Ekwuazi, Ipadeola, Agema, Oriogun, Udobang to enliven Ibadan as IBAFEST 2026 kicks off October 25
By Editor
PROFESSOR Hyginus Ekwuazi and Su’eddie Vershima Agema will kick off reading and conversation activities as part of activities for this year’s Ibadan Book and Arts Festival. Ekwuazi will read from his new poetry collection, Fragments Salvaged from the Deluge while Agema will read from I Stumble Inside Me Looking for Sunlight. The festival has as theme, The Stories We Long to Tell.
The event will hold at 2:00pm on Sunday, October 25, 2026 at RovingHeights Bookstore, Second Floor, Prime Mall, 33 Awolowo Avenue, Old Bodija, Ibadan. The festival programme continues with virtual writing workshops on Thursday, October 29, featuring Romeo Oriogun, Wana Udobang, and Stephen Okonkwo. Friday, October 30, will feature virtual book chats with 21 writers based in Nigeria and across the world.
The festival culminates in a physical gathering on Saturday, October 31, at Olusegun Aganga Hall, International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, featuring a keynote address by the lawyer and winner of The Nigeria Prize for Literature 2013, Tade Ipadeola (The Sahara Testaments, and a conversation the keynote, led by renowned polymath, Dr. Tunde Adegbola. Leading and emerging writers will also participate in panel discussions, writing workshops, creative performances, and a dedicated Schools Session for secondary school students.
Organisers have called on the public to join them to celebrate literature, creativity, and the stories that shape lives and communities. Register for the opening book chat:
https://tinyurl.com/ibafest-2026-opening-chat. Register for the other IBAFEST 2026 events: https://bit.ly/ibafest2026
IBAFEST is jointly organised by the Sankofa Initiative for Culture and Development and Noirledge Publishing, in collaboration with their partners.
#IBAFEST2026 #TheStoriesWeLongToTell #IbadanBookAndArtsFestival
