Jaipur Literature Festival adds Los Angeles and Toronto to 2026 North America tour

JLF USA and JLF Toronto will expand to seven North American cities in 2026, with new stops in Los Angeles and Toronto from Sept. 11 to Oct. 4. The lineup brings prominent writers, thinkers and cultural voices into conversations on AI, geopolitics, history, climate, migration and more ahead of the festival’s 20th Jaipur edition in 2027.

Why it matters: - The Jaipur Literature Festival is widening its North American footprint, adding Los Angeles and Toronto to a seven-city 2026 run. - The expansion brings the festival’s books-and-ideas format to more U.S. and Canadian audiences across literature, politics, science, technology, art and culture. - The 2026 tour also builds momentum toward the festival’s 20th edition in Jaipur, set for Jan. 14-18, 2027.

What happened: - JLF USA and JLF Toronto announced their 2026 programs will run from Sept. 11 to Oct. 4 across seven cities in the United States and Canada. - New stops include Los Angeles, which will host the festival Sept. 14-16, and Toronto, which will host its first Canadian edition Sept. 25-26. - The tour also returns to North Carolina, Seattle, Colorado, New York and Houston. - The festival is produced by Teamwork Arts. - A festival website lists more information at the festival’s new website.

The details: - Featured participants include Shashi Tharoor, Shekhar Kapur, Yann Martel, Scott Anderson, Priya Anand, Vijay Seshadri, Tanya Talaga, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Kai Bird and Caroline Elkins. - The broader lineup also includes Manil Suri, Mahmood Mamdani, Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, John Vaillant, Martin Puchner, Sam Dalrymple, Vinita Gupta, Vikram Vij, Devesh Kapur, Arvind Subramanian, Lakshmi Puri, Daniel Peña, Kanwal Rekhi, Sonia Reemes and Nitin Seth. - Shashi Tharoor will appear in North Carolina and Los Angeles. - Shekhar Kapur will appear in Seattle and Los Angeles. - Yann Martel, Scott Anderson and Priya Anand are scheduled for Seattle. - Vijay Seshadri is scheduled for North Carolina. - Tanya Talaga is scheduled for Colorado. - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is scheduled for Houston. - Kai Bird is scheduled for New York. - Caroline Elkins is scheduled for Los Angeles and Seattle. - The program will cover artificial intelligence, geopolitics, history, empire, Indigenous rights, climate change, faith, migration, diaspora, entrepreneurship, art and food. - The New York program will use venues including Asia Society, The National Arts Club and The Center for Fiction. - The festival will also feature a traveling visual art exhibition by documentary photographer Vicky Roy in Los Angeles and Seattle.

Between the lines: - The expansion signals that JLF is positioning itself as a multi-city cultural platform rather than a single-event literary festival. - The mix of authors, public intellectuals, artists and entrepreneurs suggests the program is designed to draw audiences interested in ideas beyond books alone. - The local-venue partnerships point to a strategy of tailoring each stop to the host city instead of exporting a uniform touring format. - Toronto’s addition gives the festival a formal Canadian foothold, while Los Angeles adds a major West Coast anchor.

What's next: - The seven-city program begins in North Carolina, then moves to Los Angeles, Seattle, Colorado, Toronto, New York and Houston. - The festival will continue to build toward the Jaipur Literature Festival’s 20th edition in Jaipur in January 2027. - JLF says its international presence also extends to the UK, Ireland, Spain and other markets.

The bottom line: - JLF is scaling up its North American presence in 2026, using new city launches and a broad cultural lineup to deepen its global reach.