JLF Houston 2025: A Mighty Lineup of Thinkers, Writers & Ideas
HOUSTON: The 8th edition of JLF Houston, produced by Teamwork Arts, unfolded from September 5–7, 2025, across four of the city’s most iconic venues—in association with the Consulate General of India, Houston, Asia Society Texas, Inprint, Rothko Chapel, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and, Eternal Gandhi Museum Houston. As always, this edition celebrated literary thought and the indomitable spirit of dialogue.
This year’s edition featured an eclectic line-up of writers, thinkers, and changemakers, including Rob Franklin, Martin Puchner, Amish, Pria Anand, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Guru Madhavan, Andrew Quintman, and Shekhar Kapur. Their sessions spanned conversations on mythology, neurology, cinema, race, culture, and the future of storytelling, offering audiences an expansive window into global narratives. The festival opened on September 5 with inaugural addresses at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, by Gary Tinterow (Director, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston), Sanjoy K. Roy (Managing Director, Teamwork Arts), Suraj Dhingra (Producer, JLF USA), and D.C. Manjunath (Consul General of India in Houston). They welcomed audiences and set the stage for three days of dialogue, creativity, and cultural exchange. The inaugural session was followed by Mr. India: A Shekhar Kapur Medley, where Shekhar Kapur, in conversation with Sunanda Vashisht, reflected on his cinematic journey and the power of visual storytelling.
On September 6, the festival opened at Asia Society Texas – highlights included Reimagining Legacy: The Epics and The Contemporary, in which celebrated writer Amish, along with Ragini Tharoor Srinivasan, discussed his work in historical and mythological fiction; The Storyteller Code that featured Shekhar Kapur and Martin Puchner in conversation with Chi Rainer Bornfree, exploring the evolution of narratives in an age of algorithms and artificial intelligence; and Between Worlds: Race, Power, Culture, Selfhood which saw Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Rob Franklin, in dialogue with Tayyba Kanwal, unpack issues of identity, privilege, and belonging.
The final day, September 7, began with a meditative session at the Rothko Chapel. Morning Music and Poetry Reading featured Poet Laureate Reyes Ramirez and young voices from The Fay School, alongside performances by Aditya Prakash, Dr. Rohan Krishnamurthy, and Sruti Sarathy, blending verse and classical music in a moving experience. The festival concluded that evening at the Eternal Gandhi Museum Houston with Unfolding Dharma, where Amish, in conversation with Sanjoy K. Roy, reflected on the philosophical underpinnings of dharma and its relevance in contemporary society, offering audiences a finale resonating with finding harmony in discordant times.
From powerful conversations to immersive performances, JLF Houston 2025 reaffirmed its ethos of fostering cross-cultural dialogue and celebrating the transformative power of ideas. With its eighth edition, the festival continued to strengthen JLF USA’s legacy as a dynamic space where literature and thought transcend borders, inspiring communities and forging meaningful connections.