The Hindu Lit For Life began in 2010, as a one-day show and grew into a three-day extravaganza, hosting brilliant authors and thinkers from all over the world. The brainchild of Dr Nirmala Lakshman, Director, The Hindu Group, the festival reflects the spirit of the times and celebrates free speech and expression.

The objective is to connect literature to the masses and travel beyond books. Since its inception, the festival has expanded by exploring fiction, non-fiction, politics, history, the arts, cinema, regional literature — in fact, all genres that celebrate ideas.

Till 2019, Chennai saw frenetic activity for three days in January, with writers, novelists, artists, performers and literary enthusiasts descending upon this coastal city in Tamil Nadu taking over the metropolis with performances, conversations, discussions and workshops.

In 2021, the pandemic led to Lit For Life going virtual with gripping sessions that reflected the need of the times.

What sets the festival apart and attracts discerning literature enthusiasts is that it strikes a balance between books and the world around them. No wonder, The Hindu Lit for Life is known as 'The Sharpest Literature Festival in India'.

An important highlight of the festival was the annual The Hindu Prize for Fiction and Non-Fiction. An eminent jury comprising critics, academicians and writers read hundreds of entries to arrive at a shortlist of five. Past winners include Manu Joseph, Rahul Bhattacharya, Jerry Pinto, Anees Salim, Easterine Kire, Ashok Srinivasan, Kiran Doshi and Deepak Unnikrishnan.

The three-day event also included a Children's Fest, which was introduced in 2017. The Hindu Young World-Goodbooks Awards were also given away on the occassion. Past winners included Ritu Khoda, Vanita Pai, Priya Kuriyan, Sujatha Padmanabhan, Vishaka Chanchani, Prabha Mallya and Venita Coelho, Devika Cariapa, Nandhika Nambi, Chetan Sharma and Chatura Rao.

In 2016, The Hindu Lit for Life introduced the Annual Lecture Series to engage and explore important issues of the day. Invoking lectures by eminent historians and writers like Ramachandra Guha, Justice AP Shah, Dr Shashi Tharoor and former Governor of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

In 2018, The Hindu Lit For Life Tamil was hosted in association with The Hindu Tamil. Eminent writers like Prapanchan, Pattukottai Prabhakar, Imayam, Azhagiya Periyavan, Kalanthai Peer Mohammed, Vennila spoke at the event. The Hindu Lit for Life Tamil included presentations, screenings and conversations that evoked pride in Tamil language and literature. The PRIZES