A Guide To Dua Lipa’s London Literature Festival
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What to book, where to stay, and what to wear
Dua Lipa curates this year’s London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre, as we see established authors and newer voices for its 19th edition. Running until 1 November, the capital’s longest-running literature and spoken-word festival coincides with the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary and the National Year of Reading.
Lipa launched her Service95 Book Club in 2023, choosing a book each month and interviewing its author for the accompanying podcast, and now, her festival programme brings those literary interests to the stage, with events across the fortnight. The songstress says: ‘I’m thrilled to indulge one of my greatest obsessions: books and the brilliant minds behind them.’ Alongside conversations with authors, the programme includes poetry, live music, workshops and a host of free events so everyone can get involved.
What’s On At London Literature Festival In 2026?
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Hernan Diaz: Ply
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Trust discusses his third novel, Ply, a futuristic thriller involving stolen electricity, an underground music scene and a scientific experiment with potentially alarming consequences. Diaz’s debut, In the Distance, was a Pulitzer finalist; Trust went on to win the prize and was longlisted for the Booker. His latest novel turns to technology, capitalism and the uncertain business of knowing whom to trust.
Details: 21 October 2026, 7.45pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £21.
Out-Spoken: October
Poetry and live music share the bill at the Southbank Centre’s regular Out-Spoken night, with Alice Oswald, Kwame Dawes and Max Porter reading their work for the festival edition.
Details: 23 October 2026, 7.30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Malorie Blackman: Noughts & Crosses At 25
Malorie Blackman revisits Noughts & Crosses with guests including Candice Carty-Williams and Tinie Tempah to mark 25 years since its publication. The novel has sold 1.2 million copies and been adapted for stage and television, making it one of the best-known of Blackman’s more than 70 books for children and young adults. She served as Children’s Laureate from 2013 to 2015. Writer Irenosen Okojie chairs the evening, which includes an extract from Pilot Theatre’s adaptation performed by Brianna Douglas and Lewis Tidy, alongside a clip from the BBC series. Expect a discussion of the novel’s enduring influence and its treatment of race, power and prejudice.
Details: 28 October 2026, 8pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £29.
Service95 And English PEN: Censorship Live!
Readings, personal accounts and discussion examine threats to freedom of expression in this collaboration between Service95 and English PEN. The event will look at the pressures facing writers and readers, and the consequences of restricting what can be published and read. It also reflects Lipa’s advocacy for access to books, including for readers affected by book bans and imprisonment.
Details: 31 October 2026, midday, Purcell Room.
Hanif & Carlo Kureishi: Are You With Me Now?
Hanif Kureishi will appear with his son Carlo on the festival’s final evening for a conversation about survival and creativity, presented in association with Service95 Book Club.
Details: 1 November 2026, 8pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall.
Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre. (© India Roper Evans)
What To Wear
As the autumn leaves fall, a good coat, fine knitwear and shoes comfortable enough for the walk across the river will serve you well. Layer up with British label ME+EM, whose Booker Prizes partnership includes themed reading lists featuring books nominated for the Booker Prize and International Booker Prize.
For something dressier, consider Erdem, whose S/S ‘25 collection took its inspiration from Radclyffe Hall’s The Well of Loneliness, incorporating masculine and feminine dressing, or JW Anderson, who offers another literary connection through its writing accessories, including a leather pen case embossed with Oscar Wilde’s observation that ‘The secret of life is in art’.
The Southbank Centre’s National Poetry Library is the largest public collection of modern poetry in the world and is free to visit.
Where & When
London Literature Festival runs from 20 October to 1 November 2026 at the Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX. Events take place across its riverside venues, including Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room.
Waterloo and Embankment are the nearest Underground stations, with mainline services into Waterloo. From Embankment, the pedestrian Golden Jubilee Bridges bring you across the Thames to the South Bank.
How To Get Tickets
Book individual events through the Southbank Centre website, where prices and availability are listed for each performance. Tickets for the events highlighted here start at £21 for Hernan Diaz and £29 for Malorie Blackman, although prices may change with demand.
The programme also includes free events, among them Service95 Book Club’s Authors of the Estate, an afternoon of creative activities in the Clore Ballroom on 24 October at 3pm. Check individual listings for entry arrangements. Discover more events here.
Where To Stay Nearby
Sea Containers London
Sea Containers London sits on the river between Waterloo and Blackfriars bridges, only a short riverside walk from the Southbank Centre. Its interiors take their cue from 1920s transatlantic liners, with original design by Tom Dixon. Here, there are 354 rooms, suites and apartments, alongside cocktail bar Lyaness and rooftop bar 12th Knot. The location makes it a convenient option for a weekend at the festival, the National Theatre and Tate Modern.
London Marriott Hotel County Hall
Directly beside the London Eye, London Marriott Hotel County Hall occupies part of the former HQ of London’s local government. Rooms and suites include options overlooking the Thames and the Houses of Parliament, while the Southbank Centre is a straightforward walk along the river
One Aldwych
At the northern end of Waterloo Bridge, One Aldwych makes the journey to the festival straightforward. The hotel is within the former home of The Morning Post newspaper, giving it a connection to the written word before you reach its residents’ library. Its Charlie and the Chocolate Factory afternoon tea, developed with the Roald Dahl Story Company, offers another literary connection.
Rosewood London
Rosewood’s High Holborn address puts it a little further from the Southbank Centre but works well for a weekend that’s divided between festival events and the historic bookshops of Bloomsbury. Set within a Grade II-listed Edwardian building, the hotel has 263 rooms and 45 suites behind its courtyard entrance. The Holborn Dining Room and Scarfes Bar provide somewhere to continue the conversation with some delicious fare.
The Savoy
For a stay with literary history, The Savoy is very fitting; Oscar Wilde was among its guests, and author Damian Barr became its first literary ambassador in 2017, overseeing a programme that included salons and a revived writer-in-residence scheme. Its Strand situation also makes it convenient for the walk across Waterloo Bridge to the festival.
Find out more at southbankcentre.co.uk
