As the iconic city-based literary festival returns for its 16th edition at its home in NCPA at Nariman Point from November 7 to 9, here are some fascinating facts that many may not know
Updated On: 2025-11-05 10:05 PM IST
Compiled by : Nascimento Pinto
Origins of the festival
Literature Live! Mumbai Litfest is Mumbai’s first and oldest literary festival that was founded by city-based writer and columnist Anil Dharker (1946 - 2021) and independent journalist and media trainer Shashi Baliga (1952 - 2021).
The first edition of the festival was held in 2010, but the idea began in 2008, reveals Quasar Thakore Padamsee, co-director of the festival with Amy Fernandes, in an earlier interview to mid-day
Important voices in the past
Some of the popular voices in the past have been Jerry Pinto, A C Grayling, Adil Jussawalla, Alexander McCall Smith, Anita Desai, Amitabh Bachchan, Amitav Ghosh, Amy Tan, Anthony Horowitz, Arundhati Subramaniam Christophe Jaffrelot, David Baldacci, Farrukh Dhondy, Geetanjali Shree, Germaine Greer, Gulzar, Ila Arun, Irwin Allan, Sealy, Indra Nooyi, Huma Qureshi, Jane Goodall, Javed Akhtar, L Subramaniam, Mahesh Elkunchwar, Marcus du Sautoy, Margaret Drabble, Marlon James, Miriam Margolyes, Neena Gupta, Nick Hornby, Pico Iyer, Raghuram Rajan, Ramachandra Guha, Roger Penrose, Ruskin Bond, Salman Rushdie, Shashi Tharoor, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Steven Pinker, Subhash Ghai and Sudha Murty
Covid-19 pandemic takes it online
The city-based literature festival was held virtually in 2020 from November 16 to November 22 due to the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic
It was the first time that the festival was held virtually, and the next year also saw the 12th edition being held online for the second year in a row from November 18 to November 21
Literature for children
Many may not know this but the Mumbai literature festival is not only for well-read adults but literally anybody. It also hosts a parallel event for children aged 8 - 14 called 'The Little Festival'
One of the oldest literature festivals in India
While it is the oldest literature festival in Mumbai, it is also among the top five oldest literature festivals in India, apart from Odisha's Kadambini Literary Festival in the early 2000s, followed by Jaipur Literature Festival in 2006, among others
