The Hindu Lit For Life 2026: What speakers like about the literature festival

A cerebral event

Malaysian-Tamil author Saras Manickam describes her experience at Lit for Life as “cerebral”. Having attended several other literature festivals, this one stands out to her. “This one isn’t all glitz and glam,” she says, “and that’s exactly what I like about it.” At its core, Lit for Life seems powered more by insight than spectacle — it’s the quality of the conversations that fill the halls at Lady Andal school to maximum capacity every year.

Amrita Shah, Saras Manikam and Vijay Krishnamoorthy in conversation with Radha Hegde at The Hindu Lit for Life festival 2026 at The Sir Mutha Concert Hall, Chetpet in Chennai on Saturday, 17/01/2026
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

It feels as though there is something, a mixture of awe and charm, in the otherwise humid Chennai air during these two days. Playwright, journalist, and translator, Gowri Ramnarayan, puts this intangible feeling into words, saying that to be at Lit for Life is “to breathe where other writers have breathed”. A session on anything, even a topic one might initially think boring, becomes instantly engaging at Lit for Life, she says. As a former Deputy Editor of The Hindu, Gowri has been part of the fest since its inception.

Vocalist, activist, and writer TM Krishna, another seasoned Lit for Life speaker, has been part of the festival for 13 years now. To him, conversations here are anything but frivolous. “People aren’t called to speak here just because they’re popular and can get a crowd, which I think is refreshing,” he says, underlining that in the world of literature festivals, the directive of Lit for Life remains engagement rather than stardom.

Gopalkrishna Gandhi with T.M. Krishna at The Hindu Lit for Life festival 2026 at the Lady Andal School in Chennai on Saturday, 18/01/2026.
| Photo Credit:
SRINATH M

Organisation and audience 

“I thought it was incredibly organised,” says author and lawyer Manasi Chaudhari, who attended the fest as a speaker for the first time. The sessions were engaging and included “a diverse line-up of speakers”, she says. Several other authors shared a similar sentiment, saying that they thoroughly enjoyed the sessions they attended. There was no dearth of audience engagement either. The moment the Q&A segment of a session began, hands rose quickly, each hoping for the chance to ask a question. “They were attending purely out of curiosity; they were really invested,” says ghatam player and author Sumana Chandrashekar about the audience.

Author Manasi Chaudhari signs copies of her books for participants at The Hindu Lit for Life 2026 in Chennai on January 17, 2026.
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UMESH KUMAR V

Journalist and writer Akhila Krishnamurthy has worked across capacities at Lit for Life for several years now; she has taken the roles of speaker, organiser, anchor, host, and moderator over the years. “I’ve done sort of a full 360 of the fest,” she says. As a journalist and founder of the performing arts company Aalaap, she has enjoyed working with artistes at the festival.

In pictures | The Hindu Lit for Life 2026 Day 1

We The People of India: Decoding a Nations’s Symbols. T.M. Krishna in conversation with Suhrith Parthasarathy at The Hindu Lit for Life in Chennai on Saturday.

The Tamils by Nirmala Lakshman: A Theatrical Reading. Artists like Anita Ratnam, Brahadeeshwar C. Chandilya, Nandhini Subbulakshmi, Revathy Kumar, Sarvesh Sridhar, and Tehzeeb Katari perform, as directed by Prasanna Ramaswamy.

Enter the arena: Appupen and Perumal Murugan in conversation with Ramya Kannan.

A thousand loves: Ways of Being Polyamorous. Arundhati Ghosh in conversation with Priya Ramani.

Chandan Gowda, Gowri Ramnarayan, and Vanamala Viswanatha, in conversation with Mini Krishnan.

Days and Nights at the Morisaki Bookshop: Satoshi Yagisawa in conversation with Rachna Singh Davidar in Chennai on Saturday.

India’s Path to Development: Arvind Subramanian and Devesh Kapur in conversation with Narendar Pani in Chennai on Saturday.

Footnotes from the Mahabharata: K. Srilata in conversation with Nikhila Kesavan, Indrani Krishnaier, Geetha Lakshman, Smrithi Parameswar, and Mrithula Chetlur from Madras Players will present a dramatised reading of excerpts from the book.

A Woman of No Consequence: Memory, Letters and Resistance in Madras. Kalpana Karunakaran in conversation with Sreemathi Ramnath.

Love, loss and healing: Andaleeb Wajid in Conversation with Soma Basu at the The Hindu Show place in Lady Andal School Chennai on Saturday.

Madhukar Zende in conversation with K.C. Vijaya Kumar at the The Hindu Pavilion at Lady Andal School in Chennai on Saturday, January 17, 2026.

Unquiet Minds: A Generation in Crisis. Conversations on building a better world for our children: Amit Bhatt, Avira Bhatt, and Shelja Sen in conversation with Niharika Kaul Bhattacharya at The Hindu Lit for Life in Chennai on Saturday.

Women know your rights: Manasi Chaudhuri in conversation with Vidya Singh at the The Hindu Pavillion in Chennai on Saturday.

Skewed Perception: Fighting Bias in Journalism | N. Ram, Rukmini S., Samanth Subramanian in conversation with Varghese George

Diasporic Narratives of Relocation and Belonging: Amrita Shah, Saras Manikam and Viji Krishnamoorthy in conversation with Radha Hegde at the The Hindu Lit for Life festival 2026 held at The Hindu Pavillion, Chetpet in Chennai on Saturday.

The Meaning of (almost) all things: A.C. Grayling in conversation with Chandan Gowda.

Ashutosh (centre) and Sobhana K. Nair (right) and Ziya us Salam (left) at the The Hindu Lit for Life festival 2026 in Chennai on January 17, 2026.

Ghazala Wahab in conversation with Varghese K. George at The Hindu Lit for Life in Chennai on January 17, 2026.

The Joys and Challenges of Translating Imayam: Imayam and Prabha Sridevan in conversation with Kavitha Muralidharan.

David Davidar, novelist (right) in conversation with Gopalkrishna Gandhi Former West Bengal Governor at the The Hindu Lit for Life festival 2026 held at The Sir Mutha Concert Hall, Chetpet in Chennai on Saturday.

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Authors as attendees

Caught up in the thrill of speaking to your literary heroes or getting a signed copy of the book you have read several times over, it is easy to forget that authors can get starstruck, too. Lavanya Mohan, author of Money Doesn’t Grow On Trees, has attended the festival religiously for 10 years in a row. She was a panellist in the 2016 edition and returned as a speaker again this year. One of her favourite moments from this edition, Lavanya says, was meeting author Kiran Desai. Having been approached by attendees as a writer, and having conversed with authors as a reader herself, Lavanya says that “the fest is designed to facilitate conversations between readers and writers”. In many ways, it breaks through the pages that separate the writer from their reader, creating a space for genuine, unrestricted conversation.

Devina Mehra and Rohit Sarin in conversation with Lavanya Mohan at The Hindu Lit for Life in Chennai on Sunday, January 18, 2026
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VELANKANNI RAJ B

Lit for Life offers room not just for readers and attendees to connect, but also for speakers to interact with one another. Sumana, recounts the interactions she had with fellow speakers at the authors’ lounge. “They were such warm conversations that I had with the authors there,” she says, calling attention to the welcoming atmosphere of the festival as a whole.

Published – January 20, 2026 04:56 pm IST