Global Stories
London’s leading arts and culture festival expands global partnerships to celebrate connections between communities.
Wimbledon BookFest, an inclusive celebration of books and culture, is developing its international collaborations, partnering with the prestigious Lahore Literary Festival for a third year to curate a vibrant strand of events spotlighting South Asian voices and stories at the Festival this autumn. Alongside this work it is now announcing a new partnership with Seoul WOW Book Festival and the Korean Cultural Centre.
Designed to connect communities and spark conversation, this year’s programme features some remarkable voices in fiction, art and activism, with speakers including broadcaster and debut novelist Reeta Chakrabarti and trailblazing artist, writer, activist and daughter of renowned Pakistani poet Faiz, Salima Hashmi. Writer Pankaj Mishra looks at moral and geopolitical ramifications of the current crisis in Palestine and seeks to place it in a wider context of colonialism. Actor Jassa Ahluwalia is in conversation with broadcaster and author Afua Hirsch to discuss mixed heritage identity, while writer, Monisha Rajesh looks at the joys of slow travel through her night train journeys across the world and film maker Saba Karim Khan explores home and belonging, the subject of her anthology Home: It’s Complicated.
Showcasing the power of storytelling to inspire hope and empathy, the programme features Women’s Prize shortlisted Nussaibah Younis who will discuss her novel Fundamentally with Kit de Waal, whilst acclaimed poet and writer Nikita Gill will speak about her retelling of the Greek goddess of witchcraft Hekate. Aisha Hassan, Keshava Guha, and Dur e Aziz Amna share 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, translator Deepa Bhasthi, discusses the transformative power and complex art of literary translation with award-winning translator working from Korean, Clare Richards.
Supported by Korean Cultural Centre, Wimbledon BookFest’s celebration of Korean culture builds this year with an exhibition of the Korean art of letter-writing run in partnership with Geulwoll, the beloved lettershop in Seoul, a K-Lit panel featuring novelist Juhea Kim, Park Seolyeon and Ela Lee, and an unmissable event with International Booker Prize shortlisted writer Bora Chung, in partnership with The Southbank Centre. Just announced is an exclusive live pansori performance by the internationally acclaimed artist Eunhye Jung, straight from Seoul WOW Book Festival. Eunhye will be performing a new work inspired by Jeanette Winterson’s A Gap in Time (itself an adaptation of A Winter’s Tale) in the style of pansori, the ancient Korean opera style that weaves storytelling, song and drumming.
Fiona Razvi, Festival Founder and Director said:
“We are delighted to be expanding our global partnerships and collaborations this year to offer exhilarating events that connect communities, offer new perspectives and celebrate the power of storytelling to both understand others, and ourselves, better. Developing our audience reach is central to our work and as our partnership with the Lahore Literary Festival, one of South Asia’s premier cultural events, goes from strength to strength, we are looking forward to working with Seoul WOW Book Festival and the Korean Cultural Centre to develop our links with Korean communities. In an increasingly divided world, we believe storytelling can be a bridge to foster understanding and as a festival Wimbledon BookFest can offer unique opportunities to bring people together, welcoming both established speakers and talented new voices to our community in October.”
Razi Ahmed, Festival Director of Lahore Literature Festival said:
“In our third consecutive year of partnering with the Wimbledon BookFest, we at the LLF are thrilled to see a burgeoning mix of South Asian voices. Among those is that of the celebrated Pakistani artist and activist, Salima Hashmi. Indeed, it is our shared joy that the first launch of Hashmi’s memoir will be taking place at the Wimbledon Book Festival, a not-to-be-missed event.”
Clara Hyounjin Lee, CEO of Seoul Wow Book Festival
“We are proudly committed to continuing the global wave of K-culture in collaboration with Wimbledon BookFest, by bringing a unique pansori adaptation of ‘The Winter’s Tale’ and ‘The Gap of Time to London’.”
