Literature Live! The Mumbai Litfest ends with inspiring closing address by Dr Jane Goodall, awards

Dr Jane Goodall DBE gave the concluding address on ‘Reasons For Hope’. Photo Courtesy: Literature Live! The Mumbai Litfest

The 15th Literature Live! The Mumbai Litfest ended with a standing ovation followed by an inspiring concluding address on ‘Reasons For Hope' by the world famous ethologist, primatologist and UN Messenger for Peace Dr Jane Goodall DBE. The winners of the Godrej Literature Live! Literary Awards for fiction, non-fiction and business were also announced.

Celebrating its 15th unbroken year, the Litfest held over three days at the NCPA in Nariman Point was a resounding success. It had 125 participants from 11 countries participated in 36 engrossing and packed sessions, ranging from poetry, fiction, travel, AI, music, sports, entertainment, spirituality, food history, business, memoirs, and the celebration of Marathi receiving classical language status. In addition, the joyous Little Festival, galvanising international performances, workshops, book launches, poetry in the park and open mic sessions drew almost 20,000 visitors thronging to the charming seaside venue across three days.

The Little Festival for ages 8-14 held in parallel with its own set of imaginatively curated sessions workshops and performances, had the NCPA campus ringing to the voices and laughter of more than 2,500 children.

The Festival's Literary awards, considered prestigious and eagerly awaited annually, are one of the highlights of the Litfest. They aim to recognise and encourage literary talent among both established and new writers.

The winners of the Godrej Literature Live! Literary Awards are as follows:

Godrej Literature Live! Fiction Book of the Year
The award in this category went jointly to History's Angel by Anjum Hasan (Bloomsbury India) and The Memoirs of Valmiki Rao by Lindsay Pereira (Penguin Random House India)

Godrej Literature Live! Non-Fiction Book of the Year
Intertidal: A Coast and Marsh Diary by Yuvan Aves (Bloomsbury India)

Godrej Literature Live! Fiction Best First Book
Hurda by Atharva Pandit (Bloomsbury India)

Godrej Literature Live! Non-Fiction Best First Book
From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada by Sudha Bharadwaj (Juggernaut Books)

Godrej Literature Live! Business Book of the Year
The Learning Trap: How Byju's Took Indian Edtech for a Ride by Pradip K. Saha (Juggernaut Books)

Bloomsbury was named Publisher of the Year

The Sultan Padamsee Playwriting Award was also announced. It was won by Meera Sitaraman for her play 'All That Matters'.

Juries for the Literary Awards 2024

Fiction:
Deepa Adhikari, Social Entrepreneur and Development Communications Consultant
Priyanka Sarkar, Editor, Translator and Writer
Rajrishi Singhal, Author, Journalist, Banker and Policy Analyst / Consultant
Usha Subramaniam, Former Professor of English Literature and Freelance Commentator
Shireen Mistry, Associate Festival Director, Literature Live! The Mumbai Litfest

Non-Fiction:
Abhay Sardesai, Editor, Educator, Writer and Translator
Chandrahas Choudhury, Writer and Author
Kalpana Sharma, Journalist, Columnist and Author
Sudhakar Solomonraj, Professor, Author and Environmentalist
Tina Nagpaul, Filmmaker and Associate Festival Director, Literature Live! The Mumbai Litfest

Business:
Charles Assisi, Journalist, Columnist, Author and Entrepreneur
Karthi Marshan, Industry Leader, Entrepreneur and Copywriter
Saira Menezes, Editor and Journalist
Sunita Wazir, HR and Leadership Development Professional
Suresh Seshadri, Editor, Journalist and Business Professional