Mumbai is all set to celebrate the joy of words as Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest returns for its 16th edition from November 7 to 9, 2025, at the NCPA, Nariman Point. The city’s beloved literary festival promises three days of engaging conversations, performances, and workshops featuring over 100 acclaimed writers, speakers, thinkers, and performers from more than 10 countries.
Presented by the Godrej Industries Group, the festival will explore a wide spectrum of subjects, including fiction, poetry, health, history, business, science, philosophy, and the city of Mumbai itself.
This year’s stellar line-up includes Anindita Ghose, Ashok Alexander, Ashok Vajpeyi, Atul Dodiya, Christian Stöcker, Dhananjay Chandrachud, Faye D’Souza, Jeet Thayil, Jerry Pinto, Jimmy Wales, Lillete Dubey, Luke Coutinho, Omar Musa, Paromita Vohra, Roopa Kudva, Sam Dalrymple, Shabnam Minwalla, Shashi Tharoor, Shehan Karunatilaka, Shireen Bhan, Shobhaa De, Shubhangi Swarup, Sitanshu Yashaschandra, Soha Ali Khan, Swati Pandey, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Yang Shuang-zi.
The festival will also host its flagship awards—the Lifetime Achievement, Poet Laureate, and Literary Awards—alongside The Great Debate, Book in Focus, indoor and outdoor performances, book launches, workshops, and campus outreaches.
In parallel, The Little Festival for children, curated with the H T Parekh Foundation, will run on November 7-8 with sessions, activities, and performances. The Binod Kanoria Awards for Children’s Literature will also be announced during this segment.
Amy Fernandes, Co-Director, Mumbai LitFest said, “Each year since 2009, the festival has shaped itself into an ever-evolving and exciting entity that the city has come to love. We, the Literature Live! team, are honoured to play a role in continuing the legacy that our founder Anil Dharker created for Mumbaikars: a marvellous feast for the mind and soul. In its 16th year, the story only gets stronger.”
Quasar Thakore Padamsee, Co-director, Mumbai LitFest said,“Engaging with contrasting thoughts and writing – fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama – from around the world is more crucial than ever today. The 16th edition of the Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest will do just that. I have been associated with this Festival since its inception, and it is a privilege to have seen it grow into the veritable city institution that it is today. Over the years, we have hosted a series of incredible literary events, and this year promises to reflect the same love and zest for words in manifold forms.”
Nadir Godrej, Chairman & Managing Director, Godrej Industries Group said, “Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest is a unique achievement – a Mumbai home-grown world-class international Literary Festival which has stood the test of time and received universal appreciation for fifteen years.”
