Coimbatore: The fifth edition of the Western Ghats Lit Fest is scheduled to be held on October 24 and 25 at Radisson Blu in Coimbatore, with the two-day literary and cultural festival set to focus on the theme “Bharat Rising”.
Organised by The Verandah Club, the festival will bring together authors, scholars, artists, journalists and public intellectuals for discussions on literature, culture, history, geopolitics, economics, national security, the arts and public policy.
Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal is expected to attend the festival as the Chief Guest.
As per organisers, the 2026 edition has moved to Radisson Blu to accommodate a larger gathering and it will feature an expanded speaker line-up and institutional associations. Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor Prof. Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit and Prof. J. Jeganaathan of the School of International Studies are among the announced speakers.
The 5th edition of Western Ghats Lit Fest is here. The journey has been extraordinary. Pls join us this edition and make it bigger. pic.twitter.com/tDDl0TNYHG
— Jagannathan (@jaggu916) October 1, 2026
The festival has also partnered with the Anaadi Foundation, Vyūha Learning Labs and Bṛhat in areas related to Indian Knowledge Systems and Indian cultural traditions. The Coimbatore chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is the heritage partner for the event.
The announced line-up of 34 speakers includes Dr Anand Ranganathan, Ami Ganatra, Padma Shri awardee Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant, Dr R. Balasubramaniam, INDICA founder Hari Kiran Vadlamani, Princess Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore, Nitin Gokhale, Nandini Sengupta, Saiswaroopa Iyer, Sanjeev Sanyal, Shehzad Poonawalla, Tuhin Sinha and M. R. Venkatesh, among others.
The programme will include keynote addresses, panel discussions, book launches and cultural engagements examining Bharat’s civilisational inheritance and contemporary challenges. Writer and cultural commentator Shefali Vaidya has curated all five editions of the festival.
The fifth edition will also feature the Verandah-Smart Awards, which recognise Bharatiya achievers, while Arthasasthra – a Policy Forum by The Verandah Club – is scheduled to be launched during the festival.
The Western Ghats Lit Fest has expanded in scale over its previous four editions. From an audience of around 500 in its initial edition, attendance crossed 1,200 at the fourth edition. The festival has also hosted more than 50 book launches across its previous editions, while earlier editions reached more than one million viewers through live streaming.
The Verandah Club, a Coimbatore-based initiative founded by Jaganathan S, organises the Western Ghats Lit Fest as its flagship literary and cultural gathering.
Organiser Weekly is among the media partners of the Western Ghats Lit Fest 2026. The publication, which covers Bharat’s civilisational heritage, culture, society and public affairs, will be associated with the two-day festival as part of its media partnership.
