Through our partnership with the Lahore Literary Festival, some of the most exciting voices in South Asian literature, journalism and public life have found a home on Wimbledon BookFest stages.
Since 2023, we’ve welcomed speakers including Mishal Husain, Mohsin Hamid and Salima Hashmi, bringing together audiences from across communities, cultures and generations.
Wimbledon BookFest 2026
Lahore Literary Festival 2026
“Words can bring us together. To come to this literature festival in Lahore and see it is linked with Wimbledon — suddenly I feel all hearts are joined.” Lyse Doucet, BBC Global Correspondent
In 2026, we co-presented a series of inspiring events and international book launches:
— Lyse Doucet (The Finest Hotel in Kabul)
— Aisha Hassan (When the Fireflies Dance)
— Ziauddin Sardar (Three Begums)
— Kamila Shamsie in conversation with Jane Marriott
Wimbledon BookFest 2025
Designed to connect communities and spark conversation, this year’s programme featured some remarkable voices in fiction, art and activism.
Speakers included broadcaster and debut novelist Reeta Chakrabarti and trailblazing artist, writer, activist and daughter of renowned Pakistani poet Faiz, Salima Hashmi. Actor Jassa Ahluwalia discussed mixed heritage identity, while writer and filmmaker Saba Karim Khan explored home and belonging.
Women’s Prize-shortlisted Nussaibah Younis discussed her debut novel, while Aisha Hassan and Keshava Guha shared stories from Pakistan and India. Wimbledon-based author Fiza Saeed McLynn introduced her highly acclaimed debut set in Jazz Age Paris, The Midnight Carousel. 2025 International Booker Winner for Heart Lamp Deepa Bhasthi discusses the transformative power and complex art of literary translation.
Mahin Hussain: our festival artist
For the past two years, Wimbledon BookFest has collaborated with Wimbledon-based Pakistani artist Mahin Hussain, whose work has become part of the visual identity of the festival itself.
In 2025, her design Gola Ganda (named after a Pakistani sweet made of crushed ice and coloured syrups) brought the colour, architecture and joy of Lahore to Wimbledon. This year, Mehbooba (Urdu for “beloved”) takes a different inspiration: the elaborate patterns and colours of Korean Dancheong art, reinterpreted through the lens of Pakistani truck art, in colours that traditionally symbolise peace and stability.
MEET THE ARTIST
About the partnership
Festival Director Fiona Razvi drew on her own heritage to forge unique links between BookFest and the prestigious Lahore Literary Festival, which takes place annually in the Punjab, Pakistan.
‘Working with the Lahore Literary Festival is an exciting new stage in BookFest’s commitment to sharing stories and building connections across borders. The LLF is one of South Asia’s premier cultural events and we are thrilled to be working alongside them to celebrate and amplify the voices of South Asian heritage.’
Razi Ahmed, Founder and CEO of the Lahore Literary Festival said:
‘We are delighted to be partnering with the Wimbledon Book Festival to connect our two wonderful festivals that aim for more diversity, inclusivity and foregrounding big ideas. Together with Fiona Razvi and her team, we will work during the coming years on a more culturally integrated and interconnected series bringing Asia and Britain closer.’
Lahore Literary Festival Gallery
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Keshava Guha on our Stories from India and Pakistan panel
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Broadcaster and debut novelist Reeta Chakrabarti
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Actor Jassa Ahluwalia signs copies of Both Not Half
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Artist and activist Salima Hashmi
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Sudha Bhuchar in her one-woman show, Evening Conversations
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Broadcaster and journalist Mishal Husain
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My Dear Kabul panel event
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Aliya Ali-Afzal on her latest novel, The Big Day
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Crime writer Saima Mir
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Aasmah Mir and Osman Yousefzada in conversation with Kavita Puri
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Nandini Das on her new history of India
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Merton Big Read 2023! Saima Mir chats to Mohsin Hamid
Previous Years
2025
Designed to connect communities and spark conversation, this year’s programme featured some remarkable voices in fiction, art and activism.
Speakers included broadcaster and debut novelist Reeta Chakrabarti and trailblazing artist, writer, activist and daughter of renowned Pakistani poet Faiz, Salima Hashmi. Actor Jassa Ahluwalia discussed mixed heritage identity, while writer and film maker Saba Karim Khan explored home and belonging, the subject of her anthology ‘Home: It’s Complicated.’
Women’s Prize shortlisted author Nussaibah Younis discussed her debut novel, while Aisha Hassan, Dur e Aziz Amna and Keshava Guha shared stories from Pakistan and India, and Wimbledon-based author Fiza Saeed McLynn introduces her highly acclaimed debut set in Jazz Age Paris, The Midnight Carousel. 2025 International Booker Winner for Heart Lamp Deepa Bhasthi discusses the transformative power and complex art of literary translation.
2024
2024’s strand at BookFest included memoir, fiction, comedy, current affairs and performance.
Acclaimed BBC broadcaster Mishal Husain delved into her own fascinating family history, and uncovered the story of her grandparents’ lives amidst empire, political upheaval and Partition and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi unpacked the recent rise in Islamophobia in Britain following her unapologetic and passionately written book, Muslims Don’t Matter. Untold Narratives is a development programme for writers marginalised by community or conflict, including a women’s writing group who lived through the fall of Kabul in 2021. Some of the writers and translators of My Dear Kabul came together to discuss stories of Afghanistan from the front line.
Aliya Ali-Afzal discussed her latest book, The Big Day whilst Saima Mir, award-winning journalist and writer, discussed the second book in her bestselling crime fiction series. Actress, writer and co-founder of the Tamasha Theatre Company, Sudha Bhuchar, brought her one-woman show, Evening Conversations, home to Wimbledon for a gentle, humorous and truthful performance.
2023
2023 was the first year of our partnership with Lahore Literary Festival, and we celebrated South Asian history, culture and identity across fiction and non-fiction.
Booker Prize-shortlisted writer Mohsin Hamid, author of the critically acclaimed The Last White Man, joined BookFest from Pakistan for a live streamed event discussing the novel. The Last White Man was selected as the inaugural Merton Big Read with 500 free copies of the book distributed to residents across the borough.
New Generation Thinker and British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding nominee Nandini Das discussed her ground-breaking history of British colonialism in India and author and Middle-Eastern specialist Diana Darke traced the Islamic and Arab roots of Europe’s architectural heritage, whilst broadcaster Aasmah Mir and designer Osman Yousefzada came together to discuss the joys and challenges of growing up between British and Pakistani cultures.