Literature enthusiasts and curious readers in Mumbai, are you ready for the city’s very own annual literary festival? Yes, we’re talking about the Mumbai Litfest 2025 that is set to take place from November 7 to November 9! Hosted at the National Center for the Performing Arts, Nariman Point, expect three days of engaging discussions, author meet-ups, thought-provoking debates, and intuitive workshops. Here’s the full schedule and other details of the literary festival – Mumbai Litfest 2025!
Mumbai Litfest 2025: Origin, Schedule, Registration Process, And More
How Mumbai Litfest Took Shape
When a mixed group of leading Mumbai personalities – and all lovers of literature – met at a gathering, they began wondering why the city lacked its own book festival. Even though the city had millions of avid readers and a rising art scene, these individuals felt that Mumbai – the City of Dreams needed a literary festival of its own. They took up this passionate enterprise and boom – Mumbai Litfest was born!
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The literary festival has been presented each year without a break since 2010, attracting not only the city’s avid readers, wordsmiths, and curious minds, but also internationally acclaimed authors, media personalities, and other prominent pathbreakers.
Anita Desai, Salman Rushdie, Indra Nooyi, Amitav Ghosh, Sudha Murty, Leander Paes, Amjad Ali Khan, Pico Iyer, Jane Goodall, and so many others have graced their presence at this literary festival. Today, it stands as one of the most prominent, internationally known literature festivals from India.
Mumbai Litfest 2025 Schedule
The festival will be inaugurated on November 7, i.e. day 1. It will be inaugurated by Mumbai Litfest’s founder, journalist, and writer Anil Dharker followed by an engaging session called ‘Truth. Trust. Testimony’. The inauguration ceremony will also see prominent personalities like Christian Stocker, Shehan Karunatilaka, Venki Ramakrishnan, and will be chaired by Anish Gawande.
Throughout the 3 days of the festival, attendees will get an opportunity to attend several workshops, literary discussions, poetry readings, and performances. Details of some of these events are mentioned below, kindly refer to the official Mumbai Litfest website for details of all events and the schedule!
Reading Session
Mumbai Bookies
A silent reading session surrounded by fellow booklovers.
Date: 8 and 9 November, 2025
Time: 8 AM to 10 AM
Where: Tata Garden
Performance
Room-i-nation
Performed by Aditya Prakash, this is an exploration of identity and tradition supported by evocative music and storytelling.
Date: 7 November, 2025
Time: 8 PM to 9:15 PM
Where: Experimental Theater
And Here I Am
Performed by Ahmed Tobasi, And Here I Am is a bittersweet, dark political comedy about a man’s true story and his odyssey in search of identity.
Date: 8 November, 2025
Time: 8 PM to 9:15 PM
Where: Godrej Theater
Poetry
Poetry In The Park
An open mic event hosted by Poets of Mumbai, bringing together distinct voices from all over the city.
Date: 8 and 9 November, 2025
Time: 6 PM to 7 PM
Where: Experimental Garden
Poetry In The Park
An open mic event hosted by Poets of Mumbai, bringing together distinct voices from all over the city.
Date: 8 November, 2025
Time: 6 PM to 7 PM
Where: Experimental Garden
Workshops
Mumbai Litfest 2025 will host plenty of workshops – from workshops about writing LGBTQIA non-fiction to workshops about writing biographies. We’ve mentioned a few here, but you can check the official website for more information.
‘Subject’ Matters: Writing Someone Else’s Story
By: Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta
Date: 8 November 2025
Time: 4 PM to 5:30 PM
Where: West Room 1
Metaphrase: Translating Across Cultures
By: Clara Nubile
Date: 9 November 2025
Time: 11 AM to 12:30 PM
Where: West Room 1
Mind Games: Writing Crime Fiction
By: Helene Flood
Date: 9 November 2025
Time: 1:30 PM to 3 PM
Where: West Room 1
Queer Directions: Writing Indian LGBTQIA non-fiction
By: Dhamini Ratnam, Dhrubo Jyoti, Parmesh Shahani
Date: 7 November 2025
Time: 5 PM to 6:30 PM
Where: West Room 1
Also Read: Dehradun Literature Festival 2025: Your Complete Guide to Authors, Events, and Experiences
The Little Festival: Literary Experience For Kids!
Mumbai Litfest 2025 is not just an experience for grown-up wordsmiths and bookworms, it is also a playground supporting the endless creativity of children! The Little Festival is an initiative designed exclusively for kids, consisting of engaging storytelling sessions, fun performances, and even nature walks. Occurring on 7th and 8th November, this is a great opportunity for you to bring along the little minds in your family as they take part in inquisitive and fun-filled activities and events.
To attend The Little Festival, you must either be a child or be accompanied by a child. Unfortunately, registration for this festival has been closed!
Registration For Mumbai Litfest 2025
Even though registrations for The Little Festival have been closed, you can register for the Mumbai Litfest 2025. To register, visit the official Mumbai Litfest website.
Note that you must register separately for the workshops you wish to attend along with the main Mumbai Litfest 2025 registration. For the workshops, registration is on an individual and first-come-first-served basis. This means you must register for each workshop separately and as early as possible before the slots/seats fill up.
There is NO entry fee for attending the Mumbai Litfest 2025, including the workshops. Both registration and entry is FREE.
Once you successfully register, you must collect your Literature Lover badge from the registration counter on festival days. There will be signages and volunteers to help you out with navigating the event venues – and all events will take place within the NCPA premises.
How To Reach NCPA?
By Air
Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport serves the city, and is located about 24 km away from NCPA. You can book a direct cab from the airport to reach the location or take the newly inaugurated Aqua Line metro that directly connects the international airport to the southern end of Mumbai.
By Rail
Churchgate is the nearest railway station to NCPA, located on the Western suburban railway line. You can take a cab from the station or simply have a 15-minute walk to reach NCPA.
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Alternatively, you can take the Aqua Line metro and disembark at either the Churchgate or Vidhan Bhavan metro station – both are located about a 15-minute walk away from NCPA.
By Road
NCPA is located at one of the Southern tips of Mumbai, however, it is extremely well-connected by roads and highways. You can easily get a cab from almost any corner of the city to reach NCPA or take a bus. Bus numbers 115, A-108, A-137, and A-809 all halt at the NCPA bus stop, allowing you to comfortably use public transport to reach the venue.
Summing Up
Mumbai Litfest 2025 is not just a literature festival, it is a movement bringing global literary minds under one roof. It is a movement shaping the city’s literary culture and is serving as a platform to thousands of book lovers, readers, and students to witness a literary festival in their city. If you’re someone who adores literature, books, poems, and words, or simply wants to attend this festival out of sheer curiosity, this is your cue to register ASAP!
