Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 2025 ends on a high note with Godrej Awards presentations

Mumbai, November 10, 2025: The grand finale of the 16th edition of Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest was held last night with one of the most anticipated annual highlights of the LitFest - the presentation of the prestigious Godrej Literature Live! Literary Awards for Fiction, Non-Fiction and Business books, as well as the Godrej Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award. 
 
Marking its 16th unbroken year, Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest, held over 3 days at the NCPA, Nariman Point, was a resounding success. 120+ novelists, poets, writers, thinkers and performers from 15 countries participated in over 30 riveting sessions, ranging from poetry, fiction, gender, law, sexuality, science, technology, current affairs, social change, health and wellness, inclusivity, history, business. The Great Debate, Book in Focus, the Literary Quiz, 7 workshops, 11 book launches, Picnic with Playwrights, Poetry in the Park, Mumbai Bookies, and mesmerising theatre and musical performances by international artistes added to the palpable buzz at the venue, which drew almost 20,000 visitors to Mumbai’s “LitFest by the sea”.  College outreaches also took place under the Campus@360 initiative.
 
The Little Festival for ages 8-14 held in parallel, had the NCPA campus echoing with the happiness and laughter of more than 2500 children from a number of schools across Mumbai including NGOs, attending imaginatively curated sessions and storytelling on subjects as wide-ranging as nature, music, environment, philately, and even dental hygiene! Seven workshops were held for the little ones and two dramatic stage plays.
 
The Godrej Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on acclaimed Hindi novelist and poet Vinod Kumar Shukla. Meanwhile renowned Gujarati poet Sitanshu Yashaschandra presided as the Godrej Poet Laureate from the opening day of the festival.
 
The Godrej Literary Awards aim to recognise and encourage literary talent across genres, among both established and new writers.  The winners in each category and the eminent juries that decided the awards are as follows:
 
Godrej Literature Live! Book of the Year - Fiction
Island by Sujit Saraf (Speaking Tiger)
 
Godrej Literature Live! Book of the Year - Non-Fiction
Golwalkar: The Myth Behind the Man, The Man Behind the Machine by Dhirendra K Jha (Simon and Schuster India)
 
Godrej Literature Live! Best First Book - Fiction
The Fertile Earth by Ruthvika Rao (Penguin Random House India)
 
Godrej Literature Live! Best First Book - Non-Fiction  
The Lucky Ones: A Memoir by Zara Chowdhary (Westland Books)
 
Godrej Literature Live! Business Book of the Year  
The Money Trap: Grand Fortunes and Lost Illusions Inside the Tech Bubble by Alok Sama (Pan Macmillan India)
 
The Godrej Publisher of the Year was Penguin Random House India
 
Juries for the 2025 Awards:
 
Fiction:
 
1.    Akhil Katyal, Poet, translator, author, and activist
2.    Anil Menon, Author and editor
3.    Dolly Thakore, Theatre artiste, casting director and author
4.    K. Srilata, Poet, translator, author and academician
5.    Shireen Mistry, Communications professional and Associate Festival Director, Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest 
 
Non-Fiction:
 
1.    Ajit Ranade, Economist, academician and public commentator
2.    Ayaz Memon, Journalist, columnist, editor and author
3.    Jean Da Cunha, Sociologist, author, former UN Official
4.    Nirupama Subramanian, Journalist, editor and author
5.    Tina Nagpaul, Filmmaker and Associate Festival Director, Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest
 
Business:
 
1.    Alka Puri, Philanthropy and social impact leader; SVP India partner
2.    Bhaskar Dasgupta, Fintech and regulatory strategist and policy advisor
3.    Kavita Hurry, Banking strategist and business consultant, ING
4.    Manisha Girotra, Investment banking leader, CEO Moelis India
5.    Sitaraman Shankar, Journalist, columnist, editor; CEO, IIMBx
 
Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest, presented by Godrej Industries Group, in association with NCPA, powered by Florintree, was held from 7-9 November 2025 at the NCPA at Nariman Point. The Little Festival in collaboration with H T Parekh Foundation was held on 7 & 8 November at the same venue.