The African Book Festival Berlin has announced that the 2025 festival will be curated by Ghanaian storyteller Ivana Akotowaa Ofori. This year’s ABF will take place July 18-20 at Alte Münze.

Ivana Akotowaa Ofori works in many forms, including fiction, non-fiction and spoken-word poetry. An alumna of the Clarion West writing workshop, Akotowaa has been shortlisted for various awards, including the Miles Morland Writing Fellowship and the Nommo Awards. Her work has appeared in anthologies such as Tor.com’s Africa Risen, Clinamen Editions’ Daring Shifts, and Flame Tree Publishing’s African Ghost Short Stories. Her work also appears in online magazines such as Jalada Africa and AFREADA. Her debut novella, The Year of Return, was one of Brittle Paper‘s 100 Notable African Books of 2024.

The 2025 Festival is being organized around the theme “In Other Worlds,” and the program will focus on fantasy, horror and sci-fi from Africa. In a press release, the ABF said, 

Not only will it do justice to genres which are particularly popular with young readers, but also showcase that African authors do create worlds that go far beyond what German readers are used to. Their stories are not only fantastic adventures, but also profound commentaries on the past, present and future of our planet. They offer a captivating alternative to established Western narration styles and provide readers with insights into topics such as post-colonialism, gender and environmental issues.

“A lot of traditional African storytelling has been speculative in some way, be it our folktales or our creatures. We are essentially returning to these (un)familiar other wor(l)ds,” adds Ofori. 

We are excited to see the lineup of presenters and events Ofori will come up with and the new directions the African Book Festival Berlin will take! Meanwhile, follow their Instagram for more updates!