Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2026 ends on a high celebrating literature

Godrej Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest ended on October 25 on a high with packed sessions on literature, business, media, theatre, arts and entertainment and the presentation of the prestigious Godrej Literature Live! awards for Lifetime Achievement and Literary excellence in Fiction, Non-Fiction and Business writing. 
 
The Godrej Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on veteran novelist Irwin Allan Sealy, while revered Hindi poet Gagan Gill was this year’s Godrej Literature Live! Poet Laureate.  
 
The Godrej Literature Live! Literary Awards aim to recognize and encourage literary talent across genres, among both established and new writers. The winners in each category are as follows:
 
Godrej Literature Live! Book of the Year – Fiction
Railsong: A Novel by Rahul Bhattacharya, Bloomsbury India
 
Godrej Literature Live! Book of the Year – Non-Fiction
The Hindi Heartland: A Study by Ghazala Wahab, Aleph Book Company
 
Godrej Literature Live! Best First Book – Fiction 
Good Arguments by Deepika Arwind, Simon & Schuster India
 
Godrej Literature Live! Best First Book – Non-Fiction 
Wild Wild East: Exiled Americans, Enslaved Indians and the Systemic Abuse of the H-1B Visa program by Tanul Thakur, Westland Books/Context
 
Godrej Literature Live! Business Book of the Year 
Running Behind Lakshmi: The Search for Wealth in India’s Stock Market by Adil Rustomjee, Hachette India
 
The Godrej Literature Live! Publisher of the Year was Westland
 
In its 17th unbroken year, Mumbai’s only international LitFest truly celebrated the art, craft and magic of words. The festival had 130 novelists, poets, writers, thinkers and performers from 18 countries interacting with full houses across over 40 sessions.  Illustrious actors Shabana Azmi, Anahita Uberoi and Kunal Vijayakar read to enthralled spectators from plays shortlisted for the esteemed Sultan Padamsee Playwriting Awards. 
 
Gulzar Saab, Javed Akhtar and Godrej Poet Laureate Gagan Gill captured the hearts and minds of their listeners, inspiring the next generation of would-be poets to take to the mic in the NCPA gardens. Irwin Allan Sealy with fellow beacons of fiction Shanta Gokhale and Jerry Pinto were part of a fascinating line up of sessions which also encompassed debut fiction, crime fiction, short stories, ecological fiction and graphic novels. Leading actor Shefali Shah launched her book at the festival, where nine other anticipated titles across fiction, poetry, journalism, and Mumbai were also unveiled for the first time
 
Prominent thinkers Ramachandra Guha, Shashi Tharoor, Pavan Varma discussed the relevance of history and philosophy to issues of today, while Anurag Minus Verma and Ria Chopra addressed pressing concerns regarding social media, internet, identity. Renowned economist Kaushik Basu spoke on the opening and closing days, in which he considered, among other issues, the future impact of AI. The economic thread extended to sessions on business leadership and women entrepreneurs.  
 
Champion para-athlete Arati Patil spoke before an audience awed by the grit, dedication and star quality of Indian paralympic sport. Pioneering journalists Kavita Bundelkhandi from Khabar Lahariya and Harinder Baweja recounted heart-stopping stories of reporting from tough terrains. Leading doctors spoke about the healing touch beyond medicine to a visibly moved auditorium. Naman Ahuja delivered a learned exposition on art and culture to a keenly attentive audience. 
 
The Great Debate swung the mood in favour of Big Tech! The Book in Focus, skillfully helmed by radio personality Hrishi K, brought lively and challenging views to the fore. Seven workshops and three powerful theatre and musical performances by international artistes added to the buzzing vibe at the venue, where thousands of visitors thronged to Mumbai’s “LitFest by the sea”.  College outreaches also took place under the Campus@360 initiative. 
 
The Little Festival for ages 7-13 held in parallel, had the NCPA campus echoing with the joy and thrill of scores of participating children from a number of schools across Mumbai including NGOs. They attended a host of unique sessions and vibrant storytelling on subjects as wide-ranging as nature, music and dance, treasure hunts, map-making and how an Indian singer’s voice went into space! Six child-appropriate workshops, a Pinocchio exhibition and a dramatic musical play were also held.