Jaipur Literary Festival to Debut in Houston at Asia Society

HOUSTON: Teamwork Arts, producers of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival, often dubbed ‘the greatest literary show on Earth’, bring to Houston an iconic event where ideas and perspectives jostle with intellectual vigor.

Houston, where skyscrapers and bayous meet, will welcome JLF at Houston for the first time in Texas. The Festival opens on Friday evening, September 14 with events running all day on Saturday, September 15. With internationally acclaimed authors and thinkers taking part in a range of provocative panels and debates, at the core of the programming are thoughts and issues that resonate with our times.

JLF at Houston will be held in association with Asia Society Texas Center, an educational organization promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among the peoples, leaders, and institutions of Asia and the West, and Inprint, a literary arts nonprofit organization, supporting and engaging readers and writers of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction.

“We’re so excited to be collaborating on the first JLF at Houston for the first time in Texas,” says Bonna Kol, president of Asia Society Texas Center. “Engaging our diverse city in an array of international topics and speakers aligns perfectly with our deep commitment to promoting cultural understanding.”

“As this inaugural edition of JLF at Houston makes clear, Houston is a city of brilliant writers and passionate readers, and Inprint is proud to be at the epicenter of Houston literary life,” says Rich Levy, executive director of Inprint. “What an honor and a joy to work with JLF on making JLF at Houston a reality.”

JLF at Houston is a part of the larger umbrella of JLF in the USA, which also includes JLF at New York on September 19-20 and ZEE JLF at Boulder on September 21-23.

The Houston event will present a rich showcase of South Asia’s literary and oral heritage while also featuring authors from around the world as well as local literary figures from Houston.

Participating writers include :

Jay Aiyer, Omar El Akkad, Robin Davidson, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Namita Gokhale, Kurt Heinzelman, Lacy M. Johnson, McKenna Jordan, Rich Levy, Rubén Martinez, Sonal Mansingh, Jovan Mays, Jasminne Mendez, Marcus Moench, Rajesh Parameswaran, Sharad Paul, Daniel Peña, Shobha Rao, Kathy Reichs, Navtej Sarna, Anis Shivani, Mimi Swartz, Shashi Tharoor, Marina Tristán, Roberto Tejada, , Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, and Milan Vaishnav.

On Friday, Sept. 14, Inaugural Address: Imagining Our Worlds will be presented by Namita Gokhale, Ambassador Navtej Sarna, and Sanjoy K. Roy from 7:00 pm-7:30 pm in Asia Society’s Brown Foundation Theater. This will be followed by Shashi Tharoor in conversation with Namita Gokhale from 7:30 pm-8:30 pm.

On Saturday, Sept. 15, activities will begin with A Life Like No Other: Sonal Mansingh in conversation with Sanjoy K. Roy from 10:45 am-11:45 am in the Brown Foundation Theater.

Simultaneously,    there will be The Fictional Leap: Daniel Peña, Rajesh Parameswaran, and Shobha Rao in conversation with Anis Shivani at the Allen Education Center.

From 12 noon to 1:00 pm, The Dance of Democracy will be staged with Milan Vaishnav and Shashi Tharoor in conversation with Jay Aiyer at the Brown Foundation Theater.

At the same time, Walls and Bridges with Daniel Peña, Roberto Tejada, and Rubén Martínez in conversation with Marina Tristán will be presented at the Allen Education Center.

Myth and Memory in India will be presented with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Namita Gokhale in conversation from 1:15 to 2:15 pm at the Brown Foundation Theater. At the same time, it will be Ticker: Genetics of the Health with Mimi Swartz and Sharad Paul in conversation at the Allen Education Center..

Water: The Fluid Mosaic: Lacy M. Johnson and Marcus Moench in conversation will take place at the Brown Foundation Theater. from 2:30 to 3:30 pm.  Simultaneously, Unbelongings: Across Continents will take place with Anis Shivani and Novuyo Rosa Tshuma in conversation with Omar El Akkad at the Allen Education Center.

Second Thoughts: A Writer and Diplomat: Navtej Sarna in conversation with Sanjoy K. Roy will be from 3:45 pm-4:45 pm in the Brown Foundation Theater.

Other participants include  Jasminne Mendez, Jovan Mays, Rich Levy, Robin Davidson, Kathy Reichs and McKenna Jor.

For additional information, visit jaipurliteraturefestival.org/houston