The Nigerian authors A. Igoni Barret & Emmanuel Iduma, Ugandan author Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, Brittle Paper editor Ainehi Edoro, Congolese novelist Fiston Mujila, and South African author Dudu Busani-Dube are among the over thirty exciting lineup of guests expected at the 2022 African Book Festival, set to hold in Berlin from August 26-28, 2022.

The festival, which was launched in 2018, attempts to solidify an African literary presence in the European cultural stronghold of Berlin, the capital city of Berlin.

The 2022 event, curated by the South African Caine Prize-winning writer Lidudumalingani and headlined by the legendary editor and pioneering publisher Margaret Busby, is themed “Yesterday.Today.Tomorrow,” and will focus on South African literature and culture in an attempt to “counter the questionable narratives of the so-called continent in crisis” using South Africa —with all the unfair, negative international press it has endured at the height of COVID— as a case study.

The theme also “explores the connections between writers— the way older writers hold the hand of the young writers when they write, and how, in turn, they too hold the hand of the writers coming after them.”

The festival will traditionally feature events including readings, concerts, panel discussions, poetry, and comedy. (Get tickets here.)

For more on the guests and festival, go here.