The Black British Book Festival (BBBF) will return to London’s Barbican Centre on October 4, 2026, bringing together more than 80 authors and creatives for what organizers describe as Europe’s largest celebration of Black literature. The one-day festival expects around 6,000 attendees and will feature conversations, poetry, live music, workshops, masterclasses, a Black Book Marketplace, and activities for children and families. Now in its 2026 edition, the festival continues its focus on celebrating Black writers and expanding the space for Black literature across genres and generations.
The programme moves between literature, culture, publishing, science, and popular culture. Headliners include singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae, who will discuss her evolving artistic career, and rapper Wretch 32, who will explore the relationship between writing and performance in “Bars as Literature.” Poetry will take centre stage in “The Black Poetry Shutdown,” featuring Malika Booker, Rachel Long, Nick Makoha, Casey Bailey, Kadija Sesay and others. Other sessions include “Black Futures, Buried Truths,” with Kelechi Okafor and Jeffrey Boakye on Black imagination and speculative storytelling, alongside conversations on publishing, wealth, race, science, relationships, and the experiences of Black women.
The festival’s programme also places particular emphasis on the literary ecosystem behind books, with sessions examining publishing careers, book deals and the work of women who helped build Black British publishing. A panel featuring Verna Wilkins of Tamarind Books, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf of Cassava Republic Press, and Valerie Brandes of Jacaranda Books will reflect on the women who shaped the industry before Black publishing became more visible in the mainstream. Children’s programming will include storytimes, interactive storytelling, crafts, puppetry, and a Penguin masterclass on publishing children’s books. With its combination of established names, emerging voices, industry conversations and family programming, BBBF26 will bring the wider ecology of Black literary culture into a single day at the Barbican.
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