New Delhi, Dec 17 : With the Covid-19 pandemic shifting the paradigms of engagement to the virtual world, the 14th edition of the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) will feature an online programme spread over two extended weekends on February 19-21 and 26-28 2021, the organisers announced on Thursday. The live virtual sessions will showcase a plethora of themes and writers specially curated for audiences across the world. With over 100 speakers expected to attend, the first list includes Albie Sachs, Bibek Debroy, Carlo Rovelli, Daniel Simpson, John Zubrzycki, Marina Wheeler, Michael Sandel, Moin Mir, Moni Mohsin, Navtej Sarna, Oliver Craske, Prasoon Joshi, Priya Atwal, Ramachandra Guha, Ranjit Hoskote, Sarbpreet Singh, Shashi Tharoor, Shylashri Shankar, Simon Winchester, and Stephen Brusatte. Audiences will be offered an immersive experience that will recreate the magic of the original literary extravaganza with augmented reality and virtual venues replete with a bookstore, a bazaar featuring traditional handcrafted goodies, and various engagement zones. Some of the themes that the Festival will explore this year include Technology & AI, Politics & History, Environment & Climate Change, Mental Health, Business & Economics, Translations, Poetry & Music, Food & Literature, Geopolitics, Science & Medicine, Democracy & Constitution, Water & Sustainability, Historical Fiction, Film & Adaptation and Travel. "These disruptive times have enabled us to curate a uniquely diverse literary platform, and to create what could be termed a living library. The magical spirit of the festival, with its joy, curiosity, and sense of wonder, will be live this coming February for all those who cherish books, ideas and dialogue," writer, publisher and JLF Co-director Namita Gokhale said. Echoing this, writer, historian and JLF Co-director William Dalrymple said, "Despite the pandemic and political upheavals around the world, the Jaipur Literature Festival continues to spread its wings and has transformed itself into one of the world's most popular online spaces for profound discussions about books and writing. While this year's Jaipur will be a quieter affair than usual, our commitment to literary excellence continues undimmed as we present one of our most extraordinary lists to date." Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts that produces the JLF, said, "The devastation that the pandemic caused caught the world unawares. Even as gated communities, cities and countries shut down their borders, we wanted to ensure the free flow of knowledge and information across countries and communities. JLF Brave New World was born out of this intention and grossed over 160 episodes and 4.8 million viewers. As we look ahead to 2021, we look forward to hosting the Jaipur Literature Festival, bringing to our viewers the best thinkers from across the world and presenting varied points of views and themes." Jaipur BookMark (JBM), the B2B arm of the Festival will open its eighth edition with an engaging virtual programme between the two weekends of the main Festival. The virtual edition of JBM will run from 22nd to 25th February 2020 hosting two sessions per day. JBM will continue to bring together a wide range of publishers, literary agents, writers, translators, translation agencies and booksellers from across the world and give them an opportunity to exchange ideas and listen to major global industry players. In addition to enjoying the literary sessions, audiences will also get to savour the Festival's signature morning and evening music sessions with performances by leading artistes and virtuosos. The customary Festival merchandise and books by participating authors will be available online on the Jaipur Literature Festival's official website. /IANS