Over the last twelve years, Ake Arts & Book Festival has brought over 1000 writers, poets, musicians, actors, filmmakers, artists and thinkers together to celebrate creativity, network and share stories. Fondly referred to as four days of cultural immersion, the programme includes panel discussions, art exhibitions, book chats, concerts, dance, receptions, poetry performances and readings.

Ake Festival was held in Abeokuta, Ogun state from 2013 to 2017 before moving to Lagos in 2018, where it is held to date. The Festival has been headlined by some of Africa’s most remarkable literary figures such as Wole Soyinka, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Ama Ata Aidoo, Niyi Osundare, Nuruddin Farah, Maryse Conde, Tsitsi Dangaremgba, Abdulrazak Gurnah and Veronique Tadjo.

Annually, Ake Festival hosts 70-180 guests from different parts of the world. Our guests fly in from Trinidad and Tobago, the Netherlands, Ghana, UK, USA, Canada, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Malaysia, Mauritius and so on. In the last few years, it has become a cultural destination, attracting tourists and book lovers and culture enthusiasts. We are always happy to offer visa support and travel advice.  

Ake Festival is supported by our partners, Sterling Bank and Luminate Africa, numerous sponsors and dedicated supporters.  Every year, Ake Festival publishes Ake Review— a multi-genre, multi-lingual journal which features interviews with our festival guests, new art, poetry and prose.