Mumbai, October 15, 2026: The shortlists for the Godrej Literature Live! Literary Awards 2026, covering Fiction, Non-Fiction, Best First Book and Business Book of the Year, have been announced ahead of the awards ceremony scheduled for October 25 at the Godrej Literature Live! Mumbai LitFest.
The awards, which recognise outstanding writing from both established and debut authors, are set to be presented at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Nariman Point, during the festival running from October 23 to 25.
Shortlisted titles across five categories
In the Fiction category, the shortlisted books are “Railsong: A Novel” by Rahul Bhattacharya (Bloomsbury India), “The Elsewhereans” by Jeet Thayil (HarperCollins Publishers India), and “The Greatest Game: Being The Further Adventures of Kimball O’Hara” by Stephen Alter (Aleph Book Company).
The Non-Fiction shortlist features “A Sixth of Humanity: Independent India’s Development Odyssey” by Devesh Kapur and Arvind Subramanian (HarperCollins Publishers), “Scamlands” by Snigdha Poonam (Penguin Random House India), and “The Hindi Heartland: A Study” by Ghazala Wahab (Aleph Book Company).
Debut and business book contenders
For Best First Book – Fiction, the nominees are “Good Arguments” by Deepika Arwind (Simon & Schuster India), “Lonely People Meet” by Sayantan Ghosh (Bloomsbury India), and “The Sirens of September” by Zeenat Khan (Penguin Random House India). The Best First Book – Non-Fiction shortlist includes “Dapaan: Tales from Kashmir’s Conflict” by Ipsita Chakravarty (Westland Books), “The Liver Doctor” by Dr Cyriac Abby Philips (HarperCollins Publishers India), and “Wild Wild East: Exiled Americans, Enslaved Indians and the Systemic Abuse of the H-1B Visa Programme” by Tanul Thakur (Westland Books/Context).
The Business Book of the Year shortlist comprises “BuildIt: Building Blinkit in an Evolving India” by Albinder Singh Dhindsa (HarperCollins Publishers India), “Running Behind Lakshmi: The Search for Wealth in India’s Stock Market” by Adil Rustomjee (Hachette India), and “Tatyasaheb: The Story of a Bombay Entrepreneur” by Tejaswini Apte-Rahm (Westland Books).
Jury panels for each category
The Fiction jury includes Akarsh Khurana (theatre and film director, actor, writer, and artistic director, Akvarious Productions), Alex Kuruvilla (former founder and chairman emeritus, Conde Nast India; MD, MTV Networks; advisor, Kochi-Muziris Biennale), Iffat Nawaz (author, essayist, and former humanitarian worker), Lillete Dubey (actor, theatre director, founder and artistic director, The Primetime Theatre Company), and Shireen Mistry (communications professional and associate festival director, Godrej Literature Live! The Mumbai Litfest).
The Non-Fiction jury is composed of A. N. Roy (former Director General of Police, Maharashtra, and former Mumbai Police Commissioner), Maneck Davar (publisher, media entrepreneur, chairman & managing director, Spenta Multimedia), Sharon Coutinho (solicitor, corporate lawyer, lifecoach), Sonal Shah (chairperson, Yusuf Meherally Centre; trustee, Mumbai Khadi & Village Industries Association), and Tina Nagpaul (filmmaker, writer, and associate festival director, Godrej Literature Live! The Mumbai LitFest).
For the Business Book category, the jury members are Anjali Raina (executive director, Harvard Business School India Research Center, and independent director on several boards), Anita Bhogle (author, motivational speaker, co-founder Prosearch Consultants), Govind Sankaranarayanan (financial services leader, entrepreneur, co-founder and COO, Ecofy), Vivek Hurry (financial consultant, entrepreneur, and director, Squirrel Enterprises), and Zia Hajeebhoy (entrepreneur, leadership coach, and director, Aquasail India).
Awards to be presented at Mumbai LitFest
The winners in each category will be announced on October 25, 2026, at the Godrej Literature Live! Literary Awards ceremony during the Mumbai LitFest at NCPA, Nariman Point.
Disclaimer: This article is based on a press release provided by the concerned organisation and has been edited for style and clarity with the assistance of AI tools. BusinessFortnight does not verify, endorse, or take responsibility for the claims, figures, or statements made in the original release.
