Godrej Literature Live! Literary Awards presented as part of Festival Finale
Mumbai, October 26: The 17th edition of Godrej Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2026 concluded with a grand finale celebrating literature, creativity and the power of storytelling. The three-day festival brought together writers, poets, thinkers, performers and readers from across the world, with the prestigious Godrej Literature Live! Literary Awards being presented on the closing day.
The festival recognised outstanding contributions in literature across various categories, including fiction, non-fiction and business writing. Veteran novelist Irwin Allan Sealy received the Godrej Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award, while acclaimed Hindi poet Gagan Gill was honoured as this year’s Godrej Literature Live! Poet Laureate.
The winners of the Godrej Literature Live! Literary Awards included Rahul Bhattacharya’s Railsong: A Novel for Book of the Year – Fiction, and Ghazala Wahab’s The Hindi Heartland: A Study for Book of the Year – Non-Fiction. Deepika Arwind’s Good Arguments won Best First Book – Fiction, while Tanul Thakur’s Wild Wild East: Exiled Americans, Enslaved Indians and the Systemic Abuse of the H-1B Visa Program received the award for Best First Book – Non-Fiction.
The Godrej Literature Live! Business Book of the Year was awarded to Adil Rustomjee’s Running Behind Lakshmi: The Search for Wealth in India’s Stock Market. Publisher of the Year recognition was presented to Westland.
A celebration of words, ideas and performances
Held at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Nariman Point, from October 23 to 25, the festival featured over 130 novelists, poets, writers, thinkers and performers from 18 countries across more than 40 sessions.
The festival witnessed inspiring conversations featuring literary icons such as Gulzar Saab, Javed Akhtar and Gagan Gill, who engaged audiences with discussions on poetry and creativity. Veteran writers including Shanta Gokhale, Jerry Pinto and Irwin Allan Sealy participated in sessions exploring fiction, crime writing, short stories, ecological fiction and graphic novels.
Actors Shabana Azmi, Anahita Uberoi and Kunal Vijayakar brought theatre alive through readings from plays shortlisted for the Sultan Padamsee Playwriting Awards. Leading actor Shefali Shah also launched her book at the festival, alongside several other new releases spanning fiction, journalism, poetry and Mumbai-based narratives.
The festival also featured discussions on history, technology, business and social issues. Thinkers including Ramachandra Guha, Shashi Tharoor and Pavan Varma explored contemporary relevance of history and philosophy, while conversations around artificial intelligence, social media and digital identity highlighted changing realities.
From inspiring sessions with para-athlete Arati Patil and journalists Kavita Bundelkhandi and Harinder Baweja to discussions on healthcare, art and culture, the festival covered diverse perspectives. Workshops, theatre performances, musical presentations and campus outreach programmes added to the experience.
The parallel Little Festival, designed for children aged 7–13, featured storytelling sessions, workshops, exhibitions and interactive activities for young readers from schools and NGOs across Mumbai.
Organised in association with NCPA, powered by Florintree, Godrej Literature Live! once again celebrated Mumbai’s literary spirit, creating a platform where ideas, imagination and conversations came together by the sea.
Subscribe Deshwale on YouTube
