What’s On Dua Lipa’s Line-Up At The 2026 London Literature Festival?
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2 weeks ago
All the details for the Southbank Centre's 75th Anniversary event
Curated by mega pop-star Dua Lipa, this year’s London Literature Festival is set to make a splash, featuring events with everyone from Zadie Smith to Mustafa and Patti Smith. Taking place from 21 October to 1 November in the heart of London, read on for what to expect.
The Southbank Centre’s National Poetry Library is the largest public collection of modern poetry in the world and is free to visit.
What Is London Literature Festival?
London Literature Festival is an annual celebration of the spoken and written word, and its power to bring audiences together and illuminate the issues we face in the modern world. Hosted by the Southbank Centre, the UK’s largest multi-arts centre, now in its twentieth year, London Literature Festival is also the the longest-running literature festival in the capital. The festival is about big names as much as it’s about fresh talent, and this annual festival provides a democratic and expressive platform for the very best emerging talent.
As always, a special hand is playing a role in the curation of the London Literature Festival, and this year it’s Dua Lipa in conjunction with her Service95 Book Club this autumn. Born in London to Kosovo Albanian parents, Lipa’s childhood was split between West Hampstead and Pristina, Kosovo. ‘Curating the line up for the London Literature Festival with my Service95 Book Club has been a true joy and I’m so proud of the programme we have created,’ the star says. ‘We’ll be joined by icons as well as emerging voices from across the arts the world needs to know. You will recognize some as friends of the book club, and others may be your first introduction, but ultimately, I wanted to create a space that brings together some of the most exciting writers, poets, and thinkers from around the globe. I’m looking forward to being both in-conversation and taking my seat in the audience at this iconic venue.’
An avid reader, Lipa’s Service95 is a global style, arts, and society platform built to share the positive impact books can have on the world. With a wide ranging set of artists and authors, the 2026 schedule will also include sessions discussing AI, freedom, and censorship. With 50 percent of the festival’s events free to access and special family programming throughout the week, this year’s edition is focused on continuing to make literature accessible to all – fitting for the National Year of Reading.
What’s On In 2026?
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Lipa will lead conversations at the festival’s weekend events, beginning with New York University professor and White Teeth author Zadie Smith and poet and singer Mustafa, who is best known for his collaborations with Drake, Justin Bieber, Shawn Mendes and the Weeknd. Her final talk will be with Patti Smith, known for her blend of punk rock songs and poetry, before the baton is handed to other hosts.
Elsewhere, V. E. Schwab, Caleb Azuma Nelson, Kae Tempest, Jaqueline Crooks, Tice Cin Nadia Murad, Samanta Schweblin, Nelio Biedermann, Gaël Faye, Intan Paramaditha, Omar Musa, Sufiyaan Salam, Tomasz Jedrowski and Oliver Bullough will appear at London Literature Festival.
Hisham Matar will host a writing workshop, Malorie Blackman will celebrate 25 years of Noughts & Crosses while, in a sentimental addition, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hernan Diaz will also discuss his new novel, Ply; it is Diaz’s novel Trust that Lipa has publically shared she and her new husband Callum Turner first bonded over.
‘London Literature Festival has always been a celebration of the joys and pleasures of reading, and in Dua Lipa we have a curator who embodies that completely,’ says Ted Hodgkinson, Head of Literature & Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre. ‘Her programme reflects the full depth and breadth of her passion for books: from fierce new sensibilities pushing the boundaries of the form, to some of the most iconic writers at work today.’
The family programme will include a Giant Storytelling Bed in the Clore Ballroom for children, an event with The Smeds and the Smoos, and a free Poetry Day on 24 October that is created by the National Poetry Library. Meanwhile Katherine Rundell will host the Children’s Bookshow.
London Literature Festival is hosted by the Southbank Centre. (© India Roper Evans)
When & Where?
The London Literature Festival returns to London’s Southbank Centre from Wednesday 21 October to Sunday 1 November 2026.
Address: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XX
How To Get Tickets
Tickets will go on sale to members at 10am, Monday 3 August 2026, and on general sale at 10am, Wednesday 5 August. Tickets should be purchased directly with the Southbank Centre.
Half of all events are free to attend, while paid tickets start from £17 per person, with events featuring Lipa starting from £29 per person.
To see the full list of programming and book your tickets, visit southbankcentre.co.uk
