The Ake Festival returns for its tenth edition to Abeokuta, Nigeria on November 22-27, 2022. The announcement was made on January 25, 2022.
In 2013, the Ake Arts & Books Festival was introduced to the African literary scene by a team in Nigeria led by Lola Shoneyin. The festival which was hosted in the town of Abeokuta about 100 kilometers outside Lagos had writers from across Nigeria and some from across the continent. There were panels, readings, poetry events, launches, and also visits to local schools by those who attended. A great time was had by all who attended. In 2017, the festival moved from the smaller Abeokuta to the megalopolis that is Lagos and continued on the same growth trajectory.
Ake festival has brought writers from many African countries and also Black diaspora together. Bestsellers, award winners, and eminent personalities mingled with readers, and everyone in between at events aimed at celebrating the arts. Some of the headliners have been Wole Soyinka, Niyi Osundare, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Ama Ata Aidoo, Nuruddin Farah, Tsitsi Dangarembga, and Abdulrazak Gurnah.
The festival organisers have announced that it will run this year in its spiritual home of Abeokuta for six days in November. This means that this is the end of the festival as a virtual event like in 2020 and 2021.
This announcement is vital as those who have been saying they will attend the festival for years now have enough time to prepare to attend. If that sounds like you, start saving and hopefully meet some of the coolest people in African arts in November.
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