Pa Gya! A Literary Festival in Accra returns for its tenth edition from October 16 to 18, 2026, hosted across the Goethe-Institut Ghana and the Foundation for Contemporary Art–Ghana in Cantonments, Accra. Organized by the Writers Project of Ghana alongside both venues, the anniversary edition leans into commemorative programming while keeping the festival’s signature mix intact: readings, panel discussions, poetry performances, storytelling, book launches, prize ceremonies, comics and graphic novel programming, exhibitions, and film screenings.

The festival proper opens on the 16th, but the lead-up starts two days earlier. On October 14 and 15, the British Council hosts the first two sessions of a three-day Self-Editing Workshop for emerging writers, run in partnership with the Caine Prize for African Writing and led by Dzifa Benson.

Friday, October 16 carries the workshop’s final session alongside a run of afternoon masterclasses before the festival’s official opening that evening. The Self-Editing Workshop wraps up its third day at the British Council, while the Goethe-Institut hosts Angela Wright’s “Doing Research for Literary Projects,” the three-part “Krodua Publishing Lab” with Julianna Asamoa-Krodua, Bieke van Aggelen, and Kezia Adrah Agbenyega, Elizabeth-Irene Baitie’s “The Story Is Right Before You,” and Joewackle J Kusi’s audio drama masterclass, “Sound As Literary Art.” The evening belongs to the festival itself: an Opening Ceremony in the Courtyard, followed by “The Nature of the Story,” a conversation on central themes in Ghanaian and African literature with Ato Quayson and Kinna Likimani, and closing with “Changes, Revisited,” Alice Johnson’s remount of Found Space’s stage adaptation of Ama Ata Aidoo’s Changes: A Love Story.

Saturday, October 17 is the festival’s busiest day, running from mid-morning into the night across multiple venues. It opens with Christopher Armoh and Adomaa Adusei’s workshop “Documenting Otherwise: Memory, Ethics, & The Future of African Archives,” followed by a dense midday stretch that includes a reading from Can a Child Write?, the panel “African Daughters: What We Inherit, What We Refuse” with Itoro Bassey, a kente-and-oral-tradition performance from Dede Amanor-Wilks and Qondi Moyo, Roland Byagaba on digital storytelling in Africa, a panel on where readers go to read, and the ongoing exhibition “You Experience: Stories Objects Remember.” The afternoon continues with panels on oral tradition and indigenous knowledge, contemporary Ghanaian writing, and readings from Dagaaba folklore, before Boakyewaa Glover’s talk on mental health and the cost of storytelling, a “Literary Sisters” reading and conversation, the book launch of La Victoria, and Dela Anyah’s performance piece “Assembly: Bonsa Origins.” The evening runs through readings from Eghosa Imasuen and Barbara van Rijn Tuwor, a panel on writing and publishing fiction in Ghana, “The MUSIGA Story” marking 50 years of the Musicians Union of Ghana, an Ars Poetica performance, Kofi Adu Labi’s selected readings, and the online panel “Ewe Book of The Year: Fia Tsatsala.” The day closes with Kweku Abimbola’s poetry performance and “Lust in Translation,” a reader-forward panel returning for the festival’s tenth edition to explore why audiences read romance and erotica.

Sunday, October 18 closes out the festival, opening with the continuation of “You Experience: Stories Objects Remember,” followed by an afternoon of programming including Carina Ray’s “Black Print,” a conversation on Ayi Kwei Armah’s legacy, the New Voices Fiction Contest 2026 Award Ceremony, and a panel on songwriting as literary practice with Ria Boss. Later sessions include a panel on novel-to-film adaptation with Wale Okediran, readings from Ike Echeruo and Mariska Araba Taylor-Darko, and a reading from N.O.M Tutu Ani’s Amane Adesa: Of Monsters and Gods. The festival’s tenth edition closes with “Live Across Africa,” a performance showcase featuring artists from across the continent.

A full, searchable schedule and the complete list of participants are available on the Writers Project of Ghana’s website, along with a downloadable PDF timetable for anyone following along on paper or WhatsApp.