Teamwork Arts produces one of the world’s largest literary gatherings, the annual Jaipur Literature Festival in Jaipur. In September they head across the Atlantic to present three international JLF festivals in New York City, Houston and Boulder in the US, with an array of provocative panels and debates to discuss the issues that shape our thoughts and perspectives.

JLF New York will take place on September 17th and September 18th. The festival is held in partnership with Asia Society, a leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding among peoples, leaders and institutions in Asia and the United States. This will be the second year that Asia Society will host the festival in New York City. The festival opens with a reception on the evening of the 17th, held in partnership with DAG a leading gallery dedicated to Modern Indian Art in NYC. The program and panels will take place at Asia Society on September 18th from 1pm - 7pm, and includes a panel presented by Columbia University. "The JLF in the U.S. is an important forum to share ideas and creativity. It is this spirit of exchange and participation that draws our two organizations together in a forum that crosses borders and presents multiple perspectives of some of the most cutting edges thinkers of our time." says Rachel Cooper, Asia Society Director of Global Performing Arts and Cultural Initiatives. The core idea behind the festival is a celebration of diversity, sharing South Asia’s unique literary heritage while fusing it with narratives that matter locally, and being, most importantly, platforms to share each other’s stories. During the festival writers inspire each other, and the audience has the opportunity to listen in on conversations about relevant topics; which are genuine discussions rather than a book reading or performance. This year’s New York edition celebrates books, ideas, and dialogue. It will present a rich showcase of South Asia's literary and oral heritage, with internationally acclaimed authors and thinkers taking part in a range of panels and debates about ideas and issues that resonate with our times. The program includes the launch of William Dalrymple’s latest book, The Anarchy (Bloomsbury Publishing), on the rise and significance of the East India Company; Manisha Koirala whose latest memoir recounts her battle with cancer; Margo Jefferson speaking on Caste, Color and Gender; Priyamvada Natarajan talking about her book Mapping the Heavens, with insights into the nature of our universe; Food, Memory and Culture featuring Adam Platt, contributing editor and restaurant critic for New York magazine and Columbia University's session These Lands We Call Home, where a panel of writers and thinkers examine the current age of immigrants and global movement, as more and more people claim a multiplicity of coexisting identities.

Other confirmed participants include: Yashica Dutt, Chandrahas Choudhury, Neeraj Kaushal, Ligaya Mishan, Krishnendu Ray, and Sharmila Sen. There will be a special musical performance by Utsav Lal, Roopa Mahadevan and Jake Charkey at noon. See bios here: http://jlflitfest.org/new-york

JLF New York is one of three JLF festivals in the US which also includes JLF Houston at Asia Society Texas Center on September 13-14, and ZEE JLF Colorado at the Boulder Public Library on September 20-22. Other international JLF editions include: ZEE JLF at the British Library, JLF Adelaide and for the first time in 2019, JLF Belfast and JLF Toronto. DAG is located in the Fuller Building, 41 East 57th Street, Suite 708, New York, NY, 10022 Asia Society is located at 725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street) New York, NY, 10021 For program schedule and to purchase tickets visit: https://asiasociety.org/new-york/events/jlf-new-york-0 About Asia Society Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society provides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future. Founded in 1956, Asia Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational institution with offices in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Sydney, Tokyo, Washington, DC and Zurich.

About DAG Over the past 25 years, DAG has built a reputation for the quality of its collection that represents the expanse of Indian art practice—from the early works of academic artists trained in Bengal and Bombay, to modernists from Baroda, Delhi, Madras and beyond, and includes artworks by some of India’s most celebrated artists, including Raja Ravi Varma, Amrita Sher-Gil, Jamini Roy, S. H. Raza, M. F. Husain, Tyeb Mehta, F. N. Souza, Avinash Chandra and Chittaprosad. With galleries in the historic Kala Ghoda in Mumbai, and the iconic Fuller Building in Manhattan, New York, in addition to its gallery in Delhi, DAG has been at the forefront of taking art to the people with museum quality exhibition collaborations with stellar art institutions. The most recent and monumental collaboration has been with the Archaeological Survey of India—with the Drishyakala museum at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Red Fort being inaugurated by India’s Prime Minister on 23 January 2019.

About Teamwork Arts Teamwork Arts is a highly versatile production company with roots in the performing arts, social action and the corporate world. For over 30 years, Teamwork Arts has taken India to the world and brought the world to India, presenting the finest of Indian performers, writers and visual artists in the cultural and art space in India and abroad. Every year, they produce 25 performing/visual arts and literary festivals in several countries including Australia, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, the UK, and USA. About the Jaipur Literature Festival Described as the “greatest literary show on Earth,” the Jaipur Literature Festival is a sumptuous feast of ideas. The past decade has seen it transform into a global literary phenomenon, having hosted nearly 2,000 speakers and welcoming over a million book lovers from across India and the globe. Our core values remain unchanged: to serve as a democratic, non-aligned platform offering free and fair access.
Every year, the Festival brings together a diverse mix of the world’s greatest writers, thinkers, humanitarians, politicians, business leaders, sports people, and entertainers on one stage to champion the freedom to express and engage in thoughtful debate and dialogue.

Writers and Festival Directors Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple, alongside producers Teamwork Arts, invite speakers to take part in the five-day program set against the backdrop of Rajasthan’s stunning cultural heritage and the Diggi Palace in the state capital, Jaipur. Past speakers have ranged from Nobel Laureates J.M. Coetzee, Orhan Pamuk, and Muhammad Yunus, Man Booker Prize winners Ben Okri, Margaret Atwood, and Paul Beatty, Sahitya Akademi winners Girish Karnad, Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, and M.T. Vasudevan Nair, as well as the late Mahasweta Devi and U.R. Ananthamurthy; along with literary superstars, including Amish Tripathi, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Vikram Seth.

An annual event that goes beyond literature, the Festival has also hosted Amartya Sen, Amitabh Bachchan, the late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Oprah Winfrey, Stephen Fry, Thomas Piketty, and former president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai.

Jaipur Literature Festival coming to New York City, Houston and Boulder