Berlin · 29–31 May 2026 · #abf26

AFRICAN
BOOK
FESTIVAL

"Welcome to the Club — Stories Across Continents"

ABF26
Welcome to the Club
Curated by The Audience ✦
📅
29 – 31 May 2026
Fri–Sun · Doors 18:00 on Friday
📍
TAK Theater Aufbau Kreuzberg
Prinzenstraße 85 F · U Moritzplatz
Karen Jennings
Fatin Abbas
Stella Gaitano
Nick Makoha
Dudu Busani-Dube
Troy Onyango
Bisi Alimi
JJ Bola
Nadège Kusanika
Ifeatu Nnaobi
A. Igoni Barrett
Tete Loeper
Edwige-Renée Dro
Niq Mhlongo
Vamba Sherif
Hemley Boum
Edna Bonhomme
Amat Levin
Ana Lucão Mvangi
Fikri Anıl Altıntaş
✦ Too many books, too little time? Welcome.    ✦ Meet the writers, join the book clubs, find your next read.    ✦ 29–31 May · TAK Kreuzberg · Berlin    ✦ #abf26 africanbookfestival.de    ✦ Too many books, too little time? Welcome.    ✦ Meet the writers, join the book clubs, find your next read.    ✦ 29–31 May · TAK Kreuzberg · Berlin    ✦ #abf26 africanbookfestival.de   
Bühne I — TAK Theater
Bühne II — Atelier
Village — Book Clubs Only
Film / Workshop
01
Friday
29 May 2026 · Doors 18:00
Opening Night 🎉
Friday 29 May · 19:00 · Doors open 18:00
Books,
Food &
Music
Welcome to the Club! — Stories Across Continents
Too many books, too little time? Welcome to African Book Festival. Meet the writers, book clubs, and find the book you need.
DJ Pam Bam — Live
02
Saturday
30 May 2026
Full Programme 📚
Bühne I · TAK Theater
Bühne II · Atelier
Village · Book Clubs Only
10:30 – 11:30
The Winner Takes It All
How free is the artist when awards and funding are everything today?
Karen JenningsKaren Jennings
Dudu Busani-DubeDudu Busani-Dube
Troy OnyangoTroy Onyango
Mod: Stefanie Hirsbrunner
12:00 – 12:45
Book Special
Edo's Souls / Eddos Goldenes Lächeln
Stella GaitanoStella Gaitano
Mod: Venice Trommer
▶
13:00 – 13:15
Short Film / Kurzfilm
13:15 – 14:15
Pink Factor
Der Pinke Faktor — Shall We Meet Tonight?
How can queer stories become vehicles for empathy, human rights, and love?
Bisi AlimiBisi Alimi
Ifeatu NnaobiIfeatu Nnaobi
Mod: Sarika Hemi Lakhani
11:00 – 11:45
Book Special
Ghost Season / Zeit der Geister
Fatin AbbasFatin Abbas
Mod: Ifeatu Nnaobi
12:00 – 12:45
Book Special
The New Carthaginians
Nick MakohaNick Makoha
Mod: D I Jolly
13:00 – 13:45
Book Special [DE]
Unter Derselben Sonne
Nadège KusanikaNadège Kusanika
Mod: Georgina Fakunmoju
11:00 – 12:30
Workshop
Documenting African Literature
A practical entry point into editing Wikipedia — no prior experience needed. Help amplify African voices online.
Dudu Busani-Dube
13:00 – 14:00 · Meet the Writer
Dudu Busani-Dube
📚 Book Clubs Only
🍽️
LUNCH BREAK
Eat, rest, browse — the book stalls are open
🌿
15:00 – 16:00
Your Next Good Read: Book Club Special
Book clubs answer the most pressing question: What should I read next?
TR
The Reading Room
KS
Kitabu Sisters
SA
SADOCC
Mod: Niq Mhlongo
16:30 – 17:30
Writing in a State of Emergency
Identity, responsibility, and artistic freedom against a backdrop of revolutionary experience.
Stella GaitanoStella Gaitano
Fatin AbbasFatin Abbas
Mod: Celia Parbey
18:00 – 18:45
Book Special
Black History
Amat LevinAmat Levin
Mod: Karla Kutzner
19:00 – 20:00
Literatur Quartett / The Literary Talk
Edwige-Renée DroEdwige-Renée Dro
A. Igoni BarrettA. Igoni Barrett
Niq MhlongoNiq Mhlongo
Mod: Stefanie Hirsbrunner
15:15 – 16:00
Book Special
For What Are Butterflies Without Their Wings
Troy OnyangoTroy Onyango
Mod: Chiponda Chimbelu
16:15 – 17:00
Book Special
The Blue House
Dudu Busani-DubeDudu Busani-Dube
Mod: Stefanie Hirsbrunner
17:45 – 18:30
Book Special
The Selfless Act of Breathing
JJ BolaJJ Bola
Mod: Chiponda Chimbelu
A. Igoni Barrett
15:00 – 16:00 · Meet the Writer
A. Igoni Barrett
📚 Book Clubs Only
Karen Jennings
16:30 – 17:30 · Meet the Writer
Karen Jennings
📚 Book Clubs Only
Tete Loeper
17:30 – 18:30 · Meet the Writer
Tete Loeper
📚 Book Clubs Only
03
Sunday
31 May 2026
Poetry Night 🌙
Bühne I · TAK Theater
Bühne II · Atelier
10:30 – 11:30
Writing Traumatic Histories
How do authors centre voices of the enslaved when most archives were created by oppressors?
Vamba SherifVamba Sherif
Karen JenningsKaren Jennings
Mod: Solène Vangout
12:00 – 13:00
Beyond the Message
Poetry as aesthetic resistance — constructing counter-narratives and fostering solidarity.
Nick MakohaNick Makoha
Ana Lucão MvangiAna Lucão Mvangi
Mod: Ifeatu Nnaobi
13:30 – 14:30
Your Next Good Read: Book Club Special
AK
AKUMA
AF
AFiWI
PA
Panafro Bookclub
Mod: Karla Kutzner
LUNCH BREAK
15:00 – 16:15
Bits & Pieces. A Stage for Fragments
Texts, sounds, ideas, sketches — polished, raw, or just a loose thought. No pressure, no competition. A space where fragments can shine.
Mod: Miriam de Hohenstein
10:30 – 11:30
Book Special
Le Rêve du Pêcheur / Wind der uns Heimträgt
Hemley BoumHemley Boum
Mod: Edwige-Renée Dro
12:00 – 13:00
Men Under Pressure: Power, Privilege, Accountability
How can men take responsibility when racialized perceptions simultaneously cast them as threats?
JJ BolaJJ Bola
Fikri Anıl AltıntaşFikri Anıl Altıntaş
Mod: Bisi Alimi
13:30 – 14:15
Book Special
Shut Up and Hide!
Tete LoeperTete Loeper
Mod: Venice Trommer
16:30 – 17:30
Book Special
A History of the World in Six Plagues
Edna BonhommeEdna Bonhomme
Mod: Solène Vangout
Sunday 31 May · 18:00 – 19:30
POETRY
NIGHT
TAK Theater · Closing Event
On Stage Tonight
Nick MakohaNick Makoha
Ana Lucão MvangiAna Lucão Mvangi
JJ BolaJJ Bola
JB
Janne Bierwirth
Moderated by Venice Trommer
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