Twelve books will be the focus of the 2024 Lagos Book & Art Festival (LABAF). The festival will run from November 11th to 17th at Freedom Park, Lagos Island, and is themed “Breakout: Hope is a Stubborn Thing.”

This year LABAF is hosted in honor of Akinwande Oluwole “Wole” Soyinka, who recently turned 90 and is celebrated as an advocate for social change and justice. Recently he was awarded two prestigious prizes for his lifelong fight; The Haydee Santamaria Medal and the Dulce María Loynaz International Prize. (See more here)

The Lagos Review reports that on November 15, Professor Akin Adesokan, scholar of Comparative Literature and Cinema at Indiana University, will give a keynote lecture titled “The Pitfalls of Memory from Hope to Despair and Reckoning.”  Adesonkan’s lecture will draw from the 12 works selected for consideration during the festival’s colloquium.

The festival’s colloquium will also include a panel discussion under the sub-theme “Reclaiming the Moment”, featuring Ayi Kwei Armah’s The Way of Companions and Mark Manson’s Everything is F*cked: A Book About Hope. The panel will include poet Deji Toye, investment banker Dipo Ogunbiyi, and be moderated by columnist Ifeanyi Uddin.

This year marks the 26th edition of a festival which re-energises Nigeria’s book-reading scene and inspire people of all ages. Created in 1999 by Nigerias Committee for Relevant Art, LABAF is Africa’s biggest cultural picnic. LABAF is not just about books, but art, music, and the cultural impact of all three across every demographic, in addition to sharing culture across the continent.

Though dont’ fret if the 12 books, somehow, don’t pique your interest! In addition to the reading and book talks there will be musical performances, dance, film screenings, and dozens of vendors to choose from.

Mark your calendars for LABAF 2024 if you are in the area, and even if you can’t make it be sure to add the titles to your reading list.

Here are the books!