Calabash Literary Festival 2025

Calabash Literary Festival 2025 starts May 23

The Calabash International Literary Festival 2025, with the theme “bless up,” will be held in Treasure Beach, Jamaica, from May 23 to 25, 2025.

The Calabash International Literary Festival, which runs every two years, was founded in 2001 by novelist Colin Channer, poet Kwame Dawes, and Justine Henzell. Since then, it has hosted some of the biggest names in world literature, including the late Nobel laureate Sir Derek Walcott, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Marlon James, Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith, and Ngugi Wa Thiong’o. The last edition was hosted in 2023.

The 2025 edition will be happening in the penultimate weekend of May with readings of poetry and prose, panels, conversations, concerts, open mics, and other activities. The featured guests include Jason Allen-Paisant, Alexia Arthurs, Mateo Askaripour, Candice Carty-Williams, Carolyn Cooper, Mary-Alice Daniel, Kwame Dawes, Hernan Diaz, Beverely East, Christopher John Farley, Caleb Femi, Alexandra Fuller, Tao Leigh Goffe, Paul Holdengräber, Marlon James, Shehan Karunatilaka, Thabile Makue, Diana Mccaulay, Ian Mcewan, Kei Miller, Michael Ondaatje, George Pelecanos, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Harold Schechter, Mahtem Schechter, Mahtem Shiferraw, Safiya Sinclair, Danez Smith, and Maxine Walters.

For more information, we recommend the official festival website. All festival events are free and open to the public.


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2 responses to “Calabash Literary Festival 2025 starts May 23”

  1. Ramya Vivekanandan avatar

    It will be happening in Treasure Beach on the south coast of Jamaica, NOT Kingston which is a three-hour drive away. Treasure Beach is a wonderful place and the perfect setting for this blissful festival. I’m so looking forward to it!

    1. James Murua avatar
      James Murua

      Thanks for that Ramya. Edits have been made.

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