The 17th edition of Godrej Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest concluded on October 25, bringing together 130 novelists, poets, writers, thinkers and performers from 18 countries across more than 40 sessions, with discussions spanning literature, business, media, technology and the arts.
Veteran novelist Irwin Allan Sealy received the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Hindi poet Gagan Gill was named Poet Laureate. Rahul Bhattacharya’s *Railsong: A Novel* won Book of the Year – Fiction, and Ghazala Wahab’s *The Hindi Heartland: A Study* won the Non-Fiction award. Deepika Arwind and Tanul Thakur received the Best First Book awards for fiction and non-fiction, respectively. Adil Rustomjee’s *Running Behind Lakshmi* won Business Book of the Year, while Westland was named Publisher of the Year.
The festival featured discussions on artificial intelligence, business leadership, women entrepreneurs, social media and contemporary society. Speakers included Gulzar, Javed Akhtar, Shashi Tharoor, Ramachandra Guha and economist Kaushik Basu. Theatre performances, seven workshops, book launches and the children’s Little Festival added to the programme.
In Guwahati, the festival highlights opportunities for bookstores, publishers, educational institutions and cultural organisations to expand literary events, promote regional authors and engage younger readers. Its focus on business books and emerging literary voices also offers insights into evolving reader interests.
Held at Mumbai’s National Centre for the Performing Arts from October 23 to 25, the festival was organised in association with NCPA and powered by Florintree.
