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IN PHOTOS | Here are 5 must-attend sessions at Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest this weekend

Updated On: 04 November, 2025 10:05 AM IST | Nascimento Pinto

A quick guide to some of the must-attend sessions at Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest this weekend (Story by Nandini Varma)

01
Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest will be held from November 7 to 9. Photos Courtesy: File pic
Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest will be held from November 7 to 9. Photos Courtesy: File pic
02
Trail Mix: Marvelous stories from the natural world: (The Little Festival)Conservationist and editor Bittu Sahgal, founder of Sanctuary Nature Foundation, along with children’s authors, Shabnam Minwalla and Bijal Vachharajani will dive into the magical world of mountains, trees, animals, and birds. How do they come alive in fiction, and what do some of the stories written for young readers have to say? The session is open to all nature lovers aged 11 to 13.On November 8; 10.30 am to 12.30 pmAt Godrej Theatre

Trail Mix: Marvelous stories from the natural world: (The Little Festival)
Conservationist and editor Bittu Sahgal, founder of Sanctuary Nature Foundation, along with children’s authors, Shabnam Minwalla and Bijal Vachharajani will dive into the magical world of mountains, trees, animals, and birds. How do they come alive in fiction, and what do some of the stories written for young readers have to say? The session is open to all nature lovers aged 11 to 13.
On November 8; 10.30 am to 12.30 pm
At Godrej Theatre

03
Queer Directions: Writing Indian LGBTQiA+ nonfictionAt this writing workshop, cultural curator and author Parmesh Shahani and journalists Dhamini Ratnam and Dhrubo Jyoti will explore queer memoirs with participants. Some key elements of the session include an introduction to queerness in non-fiction writing, finding the ‘Other’ in the ‘Self’, storyboarding ideas, and structuring and organising non-fiction writing.On November 7; 5 pm to 6.30 pmAt West Room

Queer Directions: Writing Indian LGBTQiA+ nonfiction
At this writing workshop, cultural curator and author Parmesh Shahani and journalists Dhamini Ratnam and Dhrubo Jyoti will explore queer memoirs with participants. Some key elements of the session include an introduction to queerness in non-fiction writing, finding the ‘Other’ in the ‘Self’, storyboarding ideas, and structuring and organising non-fiction writing.
On November 7; 5 pm to 6.30 pm
At West Room

04
Booked!: My experiments with form and fantasyBooker Prize winner and Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka will speak to poet-novelist Jerry Pinto about the novel as a form. His debut novel, Chinaman, set against the backdrop of a cricket world cup victory and the civil war, won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature in 2012; his second novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, featuring a dead photographer who sets out to solve the mystery of his own death, won the 2022 Booker Prize.On Nov 7; 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm At Tata Theatre

Booked!: My experiments with form and fantasy
Booker Prize winner and Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka will speak to poet-novelist Jerry Pinto about the novel as a form. His debut novel, Chinaman, set against the backdrop of a cricket world cup victory and the civil war, won the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature in 2012; his second novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, featuring a dead photographer who sets out to solve the mystery of his own death, won the 2022 
Booker Prize.
On Nov 7; 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm 
At Tata Theatre

05
Left Brain, Right Brain: From the empirical to the novelTwo Mumbai-based authors, scientist-novelist K Sridhar and engineer-writer Amrita Mahale, will be in conversation with Dilip D’Souza to speak about the intersections of science and fiction. Where does logic end and imagination begin? How does an analytical mind find poetic expression? How do reason and wonder find a common ground in writing?On November 8; 12 pm to 1 pm At Little Theatre

Left Brain, Right Brain: From the empirical to the novel
Two Mumbai-based authors, scientist-novelist K Sridhar and engineer-writer Amrita Mahale, will be in conversation with Dilip D’Souza to speak about the intersections of science and fiction. Where does logic end and imagination begin? How does an analytical mind find poetic expression? How do reason and wonder find a common ground in writing?
On November 8; 12 pm to 1 pm 
At Little Theatre

06
A Wish Upon the Sky: Rising voices in original performance poetryTwelve performance poets — Apeksha Jadhav, Arpit Yadav, Ashay Kadam, Ashu Bhoir, Faiza Shaikh, Jhankar Bhowate, Kalpesh Suroshe, Sagina Shaikh, Sheema Farheen, Shraddha Matal, Shraddha Mishra, Tahura Mulla — will take the stage. The group consists of youth, women, and the transgender community, writing in English, Hindi, and Marathi, who participated in workshops by Word Travels, Sydney. The poems will range from rap to ghazal.On November 9; 2 pm At Little Theatre Register www.litlive.in/fest2025/register
Other cool things to doRead a book On November 8, 9; 8 am to 10 amAt Tata Garden
Attend workshops by literary stalwarts On November 7, 8, and 9 At West Room 1
Discuss The Great Gatsby On November 8; 2 to 3 pm At Little Theatre
Participate in the open mic On November 8 & 9; 6 pm At Experimental Garden

A Wish Upon the Sky: Rising voices in original performance poetry
Twelve performance poets — Apeksha Jadhav, Arpit Yadav, Ashay Kadam, Ashu Bhoir, Faiza Shaikh, Jhankar Bhowate, Kalpesh Suroshe, Sagina Shaikh, Sheema Farheen, Shraddha Matal, Shraddha Mishra, Tahura Mulla — will take the stage. The group consists of youth, women, and the transgender community, writing in English, Hindi, and Marathi, who participated in workshops by Word Travels, Sydney. The poems will range from rap 
to ghazal.
On November 9; 2 pm 
At Little Theatre 
Register www.litlive.in/fest2025/register

Other cool things to do
Read a book 
On November 8, 9; 8 am to 10 am
At Tata Garden

Attend workshops by literary stalwarts 
On November 7, 8, and 9 
At West Room 1

Discuss The Great Gatsby 
On November 8; 2 to 3 pm 
At Little Theatre

Participate in the open mic 
On November 8 & 9; 6 pm 
At Experimental Garden

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