Ibadan Book & Arts Festival
IBAFEST 2026
The Stories We Long to Tell
29 to 31 October 2026 | Ibadan, Nigeria | Hybrid Festival
The Stories We Long to Tell
The Ibadan Book and Arts Festival returns for its second edition from Thursday, 29 to Saturday, 31 October 2026.
The 2026 edition is themed The Stories We Long to Tell.
The festival considers the stories through which people understand themselves, their communities, and their societies. It considers the voices, languages, memories, experiences, and imaginations that inform those stories, as well as the different forms through which they are created, shared, preserved, and experienced.
Across three days, IBAFEST 2026 will bring together writers, artists, readers, scholars, students, publishers, educators, filmmakers, performers, journalists, cultural practitioners, and members of the wider public.
The programme will combine virtual sessions with a full day of physical programming in Ibadan.
2026 Festival Theme
The Stories We Long to Tell
Stories carry memory.
They preserve experiences, record histories, communicate values, and provide ways for individuals and communities to understand their place in the world.
Yet many stories remain untold. Some have been excluded from established records. Others have not found the opportunity, language, audience, or medium through which they can be expressed.
The Stories We Long to Tell provides the central framework for IBAFEST 2026.
The theme opens conversations around storytelling, literature, identity, memory, language, culture, creativity, and the circumstances that determine which stories are told and which remain unheard.
It also considers the changing conditions under which stories are produced and circulated, including technological development, artificial intelligence, migration, environmental pressures, changing cultural practices, and the experiences of younger generations.
Three Days of Programming
THURSDAY, 29 OCTOBER
Learning, Craft and Creative Development
The festival opens with a programme of virtual workshops, masterclasses, mentorship sessions, and creative development activities.
The day’s programme is particularly directed towards emerging writers and creative practitioners seeking to develop their skills, deepen their practice, and engage with experienced professionals.
Sessions will provide opportunities for learning and direct interaction between facilitators and participants.
FRIDAY, 30 OCTOBER
Ideas Without Borders
Friday’s programme centres on books, authors, readers, and ideas.
Online book conversations will connect authors and audiences across Nigeria, Africa, and the diaspora, allowing participants to engage with literary works and the questions that inform them.
The virtual format extends the festival beyond Ibadan and allows participation from people who may not be able to attend the physical programme.
SATURDAY, 31 OCTOBER
Stories Come Home
The festival concludes with a full day of physical programming at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.
The programme will bring together speakers, writers, artists, students, readers, cultural practitioners, and members of the public for a day of conversations and creative presentations.
The day’s activities will include a Keynote Address, Keynote Conversation, panel discussions, readings, performances, a film screening, exhibitions, book displays, creative workshops, and networking and creative encounters.
Programme Highlights
Keynote Address
The festival will open its major physical programme with a keynote address responding to the concerns of the 2026 theme and placing storytelling within broader questions of culture, society, and creative expression.
Keynote Conversation
The Keynote Conversation will provide an extended discussion around the central concerns of the festival, bringing together established voices for a substantive exchange with the audience.
Stories We Long to Tell Conversations
The festival’s main conversation series will examine literature, culture, identity, memory, creativity, and contemporary society through the perspectives of writers, artists, scholars, and practitioners.
Young Readers Forum
The Young Readers Forum creates a dedicated space for younger audiences to encounter writers and engage in conversations around books, reading, and literary culture.
Creative Workshops and Masterclasses
Workshops and masterclasses will provide practical learning opportunities for writers and other emerging creative practitioners.
Film and Performance
IBAFEST recognises that stories do not exist only in books. The programme therefore includes film, poetry, music, and other performance forms as part of the festival’s wider cultural programme.
Festival Book Fair and Creative Marketplace
The book fair and creative marketplace will provide space for publishers, booksellers, artists, and other exhibitors to present books and creative works to festival audiences.
Voices at IBAFEST 2026
The 2026 programme brings together established and emerging voices across literature and the arts.
Tade Ipadeola
Dr Tunde Adegbola
Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
Romeo Oriogun
Wana Udobang
Segun Akinlolu (Beautiful Nubia)
Stephen Okonkwo
Who Attends IBAFEST?
IBAFEST is designed for a broad literary and cultural audience.
The 2026 festival will welcome:
Participation will be available through both virtual and physical programmes.
Beyond the Annual Festival
IBAFEST is being developed as more than an annual festival.
The wider programme of work includes initiatives designed to support emerging writers, young readers, students, journalists, and creative practitioners throughout the year.
Youth Writers Prize
An initiative designed to identify and support emerging literary voices.
Secondary Schools Storytelling Challenge
A programme encouraging students to develop and share original stories.
Emerging Journalists Fellowship
A development opportunity for young journalists interested in cultural and literary reporting.
Workshops and Masterclasses
Continued learning opportunities for writers and creative practitioners.
Mentorship and Publication Pathways
Programmes intended to connect emerging practitioners with experienced professionals and opportunities for their work to reach wider audiences.
IBAFEST and Ibadan
IBAFEST is rooted in Ibadan, but its outlook extends beyond the city.
The festival recognises the importance of preserving and renewing Ibadan’s place within Nigeria’s literary and cultural history while creating connections with practitioners and audiences elsewhere.
Its long term objective is to establish a sustained platform for books, arts, ideas, cultural exchange, and creative development, with Ibadan serving as both its home and its point of connection to wider communities.
IBAFEST 2026
The second edition builds on the experience of the inaugural festival while expanding its programme and reach.
For three days, IBAFEST will bring people together around books, stories, artistic expression, cultural memory, and the questions that matter to contemporary society.
The Stories We Long to Tell
29 to 31 October 2026
Ibadan, Nigeria
Virtual workshops and creative development
Friday, 30 October
Online book conversations
Saturday, 31 October
Physical festival at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan
