Jaipur Literature Festival Comes to Sydney, Bringing Indian and Global Voices Together

The three-day JLF Sydney at Powerhouse Parramatta will run from 6 to 8 August 2027, extending the Jaipur Literature Festival’s international reach through conversations on literature, culture and the ideas shaping our world.

For two decades, the Jaipur Literature Festival has brought writers, readers and thinkers together in Rajasthan for conversations that travel well beyond the page. In August 2027, that conversation will find a new home in Sydney, as Teamwork Arts partners with Powerhouse to present JLF Sydney at Powerhouse Parramatta.

Scheduled for 6–8 August 2027, the three-day festival will bring together leading Indian, Australian and international writers, artists and public figures to explore literature, identity, creativity and the questions shaping contemporary life. The announcement comes as the Jaipur Literature Festival prepares to mark its 20th year in 2027, adding another chapter to its journey from a literary gathering in Jaipur to an international meeting place for ideas.

The Sydney edition will be introduced through a curtain-raiser on 20 November 2026, offering an early glimpse of the conversations and cultural perspectives audiences can expect from the festival.

A literary conversation crosses continents

Since its first edition in Jaipur in 2006, the Jaipur Literature Festival has grown into a recognised platform for literary exchange, drawing audiences to discussions spanning fiction, history, politics, science, cinema and the arts. Its international editions have taken the festival’s format to audiences across several countries, building connections between writers and readers from different cultural backgrounds.

Sydney brings a new dimension to that journey. Through its partnership with Powerhouse, JLF will establish a platform for Indian and Australian voices to meet alongside writers and thinkers from elsewhere in the world. The intention is not simply to bring a familiar festival format to a new city, but to create space for stories and perspectives that might otherwise be encountered separately.

The choice of Parramatta is also significant to the partnership. As a major centre of Western Sydney, the area has strong connections to Australia’s Indian community, making it a fitting setting for conversations about literature, belonging and the ways cultures influence one another.

An early glimpse of JLF Sydney

The curtain-raiser on 20 November 2026 will bring together an international line-up spanning literature, cinema and public life. Participants announced include writer and essayist Pico Iyer, novelists Charlotte Wood and Emily St. John Mandel, Indian filmmaker Kabir Khan, and author and former diplomat Gopal Krishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.

Their participation offers an indication of the range of subjects the festival hopes to bring into the room, from literary fiction and personal identity to cinema, history and the wider world in which stories are told. The full programme for August 2027 is expected to develop that conversation further.

Stories that bring people closer

For Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, the Sydney partnership continues the festival’s commitment to bringing people together through literature and culture.

“Jaipur Literature Festival has always sought to create spaces where literature, ideas and culture bring people together across borders,” Roy said, describing the Sydney edition as a new chapter in the festival’s international journey. He also acknowledged the role of Powerhouse and the Centre for Australia-India Relations in developing the partnership.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Australian Government, through the Centre for Australia-India Relations, was proud to support Powerhouse Parramatta in bringing the festival to Sydney. She described JLF Sydney as a celebration of the cultural ties between Australia and India, with the programme expected to draw on literature, film and other fields of public life.

Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Philip Green, also welcomed the announcement, pointing to the value of cultural exchange alongside the two countries’ growing trade and strategic relationship. Having attended three editions of the Jaipur Literature Festival during his tenure in India, he described the festival as an opportunity to engage with major questions through the work of writers and thinkers.

India’s High Commissioner to Australia, Nagesh Singh, highlighted the role of literature in encouraging dialogue and helping people understand one another’s experiences. He noted that the Sydney edition would bring voices from India, Australia and beyond to Parramatta for discussions through storytelling, cinema and art.

Jemma Birrell, Head of Writing at Powerhouse, said the organisation was delighted to co-present the first JLF Sydney at Powerhouse Parramatta, with the partnership intended to connect local audiences with writers and literary voices from around the world.

A new chapter for JLF

The Jaipur Literature Festival’s appeal has always rested on the range of its conversations: the chance to move from a novel to a political debate, from a personal story to a larger question about society, often within the same programme. Taking that spirit to Sydney creates an opportunity to bring Indian and Australian cultural conversations into closer contact.

As the festival approaches its 20th anniversary, JLF Sydney at Powerhouse Parramatta extends its reach while retaining literature as the starting point. For audiences in Sydney, it will offer an opportunity to hear writers and thinkers in person, encounter unfamiliar perspectives and discover stories that cross national and cultural boundaries.

The inaugural full edition of JLF Sydney at Powerhouse Parramatta will take place from 6 to 8 August 2027, following the partnership’s curtain-raiser on 20 November 2026.