Past Editions: 2025
This year’s theme invited deep reflection, radical imagination, and collective action in a world that urgently needs fresh thinking. The festival featured conversations and experiences that challenged harmful ideologies, addressed structural inequality and countered the paralysis of the 24-hour news cycle. We gathered writers, artists and thinkers from diverse disciplines to explore alternative knowledge systems spanning fiction, non-fiction, poetry, music, visual arts and governance.
2026 Theme: Speculative Cartography
We exist in continuous dialogue with the world and ourselves. We hold the ability to question representation and reconfigure reality through decisive action, bold dialogue, and fearless organisation. The 5th edition of Nairobi Litfest examines the power of speculative cartography and the South-to-South geographical connections that render new worlds visible. It is a joyful congregation of writers, artists, and thinkers whose imaginative work and ideas have transcended borders.
Featured Participants
