The ‘greatest literary show on Earth’ is all set to return with its 15th edition from 5th-14th March 2022, with the coming together of the world’s greatest writers, thinkers, humanitarians, politicians, business leaders and entertainers on one stage. Set against the beautiful backdrop of the Pink City, the Jaipur Literature Festival has become an annual melting pot of literature, curated art installations and mesmerising music performances.
Jaipur BookMark (JBM), a B2B platform, is held parallel to the Jaipur Literature Festival. It brings together publishers, literary agents, translation agencies and writers wanting to talk business along with focussed sessions and major industry players from across the world. JBM will offer a stellar-line up of sessions at its 2022 edition.
Festival Co-director and author Namita Gokhale said, “The Jaipur BookMark is embedded in both the virtual and on-ground programming of the Jaipur Literature Festival 2022. At a time when the pandemic has presented challenges and transformations, we have sought individual perspectives and industry insights on upon different aspects of books and publishing.”
Award-winning German writer Friedrich Ani’s gripping crime novel, Killing Happiness, is wrought with melancholia and revelation. A devastating case, the chain of grief, cold trails of evidence and haunting memories plague inspector Jakob Franck, the protagonist of Ani’s The Nameless Day. Driven by the need for clarity and memories of unsolved murders past, Franck buries himself in the special technique of ‘thought sensitivity’ to unravel the fossils and truth of the case. In conversation with the acclaimed publisher, poet and photographer Naveen Kishore, Ani will discuss his thrilling, contemporary noir.
Terms like ornaments on a woman’s body, in truth, are the marks of violence inflicted by men. Author Katherina Winkler‘s debut novel Blue Jewellery: Private Property is the disturbing and dramatic story of a violent marriage and a young woman’s determination to survive. Winkler combines reportage in a shattering, transformative, and fictional way around sixty hours of interviews in her first-person narrative. At another session, Winkler will be in conversation with writer and activist Meena Kandasamy, where they will discuss the roots, mechanisms, and literature of violence.
One of India’s finest and best-known publishing houses, Seagull Books, Naveen Kishore’s vision of global literature and cultural confluence across diverse media, has been awarded the Ottaway Award 2021. Under his direction, Seagull Books has published more than 500 books by major European, Latin American, African and Asian writers, including works by Nobel Prize winners Mo Yan, Herta Müller, and Man Booker International Prize winner László Krasznahorkai. In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the house has curated a special imprint- Seagull at 40, a tender salute featuring the works of extraordinary writers all across the world. Kishore will be in conversation with journalist Pragya Tiwari, discussing a pioneering legacy in art and culture publishing that was born in an office in Kolkata.
Language is a living, evolving being and needs to keep pace with changes in society, something that isn’t always easy. A key debate today is how different languages can accommodate and respect appropriate pronouns. Along with this discussion, JBM will also feature a session where writer Vivek Tejuja will delve into the experiences of publishers from across the world to see how they are dealing with the challenges and opportunities of a language. Tejuja will speak to India’s first-ever feminist publisher and writer Urvashi Butalia.
