Our Biggest Festival Yet
On Sunday 4 October 2026, the Black British Book Festival returned to the Barbican Centre for our fifth festival, and our biggest yet.
6,000 readers, writers, families and book lovers joined us for a day celebrating Black British literature and culture, with more than 80 authors and creatives across 35+ events.
A headline stage to remember
Our headline stage welcomed bestselling author Candice Carty-Williams, Grammy Award-winning musician Corinne Bailey Rae in conversation with Gemma Cairney, rapper and songwriter Wretch 32, and space scientist and broadcaster Maggie Aderin-Pocock.
The Black Poetry Shutdown brought together Malika Booker, Jah Digga, SANITY, Kadija Sesay, Rachel Long and more for an unforgettable evening of spoken word, and Heartless Crew closed the day with a live garage and grime set.
Conversations that matter
Across the day, audiences joined powerful conversations on race, publishing and culture. Stuart and Lee Lawrence spoke on racism in Britain. Dr Kehinde Andrews, Nels Abbey and Kelechi Okafor discussed race, power and the price of public scrutiny. Debut authors Salma Ibrahim, William Rayfet Hunter and Musih Tedji Xaviere shared their journeys into print.
NAO hosted a live book club, and bestselling author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé invited readers into an interactive murder mystery.
For writers, readers and families
Aspiring writers packed out our practical sessions on securing a book deal, children’s publishing, self-publishing and building a sustainable writing career.
Our Black Book Marketplace was busy all day, and the Children’s Zone was full of storytelling, crafts and performances from Jessica Wilson, Laura Henry-Allain MBE, Dean Atta, Ella McLeod and puppeteer Delvene Pitt.
More than a festival
BBBF26 was our biggest day of the year, but our work doesn’t stop when the festival ends. As a year-round cultural institution, we run community libraries in Croydon and Lewisham, schools and prison programmes, writer development and major publishing partnerships, all working to make Black British literature more visible, more valued and more accessible.
Thank you
“Five years ago, BBBF started with one simple belief: that Black British books and the readers who love them deserve to be celebrated,” says Selina Brown, founder and CEO of the Black British Book Festival. “Seeing 6,000 people at the Barbican shows just how far we’ve come together. Thank you to every reader, author, volunteer, partner and sponsor who made BBBF26 possible.”
A special thank you to the Barbican, and to Pan Macmillan, our headline sponsor for five years.
What’s next?
The story doesn’t stop here. At this year’s festival, we launched the BBBF x Pan Macmillan publishing collaboration, and submissions are now open to Black British writers across the UK.
Your book could be next.