IBADAN BOOK AND ARTS FESTIVAL SET TO OPEN WITH POETRY CONVERSATION AS ORGANISERS UNVEIL THREE-DAY CULTURAL PROGRAMME

By Simpson Global Media News Desk

Report date: Friday, 23 October 2026

Report preparation time: 07:05 WAT (UTC+1)

Story location: Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

The Ibadan Book and Arts Festival (IBAFEST) is preparing to return for its second edition, bringing writers, poets, artists, scholars, students and readers together for a programme exploring storytelling, cultural memory, identity and the experiences that shape contemporary African society.

Organised by the Sankofa Initiative for Culture and Development (SICD), the festival will run from Thursday, October 29, to Saturday, October 31, 2026, under the theme The Stories We Long to Tell. Before the main programme begins, organisers have scheduled an opening book conversation for Sunday, October 25, featuring writers Su’eddie Vershima Agema and Professor Hyginus Ekwuazi. [Sources: IBAFEST official announcement; Nigerian NewsDirect]

The festival will combine virtual programming with a physical gathering in Ibadan. Online workshops on Thursday will focus on creative development, while Friday’s schedule will feature book conversations and panel discussions. Saturday’s main event will take place at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, with literary discussions, creative presentations, workshops and other cultural activities. [Source: IBAFEST 2026 programme]

The announcement comes as organisers seek to create more opportunities for established and emerging creative practitioners to engage with audiences, exchange ideas and develop their work. The festival’s theme places particular attention on stories, languages, memories and experiences that may receive limited space in conventional literary and cultural platforms.

Opening conversation scheduled for Sunday

The festival’s first announced public gathering is scheduled for Sunday, October 25, at 2:00 p.m. at RovingHeights Bookstore, Second Floor, Prime Mall, 33 Awolowo Avenue, Old Bodija, Ibadan.

The event will feature Su’eddie Vershima Agema, author of I Stumble Inside Me Looking for Sunlight, and Professor Hyginus Ekwuazi, whose poetry collection is titled Fragments Salvaged from the Deluge.

Organisers describe the gathering as an opportunity for poetry, conversation and literary exchange, bringing writers and readers together before the main three-day programme begins. [Sources: IBAFEST official announcement; Nigerian NewsDirect]

A book conversation can offer a different kind of engagement from a conventional reading. Instead of presenting a finished work to an audience without discussion, such gatherings allow readers to ask questions about a writer’s choices, the experiences that shape a collection and the relationship between a text and the world around it.

Poetry also provides a way to approach themes that may be difficult to express through straightforward reporting or everyday conversation. Personal memory, grief, belonging, hope and social change can be explored through language, imagery, rhythm and form.

For emerging writers, an event of this kind can also provide an opportunity to observe how experienced authors discuss their work and communicate with readers. For audiences, it offers a way to encounter literature through direct interaction rather than only through printed pages or online excerpts.

The October 25 gathering is distinct from the three-day festival scheduled to begin on October 29. Its role is to launch the current festival activities and build anticipation for the wider programme.

A festival centred on stories that remain untold

The 2026 theme, The Stories We Long to Tell, asks which experiences are preserved, whose voices are heard and how people represent their identities and communities.

Stories help societies transmit memories across generations. They record family histories, document social changes, preserve languages and communicate the values through which communities understand themselves.

But not all stories find an audience. Some experiences are missing from formal historical records. Others remain confined to particular communities because they have not been published, translated, recorded or adapted into formats that can reach wider audiences.

The festival’s stated theme invites discussion of those gaps and the ways literature, performance, film and digital media can create opportunities for different experiences to be represented. [Source: IBAFEST official festival page]

That approach is relevant to Nigeria’s cultural landscape, where writers and artists work across many languages, communities and creative traditions. A story rooted in one local experience can help audiences elsewhere understand how people live, remember history, negotiate change or relate to the places they call home.

The theme also creates room for disagreement and reinterpretation. People may remember the same event differently, while younger generations may question narratives inherited from parents, institutions or textbooks. Literature and art can provide a setting in which those differences are explored without requiring every participant to reach the same conclusion.

Organisers have linked the theme to questions of identity, memory, language, migration, technological change and the experiences of younger generations. The intention is not simply to celebrate storytelling as an artistic activity, but also to examine how stories are produced, shared and understood in changing societies. [Source: IBAFEST 2026 programme]

Thursday programme to focus on creative development

The main festival programme will begin on Thursday, October 29, with virtual workshops in screenwriting, poetry and performance.

The announced facilitators are Stephen Okonkwo for screenwriting, Romeo Oriogun for poetry and Wana Udobang for performance. The workshops are intended to give participants opportunities to develop creative skills and engage with experienced practitioners. [Source: IBAFEST official announcement]

The screenwriting component is relevant to a creative industry in which stories move between books, television, film and online video. Screenwriters have to translate ideas into scenes, dialogue, visual action and structures that audiences can follow. Practical instruction can help emerging practitioners understand how to develop scripts and communicate narratives through moving images.

Poetry offers another form of creative practice. Its use of sound, rhythm, imagery and compressed language can help writers develop distinctive voices and experiment with ways of representing experience.

The performance workshop widens the programme beyond the written page. Performance can bring together voice, movement, sound and audience interaction, allowing artists to interpret ideas through forms that may be experienced collectively.

Virtual delivery gives people who cannot travel to Ibadan a potential route to participate. It can also connect participants living in different parts of Nigeria or in the diaspora, although access will depend on registration arrangements, connectivity and the requirements of each session.

The available festival information lists the facilitators and broad workshop subjects. Prospective participants should consult the organiser’s official programme for session-specific registration instructions, participation requirements and any updates to the schedule. [Source: IBAFEST 2026 official programme]

Friday conversations to examine literature, music and identity

Friday, October 30, is scheduled to focus on virtual book chats and panel discussions examining literature, culture and contemporary society.

One announced session, Nigerian Digital Literature: Perspectives on Facebook and Substack in the 21st Century, will feature Eriata Oribhabor and Ernest Jesuyemi, with Joel Oyeleke as moderator. The discussion is expected to examine how digital platforms shape writing, publication and engagement between authors and readers. [Source: IBAFEST official announcement]

Digital publication has created additional routes for writers to distribute work, build audiences and maintain contact with readers. Social platforms and newsletters can make it possible to publish writing without depending exclusively on conventional publishing schedules.

However, reaching an audience online does not automatically guarantee income or long-term readership. Writers must still contend with discoverability, platform policies, the quality of their work, audience attention and the resources needed to sustain regular publication.

A discussion of digital literature can therefore raise practical as well as artistic questions: how writers retain control of their work, how they reach readers, how online communities influence literary debate and what forms of support may help independent publishing remain sustainable.

The programme also includes The Stories in Our Sound: Nigerian Hip-Hop and the Politics of Expression, featuring Tosin Gbogi and Godwin Tom, with Joba Ojelabi moderating.

Hip-hop has long used music and spoken expression to convey personal experiences, social observation and debates about identity. In Nigeria, contemporary music operates across local and international audiences, allowing artists to draw on different languages, sounds and cultural references.

Examining the stories carried through hip-hop creates an opportunity to discuss the relationship between artistic expression and the communities that consume it. It can also open questions about how popular music reflects social conditions and how meanings may change when songs reach listeners with different backgrounds.

Another session, Landmarks and City Scapes in African Storytelling, will feature Jide Badmus and Pelu Awofeso. The session’s focus connects place with narrative, considering how landscapes, streets, buildings and memories of cities can become part of literature and cultural expression. [Source: IBAFEST official announcement]

Such discussions may be particularly relevant to Ibadan, a city with a substantial literary, educational and publishing history. Local places can serve not only as backdrops for stories but also as repositories of shared memories, personal histories and changing social relationships.

Migration, belonging and finding home

The Friday programme will also include Stories We Long to Tell: Finding Home Across Borders, featuring S’ueddie Agema and Ndubuisi Martins.

Questions of home and belonging have long featured in literature and artistic expression. Migration can change how people relate to the places they leave, the places where they settle and the languages and traditions they carry between them.

A person who moves for education, employment, family reasons or safety may encounter new opportunities while also negotiating distance from familiar social and cultural environments. Those experiences can shape ideas of identity and influence the stories people tell about themselves.

For writers, the subject offers ways to explore the relationships between memory, community and change. It can also highlight the different experiences of people who move within Nigeria, across Africa or to other parts of the world.

The festival’s theme creates room to discuss these experiences without assuming that migration produces one universal outcome. People’s circumstances differ, and their stories may reflect both the challenges of displacement and the possibilities created through new relationships and environments.

The value of a literary discussion lies partly in giving people space to encounter perspectives that may not match their own. In that sense, the programme extends the festival’s interest in stories that are overlooked, interrupted or still being formed.

Women’s contributions to Afrobeat

Another scheduled discussion is The Stories Behind the Sound: Women and the Making of Afrobeat, featuring Dotun Oyebade and Shola Olorunyomi.

The session is framed around women’s contributions to the musical tradition and the stories behind its development. Music histories can sometimes focus primarily on headline performers, even though creative work relies on a wider network of musicians, collaborators, performers and cultural practitioners.

Looking at women’s roles creates an opportunity to examine how musical traditions are made and sustained, including the labour involved in performance, composition, organisation and cultural transmission.

Such discussions can also consider how archives, public recognition and historical accounts shape the way audiences understand a genre. The people whose work is recorded, celebrated or discussed influence which contributions become part of the wider cultural memory.

The session’s place in a literary festival reflects the organisers’ broad approach to storytelling. Cultural stories are not limited to novels and poems. They also exist in songs, performance practices, interviews, biographies and the memories of people who took part in artistic movements.

The festival programme also lists a book chat with Beautiful Nubia, the Nigerian singer and songwriter whose work connects music and social observation. Together, the sessions indicate an interest in how stories are expressed through different cultural forms. [Source: IBAFEST official announcement]

Saturday’s main gathering at the University of Ibadan

The festival will conclude its principal three-day programme on Saturday, October 31, with a physical event at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.

The published programme identifies Olusegun Aganga Hall at the conference centre as the venue. The day is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. WAT and will bring together speakers, writers, artists, students and other participants for conversations and creative presentations. [Source: IBAFEST official announcement]

Poet, essayist, translator and lawyer Tade Ipadeola is scheduled to deliver the keynote address. A keynote conversation will feature Dr Tunde Adegbola, filmmaker Tunde Kelani and Onimisi Olanike, with Michael Olatunbosun moderating.

Their participation brings together perspectives from literature, technology, film and cultural practice. Such a combination can help move the festival’s theme beyond a discussion of books alone, linking storytelling with the ways people record, perform and circulate culture.

The programme is also expected to include an author-student session and a panel titled The Next Voice in the Room: Emerging Stories and the Quest to Be Seen and Heard. The announced participants include Tobiloba Afolayan, Nnamdi Anyadu and Aremo Gemini, with Isaiah Adepoju moderating. [Source: IBAFEST official announcement]

The author-student format creates a setting for younger people to engage with writers and cultural practitioners directly. It can help students understand creative careers, ask questions about the writing process and explore the decisions involved in developing original work.

For emerging creatives, access to experienced practitioners can be valuable when they are trying to move from an idea to a completed project. Conversations about drafting, editing, publishing, performance and audience-building can help clarify the practical work behind cultural production.

The schedule also includes a writing workshop with Godson Osarenren. In addition to talks and panels, practical workshops can offer participants the opportunity to work on their own ideas and receive guidance on developing them.

Books, exhibitions and creative exchange

IBAFEST’s Saturday programme is expected to include readings, performances, a film screening, exhibitions, book displays, workshops and networking activities. The festival’s wider format also makes room for a book fair and a creative marketplace where publishers, booksellers, artists and other exhibitors can present their work. [Source: IBAFEST 2026 official programme]

The book fair component can provide a meeting point for readers who want to discover new titles and publishers seeking to reach audiences. For smaller publishers and independent booksellers, cultural gatherings may offer an additional opportunity to introduce their catalogues and build relationships with readers.

The creative marketplace broadens that opportunity beyond books. Visual artists and other practitioners can use such settings to present work and engage with people who may be interested in purchasing, commissioning or collaborating on creative projects.

These activities also connect the cultural value of the festival with the practical conditions in which creative work is produced and shared. Artists and writers often rely on several routes to sustain their practice, including sales, commissions, grants, partnerships, teaching and performance.

A marketplace does not guarantee earnings, and the available announcements do not specify how much exhibitors may sell or what commercial returns they should expect. Nevertheless, providing a designated space for cultural work can create opportunities for direct encounters between creators and potential audiences.

Why Ibadan is central to the festival

The choice of Ibadan is an important part of the festival’s identity. The city has longstanding associations with education, publishing, scholarship and Nigerian literary life.

Hosting a literary and arts festival in the city gives local readers, students and creative practitioners an opportunity to engage with cultural activities without needing to travel to another major centre. A hybrid programme extends that opportunity to people who may be unable to attend in person.

IBAFEST’s organisers say the festival is intended to strengthen connections among established and emerging voices while building a sustained platform for books, arts, ideas and creative development. [Source: IBAFEST official festival page]

A cultural gathering can also contribute to the visibility of the local creative environment. When writers, publishers, filmmakers and artists meet, they can exchange information about projects and identify possible opportunities for collaboration.

The extent of that activity will depend on the relationships that continue after the event. A festival may create an initial connection, but lasting collaboration generally requires follow-up, shared resources and sustained communication.

For students and younger practitioners, having access to cultural programmes in their own city can also make professional networks easier to reach. Events that combine public sessions with structured workshops may help participants become more familiar with the people and processes involved in creative work.

Developing young writers and readers beyond the festival

IBAFEST’s programme extends beyond its annual gathering. The organisers list initiatives including a Youth Writers Prize, a Secondary Schools Storytelling Challenge, an Emerging Journalists Fellowship, workshops, masterclasses, mentorship and publication pathways. [Source: IBAFEST 2026 official programme]

These initiatives point to a broader approach in which cultural development is treated as a continuing activity rather than an event that ends after several days.

A youth writing prize can encourage emerging writers to produce and share work. A school storytelling challenge can give students an opportunity to explore local history, personal experiences and imaginative expression. Journalism development can help participants learn to document cultural activities, interview practitioners and report on the creative sector.

Mentorship and publication opportunities can also help address one of the challenges faced by new writers: the transition from creating a piece of work to finding an audience for it.

The announcement does not establish that every listed initiative will operate on the same timetable as the October festival, nor does it provide full details of the selection criteria or awards for each programme. Prospective participants should check the official festival channels for individual calls, eligibility requirements and application dates.

If sustained over time, however, these activities could help build stronger relationships between experienced cultural practitioners and emerging voices. Their impact will ultimately depend on delivery, continuity and the opportunities made available to participants.

The growing role of hybrid cultural events

The festival’s combination of online and in-person programming reflects the variety of ways cultural events can bring audiences together.

Virtual sessions can make participation possible for people who are unable to travel to Ibadan. They may also enable discussions to include writers and readers in different locations without requiring everyone to be physically present.

In-person gatherings offer different advantages. Participants can interact directly with speakers, browse books, attend performances, take part in workshops and meet other practitioners in the same space.

A hybrid model aims to make room for both forms of engagement. Its effectiveness depends on the quality of the online sessions, clear registration and access arrangements, technical reliability and an appropriate design for each activity.

Online participation is not automatically easier for everyone. Internet connectivity, data costs, devices and familiarity with virtual platforms can influence who is able to attend. Similarly, travelling to a physical event requires time, transport and sometimes accommodation.

Organisers therefore have to communicate the format of each session clearly, allowing participants to plan around the opportunities available to them.

According to the official schedule, the main online activities are planned for Thursday, October 29, and Friday, October 30, while the major in-person gathering takes place on Saturday, October 31. The earlier book conversation at RovingHeights Bookstore is a separate physical event scheduled for October 25. [Source: IBAFEST official announcement]

Admission, participation and programme information

The festival announcement says IBAFEST is free and open to the public, with registration encouraged. The organisers have published programme information and registration options through the official festival website. [Source: IBAFEST official website]

People planning to attend should distinguish between the October 25 opening book chat and the main festival sessions from October 29 to 31. The book chat is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at RovingHeights Bookstore in Old Bodija, while Saturday’s principal physical programme is scheduled for the University of Ibadan conference centre.

Virtual workshop participants should check the relevant registration requirements before the scheduled sessions. They should also confirm any updates to event times or participation instructions directly with the organisers.

The festival website is the appropriate place to check the latest programme information, speaker announcements and registration options. The public announcement does not establish that every session has unlimited capacity or that registration for one activity automatically covers all others.

What the festival could contribute to cultural life

A festival that combines books, music, film, poetry, workshops and conversation can help demonstrate the different forms through which a society tells its stories.

Its cultural contribution can include preserving memories, encouraging reading, providing a platform for new work and creating spaces where people with different experiences can exchange ideas.

Its potential professional value lies in bringing creators and audiences together. Writers may meet readers, students may encounter working practitioners, and publishers or booksellers may find new ways to connect with their markets.

The extent of those benefits cannot be measured before the festival takes place. Attendance, participation, new collaborations and subsequent creative activity would help provide a clearer picture of what the event achieves.

The organisers’ broader initiatives for writers, students and journalists could also be relevant to assessing its longer-term contribution. If those programmes continue to operate, they may help build connections that extend beyond the annual event.

For now, the published programme establishes the festival’s intended activities and the people scheduled to participate, but it does not establish the number of attendees expected or the eventual outcomes of the 2026 edition.

A platform for the stories still waiting to be heard

IBAFEST 2026 is set to bring a diverse group of cultural practitioners and audiences together around a theme that asks how stories are created, remembered and shared.

The October 25 opening conversation will provide an initial opportunity for readers and writers to engage with poetry. The main programme will then move into online workshops and discussions before concluding with an in-person gathering at the University of Ibadan on October 31.

Across the programme, the subjects range from digital literature and Nigerian hip-hop to migration, urban landscapes, women’s contributions to Afrobeat and the development of emerging creative voices.

The festival’s organisers are also presenting it as part of a wider effort to support writers, students, readers and other cultural practitioners beyond the annual gathering.

Whether the event produces lasting benefits will depend on the quality of participation, the opportunities created for emerging practitioners and the continuity of the work that follows.

For readers, it offers an opportunity to encounter books and ideas through direct discussion. For writers, artists and students, it creates potential space to learn, share work and make professional connections. For Ibadan’s cultural community, it brings a range of creative activities into a shared public programme.

As the dates approach, the main development to watch is how the announced schedule translates into practical engagement and whether the festival’s wider initiatives continue to support new voices after the final session.

Festival information: Sunday, 25 October, at 2:00 p.m. WAT — opening book conversation at RovingHeights Bookstore, Prime Mall, Old Bodija, Ibadan. Main festival: Thursday, 29 October, to Saturday, 31 October 2026, with virtual sessions and an in-person programme at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan. Consult the official IBAFEST website for registration and schedule updates.

Reporting note: Prepared Friday, 23 October 2026, at 07:05 WAT. This report is based on the festival organisers’ published programme and related coverage. All upcoming sessions are described as scheduled events; no claim is made that the 2026 programme has already taken place.