Pop star Dua Lipa will serve as the curator for this year’s London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre, scheduled to run from October 21 to November 1. This marks the 19th edition of the festival, with Lipa shaping the program in collaboration with her Service95 book club.
Lipa, a Brit award-winning singer, expressed enthusiasm about assembling a lineup combining global literary voices with established figures. Her curation aims to present “some of the most exciting writers, poets and thinkers from around the globe,” alongside familiar names.
Among the headline events, Lipa will interview novelist Zadie Smith on October 24 to discuss Smith’s 2000 debut, *White Teeth*, which Smith published at the age of 24. Their conversation is expected to explore the impact of early artistic success and consider how the novel’s characters might navigate contemporary Britain. The following evening, Lipa will speak with Patti Smith about her memoir *Bread of Angels*, which chronicles the singer and poet’s life, including her marriage to Fred “Sonic” Smith and her return to music after his passing.
The festival will also feature Sudanese Canadian poet and musician Mustafa, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad discussing her memoir *I Choose My Beginning*, and a dialogue between Ta-Nehisi Coates and Tareq Baconi on Baconi’s new book addressing Palestine. Additional programming highlights include a showcase of translated fiction, a poetry and music event featuring Kae Tempest, and *Censorship Live!*, produced in partnership with English PEN, which will examine challenges to free expression.
Lipa has notably expanded her role as a literary advocate through Service95, which she founded in 2023. The platform includes monthly book selections and in-depth interviews with authors such as Margaret Atwood, George Saunders, and Olga Tokarczuk. Last month, she inaugurated a permanent collection of 100 banned and censored books at the historic Livraria Lello bookstore in Porto, Portugal.
Mark Ball, artistic director of the Southbank Centre, praised Lipa’s “deep curiosity about the world” and cited it as a key factor in her selection as curator for the venue’s 75th anniversary celebrations. The festival forms part of the Southbank Centre’s broader goal to engage one million people nationwide throughout 2026, incorporating free family events and an extended national program.
The previous festival curator, in 2025, was musician and activist Self Esteem. Past headliners have included prominent figures such as Ai Weiwei, Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai, Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Tom Hanks, and Yulia Navalnaya.