Lit For Life: India’s Literature/Literary Festival in Chennai by The Hindu - The Hindu

About Lit for Life

Welcome to The Hindu's literature festival of 2026. Nirmala Lakshman, Chairperson, The Hindu Group, talks about The Hindu's annual literature festival which showcases a variety of expression in arts, literature and culture.

Dr Nirmala Lakshman Chairperson, The Hindu Group

Speakers

A.R. Venkatachalapathy

Akhila Krishnamurthy

Andaleeb Wajid

Anita R. Ratnam

Aparajith Ramnath

Arundhati Ghosh

Arvind Subramanian

Brahadeeshwar C. Chandilya

Chef Hussain Shahzad

Chef Kavan Kuttappa

Chef Vinesh Johny

D.Y. Chandrachud

Elizabeth Kuruvilla

Geetha Lakshman

Gopalkrishna Gandhi

Gowri Ramnarayan

Indrani Krishnaier

Jim Wungramyao Kasom

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

Kalpana Karunakaran

Kavitha Muralidharan

Lakshmi Narasimhan

Madhukar Bapurao Zende

Manasi Chaudhuri

Manasi Subramaniam

Manoranjan Byapari

Minakshi Thakur

Mrithula Chetlur

Nandini Krishnan

Nandhini Subbulakshmi

Niharika Kaul Bhattacharya

Nikhila Kesavan

Nirmala Lakshman

Pankaja Srinivasan

Perumal Murugan

Prabha Sridevan

Prasanna Ramaswamy

Priyambada Jayakumar

Rachna Singh Davidar

Radha Sarma Hegde

Radhika Santhanam

Ravi Shankar Etteth

Rosella Stephen

Samanth Subramanian

Satoshi Yagisawa

Shonali Muthalaly

Smrithi Parameshwar

Sobhana K. Nair

Sreemathi Ramnath

Stalin Rajangam

Suhrith Parthasarathy

Sumana Chandrashekar

V. Sarvesh Sridhar

Vanamala Viswanatha

Varghese K. George

Vidya Gajapathi Raju Singh

Viji Krishnamoorthy

Viswanathan Anand

Photos

| The Hindu Bureau

In pictures | The Hindu Lit for Life 2026 Day 1

Discussions on influential personalities, issues of contemporary relevance, translations and more seen on day 1 of The Hindu Lit for Life 2026 in Chennai.

| The Hindu Bureau

In pictures | The Hindu Lit for Life 2026 Day 2

| The Hindu Bureau

The Hindu Lit for Life 2026 Mobile Library flagged off in Chennai

Lit For Life in News

The Hindu Lit for Life 2026: Winners of short story contest announced

The Hindu Bureau

The Silence After

The Divide at Gate No. 4

Between a house and a Home

Videos

Gopalkrishna Gandhi recalls the day Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated

Gopalkrishna Gandhi, on January 17, 2025 said that the post-Independence Government of India could have opened a new chapter by not handing death penalty to assassins of Mahatma Gandhi -- Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte.

SHOW MORE VIDEOS

Lit for Life moments

Schedule

Lit for life 2026: How to Become Wealthy At Any Age

Starts at 05:30 pm , January 18

Lit for life 2026: The New Laws of Manu: Why The Poor Don’t Kill Us

Starts at 06:25 pm , January 18

Lit for life 2026: Re-Imagining Stories

Starts at 03:15 pm , January 18

Inside Outside

Starts at 02:00 pm , January 17

VIEW FULL SCHEDULE

Lit for Life Archive

Testimonials

I greatly enjoyed The Hindu Lit For Life festival, which I attended a few years ago and I wish it every continuing success.

Vikram SethNovelist & Poet, Padma Shri Awardee

I usually avoid literature festivals but The Hindu Lit For Life is really nice because the people are curious. What makes it special are the kind of people who come to it.

Rujuta DiwekarLeading nutrition and exercise science expert

With its combination of world literary figures, Indian luminaries, and dynamic students, it hosts conversations that simply cannot be found anywhere else.

Naomi WolfAuthor & Journalist, best know for the book The Beauty Myth

The audiences were so engaged and I met so many brilliant young women... This is an astoundingly cool literary festival.

Molly CrabappleArtist and writer. Contributing editor for VICE

We live in a world where everyone says people aren't interested in books anymore. I think you need to come to a festival like this to realise people love books.

Markus Zusak Writer, best known for The Book Thief and The Messenger

What I really like about the festival is that it is a "literary" festival. It is centred on books.

Karthika V.K. Publisher, Westland Publications Pvt Ltd

I had a splendid time. The other writers were fascinating and panels engaging. My mind and eyes were full of literature and books, which is how I like it.

Daniel HandlerAuthor, musician, screenwriter, television writer, and television producer

The festival has gone from strength to strength each yearand I think it's an indication of how much enthusiasm there is for reading. The book is no danger here.

Abraham VerghesePhysician, Author & Professor at Stanford University Medical School

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