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The inaugural Abuja Festival of Literature and Ideas (AFLI) will bring writers, thinkers, scientists and cultural voices from Nigeria and beyond to the Federal Capital Territory on October 9 and 10, with artificial intelligence, literature, peace, identity and other contemporary issues among the subjects on its programme.

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 two-day festival will take place at The Nordic Abuja, Jabi.

AFLI is being introduced as a new kind of literary gathering in Abuja, combining conversations about books with broader discussions led by writers, scholars, scientists, and other thinkers.

Lola Shoneyin, founder of the Book Buzz Foundation, Ake Arts and Book Festival, the Kaduna Book and Arts Festival, and the new Abuja Festival of Literature and Ideas, said:

“We honestly feel that we need festivals that are enjoyable, talking about books, we’re having fun, we’re talking about fashion and all that. But we also need gatherings that provide a thirsty audience with intellectual rigor. The intellectual rigor that they deserve.” 

The festival is also intended to give audiences more time to engage with speakers. Unlike the one-hour format used for many sessions at the Ake Book and Arts Festival, AFLI’s events will be slightly longer to allow for extended discussions and questions.

The decision to establish the festival in Abuja draws partly from the founder’s earlier experience organising cultural events in the city. From 2009 to 2012, she ran Infusion, a monthly gathering that brought artists, writers, and filmmakers together for screenings, exhibitions, and conversations.

The events were regularly oversubscribed, with audiences sometimes turned away because the venues were full. That experience, she recalled, showed that Abuja had an audience looking for creative spaces and opportunities to engage with writers and ideas.

In her words: 

“What that told me at the time, when I was leaving the FCT in 2012, was that there was a hunger. People wanted to have a creative outlet. People wanted these sorts of spaces where they could interact with writers and listen to fascinating conversations.”

Book Buzz Foundation was established in Lagos in 2012, followed by the Kaduna Book and Arts Festival, which the organisation launched several years later. AFLI now brings the foundation’s festival experience to Abuja, but Lola Shoneyin stressed that the new event is not a replacement for KABAFEST.

“The idea is not to recreate Kabafest. I’m very happy to leave Kabafest exactly where it is,” she said.

Instead, the addition of “Ideas” to the festival’s name reflects the organisers’ intention to move beyond literary discussions and create space for audiences to engage with broader questions.

The international programme will feature Sergio Jaramillo, former High Commissioner for Peace in Colombia and one of the principal architects of the Colombian peace process; Zimbabwean writer and academic Simukai Chigudu, author of Chasing Freedom; and astrophysicist Roberto Trotta, author of Starborn.

Gloria Chinyere Okwu, author of On Close Examination, will also participate, while Stéphane M. Grueso and Swedish digital strategist and educator Carl Heath will lead conversations around technology, culture and the internet.

Artificial intelligence will feature prominently across the programme, with discussions expected to examine its implications for culture and creative work, as well as questions around authorship, intellectual property, privacy, artistic labour and human creativity.

The focus on AI comes from a concern that its rapid development requires wider public conversations about regulation, preparedness, and its potential effects on everyday life and literature in general.

“For me, it frightened me, and this was a no-brainer. If I could talk about AI at every single event, at least in two different ways, I would do so because I really worry about its impact on our world,” she said.

The festival will also place attention on literary voices from Northern Nigeria. Nana Sule, Hadiza El-Rufai, Fatima Bala and Edify Yakusak will feature in a discussion on new Northern Nigerian women’s fiction.

The Youth Speak session will bring together Khadija Sanusi, Maryam Laushi Dasilva, Raymond J. Yusuff, Usman Hayatu and Nana Fatima Bello, while the poetry programme will feature Deborah Johnson, Moyosola Olowookure, Salim Yunusa and Mariam Abdullahi.

The festival is being supported through its partnership with the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS and the participation of the Italian, Spanish, and Swedish embassies. For Book Buzz Foundation, the 2026 edition is also a test of what could become a longer-running festival in Abuja.

The foundation is contributing financially to the festival alongside its partners, with Lola Shoneyin describing the project as an “intellectual investment”. The organisers are also looking towards longer-term financial support that could allow AFLI to continue beyond its inaugural edition.

Tickets for the two-day festival cost ₦25,000 and provide access to all AFLI 2026 events. Online ticket sales opened on September 4 and will close on October 5, 2026. The ticket also includes an AFLI festival ID card and lanyard.

Beyond the inaugural edition, the festival’s organisers want AFLI to contribute to Abuja’s cultural life while encouraging younger people to create and lead literary and cultural festivals of their own.

The Abuja Festival of Literature and Ideas will be held on Friday, October 9, and Saturday, October 10, 2026, at The Nordic Abuja, Plot 795, off Shehu Yar’Adua Way, Cadastral Zone B04, Jabi, Abuja.

GET YOUR TICKET TO THE FESTIVAL TODAY! OR SCAN THE QR CODE BELOW.