European Union to participate for the first time as Festival Partner at India’s biggest literary event; EU and India build on well-established literary ties to enhance cultural cooperation.

Brussels, Belgium, February 17, 2021: Described as the ‘greatest literary show on Earth’, the Jaipur Literature Festival is a sumptuous feast of ideas and inspiration. From 19th to 28th February 2021, the Festival returns with it’s 14th edition – fully virtual – featuring famous writers and curated for audiences across the world.

The European Union will participate at the Jaipur Literature Festival for the first time as a Festival Partner through an extensive programme curated by the Cultural Relations Platform (an EU-funded initiative) and the Delegation of the European Union to India. Renowned European writers and winners of the European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), representing six Member States and partner countries, will be conducting literary exchanges with their Indian peers including authors, journalists, and opinion makers.

During the two weekends of the Festival (19-21 and 26-28 February), four European Prize for Literature laureates will take part in extensive conversations with Indian counterparts and interact with international audiences. The authors – Kevin Barry (Ireland), Meelis Friedenthal (Estonia), Rodaan Al Galidi (the Netherlands), and Adam Foulds (UK) – representing some of the most talented writers in Europe, will showcase the depth of the continent’s contemporary literature at South Asia’s biggest literary festival.

Next to the Festival’s main programme, the European Union will also support encounters between literary professionals from Europe and India as part of the Festival’s B2B wing – the Jaipur BookMark (JBM). Three sessions will be supported by the EU and address themes including literary translation, current trends in international publishing markets, and the transnational circulation of literary output. EUPL laureates Matthias Nawrat (Germany) and Selja Ahava (Finland), and key industry stakeholders representing the Federation of European Publishers, Latvia, Greece, and Finland will engage with counterparts from the Indian publishing industry.

The initiative is supported by the European Union and the Cultural Relations Platform with the aim of strengthening international cultural relations and stimulating collaborations as outlined in the EU Strategy for International Cultural Relations and the New European Agenda for Culture 2018 . It is co-organised by the Cultural Relations Platform (an EU-funded project), the Delegation of the European Union to India, and Teamwork Arts (India). This collaboration is an extension of longstanding EU-India creative sector exchanges – and will mark the fourth consecutive year that the EUPL will be represented at India’s most high-profile literary events.

Speaking of growing EU-India artistic and cultural ties, H.E. Ugo Astuto, Ambassador of the European Union to India and Bhutan, welcomed this collaboration, remarking that, “The EU is committed to fostering an environment conducive to greater creative exchanges with India. With our participation in the Jaipur Literature Festival and the Jaipur BookMark, we wish to strengthen the EU’s position as a major cultural partner of India, recognizing the importance of inter-cultural dialogue as a key element of our partnership.”

Sharing his enthusiasm Sanjoy K Roy, Managing Director, Teamwork Arts producer of the Jaipur Literature Festival said, “We are delighted to partner with the European Union and European Union prize for Literature and explore the rich writing from this region and strengthen our focus on translations and bringing to the fore the best writers from across the world during the Jaipur Literature Festival.

Agenda

Friday 19 February; 3pm IST / 10:30am CET	JLF 1st panel:  Adam Foulds in conversation with Elaine Canning
Monday 22 February; 4:45pm IST / 12:15pm CET	JBM Session 1: European Union Prize for Literature: Writing from across Europe
Wednesday 24 February; 6pm IST / 1:30pm CET	JBM Session 2: Extending the Novel: Fiction, non-fiction, translation
Thursday 25 February; 4:45pm / 12:15pm CET	JBM Session 3: Publishing Market: International exchange
Friday 26 February; 4pm IST / 11:30am CET	JLF 2nd panel: Meelis Friedenthal in conversation with Malashri Lal
Saturday 27 February; 5pm IST / 12:30pm CET	JLF 3rd panel: Rodaan Al Galidi and Jonathan Reeder in conversation with Neeta Gupta
Sunday 28 February; 4pm IST / 11:30am CET	JLF 4th panel: Kevin Barry in conversation with Cauvery Madhavan