BySukant Deepak

March 16, 2022 (IANSlife) JLF Soneva Fushi in the Maldives has announced its full festival programme, bringing a global line-up of critically acclaimed authors, thinkers, and cultural leaders to the archipelagic nation from May 13 to 22.

A partnership between hospitality company Soneva and Teamwork Arts, organisers of the Jaipur Literary Festival (JLF), the 10-day festival is set to be a vibrant celebration of the arts, culture and performance, all taking place at Soneva Fushi in the Maldives' Baa Atoll.

With 30 speakers and authors now confirmed, the full JLF Soneva Fushi line-up celebrates the theme of Slow Life, covering a fascinating spectrum of topics: from nation-building to the natural world, politics to poetry, fiction and filmmaking to hard-hitting journalism, and spirituality to scientific discovery.

Speakers include novelist, Elif Shafak; filmmaker Mira Nair; author and politician, Shashi Tharoor; Andre Aciman, The New York Times bestselling author of 'Call Me By Your Name' and 'Find Me'; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Mahmood Mamdani; art critic and historian, B.N. Goswamy; investigative journalist, Patrick Radden Keefe; Huma Abedin, former Deputy Chief of Staff at the US Department of State; former Governor of West Bengal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi; Pavan K. Varma, the writer and diplomat; Sahitya Akademi Award-winning author Namita Gokhale; best-selling historian William Dalrymple; and diplomat and author Vikas Swarup, among others.

Held across 10 days and two weekends, JLF Soneva Fushi's festival programme invites guests to engage with literature, along with stimulating debates, dialogue and free speech. The event will span discourse across themes that include Film and Adaptations; Politics and the World Order; Science, Innovation and the Environment; Travel Writing; History; Fiction; Poetry; Music; Miniatures; and Food and Memory.

Each weekend, the programme is dedicated to flagship events, including keynote addresses, gala dinners on the sand, sunset poetry cruises, live musical performances and film screenings at Cinema Paradiso. Stand-out sessions include an inaugural address by Soneva Co-Founders Eva and Sonu Shivdasani, alongside Festival Co-Directors Namita Gokhale and William Dalrymple.

"We are so proud to host the first edition of JLF Soneva Fushi, which is also the first-ever Maldives iteration of the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival," says Sonu Shivdasani, CEO and Co-Founder of Soneva.

"The festival's programme is an opportunity to finally reconnect with the pure joy of literature and the arts, and I cannot wait to welcome the lineup of outstanding international authors to our shores."

Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, producer of the Jaipur Literature Festival, said: "It's been a dream project to take JLF to Soneva Fushi in the Maldives. Our all-new edition will focus on climate crises, history, geology, fiction and film, alongside delectable cuisine and diverse music and poetry traditions, bringing together the best of world cultures in one place that includes the sun and the sea."

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Sukant Deepak can be contacted at sukant.d@ians.in