What should you read before JLF Seattle?
From the mysteries of the human brain and the legacies of empire to modern India, the Iranian Revolution, artificial intelligence and imaginative new fiction, the books featured at this year’s Jaipur Literature Festival Seattle (JLF Seattle) invite readers to explore some of the most compelling questions of our time.
JLF Seattle: A global festival of books and ideas is an international chapter of the Jaipur Literature Festival, one of the world’s largest literary festivals. For the third year, it will bring together celebrated writers, thinkers, artists, and readers together for lively conversations about books and the ideas shaping our world. It takes place September 17–20, 2026, with Opening Night at the Central Library on Friday, September 18, featuring a keynote address by Life of Pi author Yann Martel on “Why Stories and Imagination Matter More in Uncertain Times.” Opening night will be followed by a weekend of conversations at Town Hall Seattle.
Here are some of the authors, books – and big ideas – you will encounter at this year’s festival.
I. Power, Empire, and History
Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire by Caroline Elkins
How does empire continue to shape the present? Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Caroline Elkins examines the violence that sustained British imperial rule across more than two centuries. Drawing on extensive archival research, this sweeping history was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize.
King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution by Scott Anderson
Why do revolutions happen – and why do governments so often fail to recognize the warning signs? Scott Anderson, New York Times bestselling author of Lawrence in Arabia, offers a dramatic account of the fall of the Shah, American miscalculations, and the 1979 revolution that transformed Iran and reshaped the modern Middle East.
Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia by Sam Dalrymple
The borders of modern Asia were redrawn dramatically during the middle of the 20th century. In this No. 1 Indian bestseller, historian Sam Dalrymple explores five partitions and the people whose lives were altered by the collapse of empires and the creation of new nations.
II. India and a Changing World
The Groundbreaker: Entrepreneurship, the American Dream, and the Rise of Modern India by Kanwal Rekhi
Kanwal Rekhi’s story connects Silicon Valley entrepreneurship, immigration and the emergence of modern India. His journey offers an intimate view of the possibilities and obstacles facing immigrants, while examining the role of the Indian diaspora in the global technology industry.
A Sixth of Humanity: Independent India’s Development Odyssey by Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian
How has India transformed itself since independence – and what challenges remain? Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian examine the economic, political and social forces that have shaped the development of a nation containing nearly one-sixth of the world’s population.
Swallowing the Sun by Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri
Set against the struggle for Indian independence, Lakshmi Puri’s novel follows a young woman seeking education, freedom and a life beyond the expectations placed upon her. It is a story of personal awakening unfolding during a period of profound national transformation.
III. Science, Medicine and Artificial Intelligence
The Mind Electric: A Neurologist on the Strangeness and Wonder of Our Brains by Pria Anand
Why does the brain create phantom limbs, altered memories and unexpected perceptions of reality? Neurologist Pria Anand draws on medical history and stories from her own practice to explore the brain’s remarkable mysteries. The book received the 2026 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award.
Considerations on the AI Endgame by Soenke Ziesche
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in our lives, who – or what – will remain in control? Soenke Ziesche considers the possibilities and dangers of advanced AI and asks how human beings can shape a future in which intelligence is shared between people and machines.
IV. Fiction, Memory, and Belonging
Son of Nobody by Yann Martel
Yann Martel, the Booker Prize-winning author of “Life of Pi,” reimagines the Trojan War through the experiences of an ordinary soldier and a modern scholar. Moving between the ancient and contemporary worlds, “Son of Nobody” explores war, ambition, family and whose stories become part of history.
Intemperance by Sonora Jha
In this satirical feminist novel, a twice-divorced woman approaching her 55th birthday revives the ancient tradition of the swayamvar to choose a new husband on her own terms. Both playful and provocative, “Intemperance” explores love, caste, aging, desire and the possibilities of a more tender masculinity.
Desire Lines by Kristen Millares Young
In this lyrical memoir-in-essays, Seattle writer Kristen Millares Young explores womanhood, motherhood, family history and the ongoing struggle for women’s freedom. Moving through her Cuban and Spanish heritage, she excavates her matrilineage and the submerged histories of the divine feminine.
A Place for What We Lose: A Daughter’s Return to Tule Lake by Tamiko Nimura
Tamiko Nimura returns to Tule Lake, where her Japanese American father was incarcerated during World War II. Combining memoir, history and a daughter’s search for understanding, the book considers grief, inherited memory and the ways families carry experiences that have never been fully spoken.
V. Memoir and the Supernatural
There’s a Ghost in My Room: Living with the Supernatural by Sanjoy K. Roy
Part memoir, part travelogue of the uncanny, Sanjoy K. Roy’s book recounts his lifelong encounters with spirits and apparitions – from his ancestral home in Calcutta to locations around the world. Written with warmth, humor, and curiosity, it explores memory, belief, and the mysterious boundary between the visible and unseen. The book received the Wise Owl Literary Award and was considered for the Rabindranath Tagore Literature Prize.
VI. Beyond the Page
JLF Seattle also celebrates storytelling through cinema. Acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, director of Masoom, Mr. India, Bandit Queen, and Elizabeth, joins the festival to discuss the power of film to bring stories, histories and unforgettable characters to life.
Whether you are drawn to fiction, history, science, politics, memoir, children’s literature or cinema, JLF Seattle offers many ways to discover new ideas and meet the people behind the stories.
Join us at the Central Library on Friday, September 18, for JLF Seattle’s Opening Night, and continue the conversation throughout the festival weekend.
Learn more about the authors, sessions and schedule at JLF Seattle.
By Alka Kurian, Executive Director, JLF Seattle