New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS): As the world embraces a new digital idiom, the power of books, ideas and discourse is vital and invigorating, as is the importance of ensuring a free flow of knowledge and information – as aficionados in Colorado, Houston, New York and Toronto will discover through online editions of the iconic Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) in quick succession from November 8 to 29.

"The festivals will bring together an extremely diverse palate of global themes while celebrating the unique culture, diversity, energy and beauty of the host cities, as usual marked by a strong sense of camaraderie, a caravan of ideas, and the magical flow of conversations," JLF producer Teamwork Arts said on Monday.

The programming will include topics like the COVID-19 pandemic, crime-writing, environment, poetry, international politics, racial equality and discrimination, entertainment and fiction.

"The challenges of our changing times have led us at JLF to create and curate an incredibly rich and diverse digital platform" that will "as ever, engage with both the local and the global, giving voice to writers, poets and thinkers as they celebrate books, dialogue and debate," JLF co-director Namita Gokhale said.

"Literature, ideas and knowledge are at the heart of our every effort to ensure a free flow of knowledge and information, specially in these times," Teamwork Arts Managing Director Sanjoy K. Roy said, adding that between them, the four events will bring together Nobel laureates, Pulitzer, Commonwealth and other award-winning speakers to share their ideas and vision on a slew of issues from BLM to the environment, performing poetry to democracy and from music to film.