VS Naipaul to attend the Jaipur Literature Festival

Literary bigwigs like Elizabeth Gilbert, Amish Tripathi and Neel Mukherjee (Man Booker nominee) to also be part of the fest.
Even as we hope for the weather to turn colder, things are heating up in Jaipur. Especially on the literary front, since the organizers of the Jaipur Literature Festival have announced their first list, and there are some big names on it, including the feted VS Naipaul.
Come January (the festival is to be held from 21-25 of the month next year), and the literature lovers, as well as those who simply want to add to their Book Bucket challenge, will be seen hobnobbing in the city .The first lineup has, apart from Naipaul, names like Eleanor Catton, Elizabeth Gilbert, Paul Theroux, Hanif Kureishi, Amish Tripathi and current Man Booker Prize nominee Neel Mukherjee.
The major themes for this edition of the festival are said to be the meltdown in the Middle East and AfPak, spies, historical fiction (this might explain the inclusion of German fantasy writer Cornelia Funke's name), alternative sexualities, memoir writing and cricket writing, among others. And before we say that Rajasthani literature, or the names of regional writers, are missing, the statement by the organizers says more names will be announced soon, so watch this space for more.