The 14th edition of the Aké Arts and Book Festival is set to bring together book lovers, writers, publishers, and other creative professionals in Lagos from November 19 to 21, 2026, to celebrate African literature and explore the intersection of native intelligence, artificial intelligence, and cultural heritage.
Organised by the Book Buzz Foundation (BBF), founded in 2012 by Nigerian writer Lola Shoneyin, this year’s Aké Arts and Book Festival is themed ‘Native Intelligence’, and will be held at Silkwood Hotel (formerly BON Hotel), Ikeja GRA, Lagos.
The three-day festival will explore how artificial intelligence intersects with traditional knowledge, language, ritual, and storytelling.
The organisers revealed that there will be 24 events and activities lined up for the three-day event, with each day featuring eight events.
The festival will feature book chats, panel discussions, poetry reading, film, and other literary showcases. ‘The Bone River’ by Nkereuwem Albert is one of the featured books.
The festival gets support from organisations, including Sterling Bank, the Open Society Foundations, and the Lagos State Government.
The festival will also feature a special Nigerian edition of stories from the literary publication Granta. The edition is expected to showcase fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, and interviews by Nigerians.
The festival promises a panel session featuring winners of the Caine Prize and another session by members of the African Speculative Fiction Society (ASFS).
Shoneyin said the festival measures its success by its ability to connect people with their heritage and create experiences that remain meaningful beyond the event.
“We measure our success by how well we connect people with their heritage, including those who may not have had the opportunity to learn about their history and culture, either in their communities or through formal education,” she said.
She said the organisers also seek to make each edition better than the previous one by creating conversations and experiences that the audience can remember long after the festival has ended.
The chief marketing officer of Sterling Bank, Donatus Okpako, said the festival provides opportunities to promote learning and encourage conversations around education, arts, and culture.
“Education is one of the key pillars of our work, and it is an important area in which we have established partnerships. Through the festival, we create opportunities for conversations around education, arts and culture,” he said.
Okpako also highlighted the growing importance of artificial intelligence in communication, technology, creativity and skills development, noting the need to make knowledge more accessible.
“Artificial intelligence is also important in communication, technology, creativity and skills development. As a brand, we recognise its impact on our country and the need to make knowledge more accessible,” he said.
Beyond technology, the festival will provide a platform for conversations about the challenges facing African writers, including access to publishing opportunities and the tendency to measure literary success by recognition from Western publishers.
The discussions are expected to explore ways to strengthen local publishing, support emerging writers, and create more opportunities for Nigerian literary voices.
