8th edition of Tata LitFest to begin on November 16

Over 100 authors spanning a multitude of genres will come together to engage, enthral, and entice book lovers at the 8th edition of Tata Literature Live in Mumbai.
Scheduled to be held from November 16, across multiple venues -- the NCPA, Nariman Point, and Prithvi Theatre, the four-day long literary extravaganza will witness writers like three-time Pulitzer award winner Thomas Friedman, Devdutt Pattanaik, Nayantara Sahgal and Israeli artist, writer, photographer, curator and researcher Shimon Lev among many others.
"For me, the most enthralling part is the dialogue and discourse that these distinguished individuals bring to the festival. They are masterful raconteurs, all, and brilliant intellectuals, whose own life experiences could probably power a few riveting tales too!

"It is a joy to interact with them, have your perspective challenged, and revel in the learning. I have enjoyed this part of the festival each year, and I'm sure this year will be no different," Anil Dharker, founder and director of the festival, said.
The speaker lineup will comprise of a host of personalities, from activists to academicians, from bureaucrats to Bollywood stars, who will deliberate on engaging sessions like -- 'Fiction as Fact', 'Why do short stories get short shrift?', 'No means No', '100 Years of Indian Sport through Artefacts' and 'Museums in a Digital Age'.
Some of the highlights will include Marcus du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, who turns math into entertaining prose in his book Finding Moonshine; Professor Anil Gupta, India's very own revolutionary man who helps expedite socially-relevant solutions that target communities at the grassroots level, and economist Arun Shourie.

Also lending added grace to the festival are the indomitable Dame Margaret Drabble, award-winning novelist, biographer and critic; and Catharine MacKinnon, feminist scholar, lawyer, educator and activist, who is respected for her legal work in the arena of sexual harassment.

"The brilliant author line-up for this year offers a clear forecast of how exciting this event is going be, for our audience as well as for our esteemed guests," Harish Bhat, brand custodian, Tata Sons, said.
Other speakers at the festival include: British playwright and novelist Nell Leyshon; actor, director and playwright Girish Karnad; cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle; former RBI governor and author Y V Reddy, politician and economist Jairam Ramesh; Member of Parliament P Chidambaram; Gabor Lanczkor, a scholar of the Hungarian language; Gary Shteyngart, an American writer specialising in satirical compositions; and S Y Quairishi, Former Election Commissioner and author.

The event will come to a close on November 19.