With Penguin India as Publisher Partner, the festival’s 12th edition offers conversations on entrepreneurship and investing, writing workshops and an opportunity to pitch a business book.
Bengaluru: BizLitFest 2026 brings the stories behind business to Koramangala Club on Saturday, October 31. Behind every enterprise is a story that rarely fits into a balance sheet: an idea pursued against advice, a difficult turnaround, a founder’s ambition or a decision whose consequences become clear only years later. These stories, alongside questions about artificial intelligence, investing and leadership, take centre stage at the 12th Bangalore Business Literature Festival.
Running from 10 a.m. to 7.30 p.m., the festival brings together more than 30 speakers across over 10 sessions, along with new book launches, four workshops and the annual BizLitFest CK Prahalad Best Business Book Award. Penguin India joins this edition as Publisher Partner, strengthening the connection between the people who build businesses and those who turn their experiences into books.
Pitch a Business Book at BizLitFest 2026
For aspiring authors, one of the most interesting opportunities is the “Pitch a Book Idea” contest. Aimed particularly at founders and entrepreneurs with a business story to tell, the initiative invites participants to submit a two-page proposal at the festival. Five pitches from the first 25 entries received will be shortlisted for presentations to Avni TCA, Commissioning Editor at Penguin Business, Penguin Random House India, who will offer feedback on the ideas.
Two of the five shortlisted participants will also receive an online mentorship session with a Penguin India publicist, focusing on how to position and communicate their proposed book. Designed as a learning opportunity, the exercise helps participants think beyond having an interesting experience to identifying the narrative, readership and purpose that could make it a compelling book.
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Four Workshops on Writing, Marketing, Climate and Sales
Avni also leads “How to Write an Amazing Business Book,” one of the festival’s four workshops. The session explores how professional experience and lessons from working life can be shaped into writing that is clear, engaging and valuable to readers. For business leaders accustomed to presentations and reports, it offers an opportunity to consider the different demands of sustained storytelling.
The remaining workshops address practical questions facing entrepreneurs and communicators. Sairam Krishnan conducts a session on early-stage startup marketing, Amarja K Puranam leads a workshop on climate storytelling, and Subhash Bhaskaran explores contemporary sales approaches, including the use of AI. The workshops require separate registration, with the published programme listing 40 seats for each hour-long session.
Founder Stories, Investing and an AI Town Hall
Founder stories are an important thread through the day. Among the anticipated conversations is financial journalist Rukmini Rao’s discussion of Coffee King: The Swift Rise and Sudden Death of Café Coffee Day Founder V. G. Siddhartha, which she co-authored. For Bengaluru readers, the subject carries particular resonance, tracing the entrepreneurial journey behind a brand closely associated with the city’s changing café culture.
The programme also looks at the startup experience through Saptarshi Prakash’s account of Swiggy, while sessions on Tata Elxsi and Imagicaa examine business resilience and recovery. Manish Sabharwal discusses the story of Lupin founder Desh Bandhu Gupta. Together, these conversations bring different perspectives on building, sustaining and rebuilding enterprises.
Artificial intelligence features in a town hall bringing together Professor U Dinesh Kumar, Pankaj Rai, Kashyap Kompella and Shweta Taneja. Their backgrounds span academia, business analytics, AI governance and technology journalism, offering several ways to approach a subject that is reshaping decisions across workplaces and industries.
This edition also gives investing and stock-market writing a prominent place, alongside books on self-development, finance, fiscal understanding and business turnarounds. The wider programme extends to career transitions, unconventional entrepreneurship and the relationship between business and spirituality, creating space for both professional questions and the personal choices that accompany them.
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The CK Prahalad Best Business Book Award
The BizLitFest CK Prahalad Best Business Book Award is another key feature of the evening. This year’s jury comprises Sandhya Vasudevan, former Managing Director at Deutsche Bank; Deepti Bhaskaran, Editor of Mint Money; and Lokesh Venkataswamy, MD and CEO of innovation consulting firm Innomantra. The award continues the festival’s emphasis on recognising thoughtful and consequential business writing.
Described by its organisers as India’s only business literature festival, BizLitFest has hosted close to 400 authors across 11 previous Bengaluru editions and two Hyderabad editions. It was co-founded by Benedict Paramanand, Editor of SustainabilityNext; author and former IIM Ahmedabad professor Dr V Raghunathan; and editor Shankar Parameshwaran, whose experience includes Knowledge at Wharton and The Economic Times. The core team includes Madanmohan Rao, Kashyap Kompella, Reena Pereira and Debarati Ghosh.
BizLitFest 2026: Venue, Timings and Registration
Discounted tickets are available to students and business-school faculty for both the festival and its workshops. The event takes place on Saturday, October 31, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. at Koramangala Club, CA-17, 6th Cross Road, 6th Block, Koramangala, Bengaluru.
Programme and registration information are available on the official BizLitFest website. With limited parking at the venue, the organisers recommend public transport and encourage visitors to register in advance.
