in 2012, sources in the Rajasthan police said that members of the BJP and the RSS in the state were opposing the participation in the event by seven Pakistani authors. ...  

Jaipur Lit Fest: Islamist groups seek ban on 4 authors

A statement warning the organisers of the Jaipur Literature Festival against allowing authors who had read out passages from Salman Rushdie's 'Satanic Verses' at the event last year was issued by Islamist groups on Sunday. ...  

40 writers to address feminism at Jaipur lit fest

Women will be a powerful voice at the sixth annual DSC Jaipur Literature Festival Jan 24-28. ...  

Amitav Ghosh, Jeet Thayil shortlisted for lit prize

New Delhi: Six books including "River of Smoke" by Amitav Ghosh, "Narcopolis" by Jeet Thayil and "The Wandering" by Pakistan-based author Jamil Ahmad, have been shortlisted for the DSC South Asian Literature Prize 2013. The list, announced in a gala at the Mayfair Hotel in London, it includes six writers -- three Indians, two Pakistani and one from Bangladesh -- besides an American translator for the $50,000 prize. The finalist...  

Longlist for DSC Prize for South Asian Lit announced

New Delhi: The 2013 edition of DSC Prize for South Asian Literature looks set to be closely contested, with several acclaimed novels on the 16 book Longlist. The DSC Prize 2013 Longlist was announced today by Jury chair K Satchidanandan and comprises four debut novels, two works in translation from Hindi, and authors and translators form across India, Australia, UK, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Pakistani fiction, which was conspicuous by its...  

Man Booker Prize travels to India in 2013

London: Jaipur will play an important role in the Man Booker International Prize 2013 as the judges will announce the list of finalists for the award at the venue of a prestigious literature festival held in the city. The DSC Jaipur Literature Festival, the largest and liveliest literary festival in Asia-Pacific, will host the press conference to announce the judges' list of finalists on January 24, next year. The winner...  

Jury for DSC Prize for S Asian Literature announced

The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature announced the jury for its 2013 edition. The five-member panel includes Eleanor O'Keeffe, K Satchidanandan, Muneeza Shamsie, Rick Simonson and Suvani Singh. Eleanor O'Keeffe is an Irish/Canadian cultural entrepreneur. After living and working in Paris for a number of years, she was co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival for two of its earlier years as well as co-director of the Shakespeare and Company...  

Literary fests new tool of diplomacy in S Asia

New Delhi: Literature, the soul of cultural exchange, is giving conventional diplomacy a run for its space in South Asia with the mushrooming literary festivals that are provoking, discussing and building new bridges across cultures. Five major literature festivals - the Jaipur Literature Festival, Mountain Echoes in Bhutan, the Kathmandu Literary Yatra, the Galle Literary Festival in Sri lanka and the Karachi Literature Festival - which have been showcasing literature...  

Noted poet, Booker judge on DSC literature prize panel

New Delhi: The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature Friday announced the induction of five new members to its advisory committee for the 2013 and 2014 editions of the $50,000 prize. In a statement, the DSC Group said noted Indian poet Arvind Krishna Mehrotra, Booker Prize jury member Alastair Niven, author and South Asian literary expert Fakrul Alam, translator, editor and author Ira Pande and American author and journalist Marie...  

We did not pose threat to Rushdie: Muslim bodies

Jaipur: Muslim organisations in Rajasthan on Tuesday said they had not posed a life threat to controversial author Salman Rushdie during his proposed visit to the recently concluded Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF). "Ever since the Jaipur Literature Festival ended with a fiasco on January 24, an impression is being created that Muslim organisations of Rajasthan had issued threats to the life of Rushdie or threatened to disrupt the prestigious literary...  

Sentiments vs freedom: Rushdie issue festers

New Delhi: Days after Salman Rushdie was not allowed to speak at the Jaipur Literature Festival, the issue continues to touch a raw nerve among Muslim clerics and intellectuals even as liberals excoriate the brazen violation of a writer's freedom of creative expression. "It was the right thing not to let him speak. And it's a good thing he did not come," Darul Uloom Deoband vice chancellor Maulana Abul Qasim...