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By Henry Akubuiro
Writers, thinkers, scientists and cultural voices from Nigeria and around the world gather in the FCT for the inaugural Abuja Festival of Literature & Ideas, 9–10 October 2026.
Abuja hosts a new event on Nigeria’s cultural calendar this October with Abuja Festival of Literature & Ideas (AFLI), a two-day gathering bringing together writers, thinkers, policymakers, artists and audiences for conversations about some of the most urgent questions shaping our lives today.
Taking place on 9 and 10 October 2026 at The Nordic Abuja, Jabi, the Festival is presented by the Book Buzz Foundation in partnership with the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, with the participation of the Embassies of Italy, Spain and Sweden. The participating European missions have helped bring an exceptional group of international writers, thinkers and practitioners to Abuja, creating a programme that moves confidently between literature, politics, technology, science, culture and public life.
Among the Festival’s international guests is Sergio Jaramillo, former High Commissioner for Peace in Colombia and one of the principal architects of the Colombian peace process. In his event How Divided Societies Learn to Dialogue, Jaramillo will explore what becomes possible when people on opposite sides of conflict find ways to listen, negotiate and rebuild trust.
Zimbabwean writer and academic Simukai Chigudu will discuss his acclaimed memoir, Chasing Freedom, a deeply personal exploration of family, colonialism, race, migration and the complicated meaning of freedom after empire. Science and imagination meet in Roberto Trotta’s Starborn, while Gloria Chinyere Okwu discusses On Close Examination, her account of survival, womanhood, illness and reclaiming personal agency.
In response to some of the defining debates of our time, the festival will host Stephane M. Grueso who will discuss the impact of artificial intelligence on culture and creative work. We will also host Swede Carl Heath who will provide insight in a session, aptly titled Musings on the Internet which will examine what AI means for authorship, intellectual property, privacy, artistic labour and the future of human creativity.
AFLI will also turn its attention firmly towards Northern Nigeria. A panel on Exciting Themes in New Northern Nigerian Women’s Fiction brings together Nana Sule, Hadiza El-Rufai, Fatima Bala and Edify Yakusak, while Youth Speak session asks what the future looks like for young people in the region, featuring Khadija Sanusi, Maryam Laushi Dasilva, Raymond J. Yusuff, Usman Hayatu and Nana Fatima Bello.
Other conversations range from to an evening of poetry featuring Deborah Johnson, Moyosola Olowookure, Salim Yunusa and Mariam Abdullahi. For Lola Shoneyin, founder of the Book Buzz Foundation, “Abuja deserves to be part of the global conversations around literature, ideas and culture. We’re presenting an event that brings different worlds together to discuss peace, technology, identity, democracy, creativity, and some of the big questions of our time about. From 2009 – 2012, I organised a monthly event called Infusion in Abuja, so I am confident that this event will be exciting for book-lovers and people in search of high-quality, engaging literary events in Abuja.”
The inaugural Festival reflects a broader ambition to establish Abuja as an important destination for intellectual exchange, while strengthening cultural connections between Nigeria, Europe and the wider world.
The Abuja Festival of Literature & Ideas takes place on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 October 2026 at The Nordic Abuja, Plot 795, off Shehu Yar’Adua Way, Jabi, Abuja.
Tickets for the Abuja Festival of Literature and Ideas (AFLI) are available for a fee and can be purchased through our website: www.bookbuzzfoundation.org.
