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Contact: Adeola Aregebesola | comms@bookbuzzfoundation.org | +234(0)8180389525

 

AKÉ FESTIVAL IS BACK WITH A BLAST on 19 - 21 November 2026

The 14th edition of the Aké Arts and Books Festival will take place on 19-21 November 2026. The festival will be held in GRA Ikeja, Lagos. Authors, poets, artists, storytellers, thinkers, film producers, musicians and thinkers from Africa and beyond will converge for three days of cultural immersion.

Theme

Our 2026 theme is Native Intelligence, which explores the intersection of ancestral knowledge and emerging technologies in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. As AI transforms how stories are told, elections are contested, and truth is reported, the theme invites us to look beyond the algorithms to the enduring intelligence embedded in our languages, traditions, rituals, and communities. It asks us to consider whose knowledge informs the future we are building, and how we might bring indigenous ways of knowing into conversation with the possibilities and challenges of technological advancement. Aké Review, our event publication, presents new writing and art that interrogate the meaning of intelligence, explore the relationship between tradition and innovation, and imagine more inclusive ways of knowing and shaping our shared future.

Inspiring Panel Discussions

Visitors to the Aké Festival will experience a series of stimulating panel discussions featuring eminent guests from across the literary and creative industries. Conversations include “The Future of Creative Work with Artificial Intelligence,” featuring Jerry Falade, who lost a $2 million book deal over AI allegations; speculative fiction writer Marvellous Michael Anson; and Osahon Ize-Iyamu. “Memory, Myth and the Machine” will be hosted by Bukola Akinyemi, a trustee of The Caine Prize for African Writing and member of Pfumo Collective. Meanwhile, “The State of Verse” will bring together poets Wana Udobang, Dami Ajayi, Abdulkareem Baba-Aminu, and Maryam Bukar, with Richard Ali as moderator.

In “Built to Last,” Govind Deecee, curator of the Kerala Literature Festival, India; Fatimata Wane, co-curator of the Festival du Livre Africain de Marrakech, Morocco; and Enobong Etuk, curator of Nigeria's Boldoz Festival, will explore what it takes to build and sustain a literary festival. Other panels include “Heroes of Our Own: Nigerian Comics and Animation Go Global,” featuring Olufikayo Adeola, Jide Martin, and Roye Okupe, moderated by Joseph Ike; as well as “Granta Magazine – Nigerian Literature Now,” with Dipo Faloyin, Ngozi John, and Sada Malumfashi, moderated by Josie Mitchell.

Together, these conversations promise to leave attendees inspired and reflective, while offering fresh perspectives on literature, technology, poetry, and the evolving global creative landscape.

Book Chats

We’re thrilled to present eleven Book Chats at this year’s Aké Festival, featuring in-depth conversations with leading African and international writers whose latest works transport readers into unforgettable worlds of memory, meaning, and magic.

Multi-award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor will join us, alongside romance author Fatima Bala, who will present her short story collection, The Lies We Tell. Set across Northern Nigeria, from Zaria’s dye pits to Abuja’s rooftops, the collection pulls back the curtain on the silent bargains, swallowed truths, and fierce love that shape Hausa women’s lives. Also joining us is Chika Unigwe, whose novel, Grace, follows a successful clinic owner, wife, and mother of twins whose carefully constructed life begins to unravel when her estranged mother returns, reviving the secret of the baby Grace was forced to give up at fifteen.

We will also host a special Book Chat around one of Ouida Books’ latest releases, On Close Examination, a memoir by Gloria Okwu that traces a life shaped by difficult choices, survival, and resilience. From Jos and Ukpor to a marriage intended as an escape from a controlling father, the memoir recounts an abusive relationship, single motherhood, the pursuit of a hard-won degree, and, just as stability seemed within reach, a breast cancer diagnosis. Now a cancer advocate with Project PINK BLUE, Gloria tells her story with remarkable candour. Hadiza Abdulrahman, Senior Lecturer in Inclusive and Special Education at the University of Lincoln, will join the conversation to explore resilience, domestic abuse, patriarchal expectations, illness, the stigma surrounding cancer in Nigeria, and the reclamation of personal identity.

Our Book Chat lineup also expands this year with the launch of new titles, including Khadija Yusra Sanusi’s The Most Unremarkable Things and Ojoma Ochai’s Communities, Networks, Ecosystems: Why They Fail and How to Build Them.

We are equally honoured to welcome back Wole Talabi, author of Shigidi, with his new book, The Fist of Memory. The lineup also features Tara Fela-Durotoye, with Building Beyond You; Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah; Shae Primus; Bisi Adjapon; Oyin Olugbile, winner of the 2025 Nigeria Prize for Literature; Faraaz Mahomed; I.O. Echeruo; Temitope Owolabi; Suyi Davies Okungbowa; Marvellous Michael Anson; Philip B. Williams; Christina Fonthes; A. Igoni Barrett; and Rukky Brume.

Together, these Book Chats promise an exciting celebration of storytelling, offering readers the opportunity to encounter new voices, revisit familiar ones, and engage with the ideas, experiences, and imaginations shaping contemporary literature.

Film Screening

This year, Aké Festival will screen How to Build a Library, a Sundance-premiered documentary by Maia Lekow and Christopher King that follows novelist Wanjiru Koinange and publisher Angela Wachuka, co-founders of Book Bunk, as they set out to transform Nairobi’s McMillan Memorial Library, once reserved for white people, into a vibrant public cultural space. Following the screening, editor Mazeedah Olutosin will join Koinange and Wachuka for a conversation exploring colonial legacies, urban politics, fundraising, friendship, and why public libraries continue to matter.

Palmwine & Poetry Night

The enchanting Palmwine and Poetry segment remains a highlight of our annual festival. This vibrant fusion of cultural expression brings together the refreshing taste of palm wine and the captivating artistry of performance poetry, creating an exhilarating evening for festival-goers. Attendees can look forward to compelling performances by Wana Udobang, Dami Ajayi, Abdulkareem Baba-Aminu, Chukky Ibe, Maryam Bukar, and D’bi Anitafrika.

Music Night

The festival is set to captivate audiences with musical brilliance as Savy Henry, a Nigerian singer-songwriter whose soulful, raspy vocals and deeply personal storytelling have earned him a place among today's compelling voices in contemporary love music, takes the stage. Fondly known as “Your Serenader,” Savy Henry has captured hearts with songs that celebrate love, longing, vulnerability, and the beauty of human connection. His breakout moment came with “The Best Part,” an intimate fan favourite that he wrote and produced himself, and which has now surpassed three million streams. At Aké, audiences can look forward to an enchanting musical experience filled with soulful melodies, heartfelt lyrics, and timeless love songs that speak to the heart.

Bedtime Stories

This year marks the third edition of our Bedtime Stories series at Aké Festival, an intimate end-of-day experience that invites audiences to unwind and surrender to the magic of storytelling. As the day's activities draw to a close, audio recordings of two featured authors reading excerpts from their books will be played, offering festival-goers a soothing literary companion as they retreat to their rooms for the night.

This year's featured voices are Khadija Yusra Sanusi, whose debut novel will be launched at the festival, and Nkereuwem Albert, a speculative fiction writer. Through their words and voices, Bedtime Stories promises a gentle escape into the worlds of imagination, leaving audiences with stories to hold onto long after the day has ended.

This year’s Festival is in Partnership with Sterling Bank, Lagos State Government and Open Society Foundation

Aké Arts & Book Festival is delighted to partner in 2026 with Sterling Group and Open Society Foundation (OSF) who have consistently supported our goal of celebrating and promoting creativity, while facilitating discussions that empower the arts.

Venue

Silkwood Hotel Ikeja
261 Sobo Arobiodu Street
Ikeja GRA, Lagos
Nigeria

Registration

Online registration for this year’s festival has started. Attendees can register on the festival’s website at www.akefestival.org or come to the venue to register and attend.