As Liverpool’s longest-running writing and literary festival, WoWFEST has always held fast to the belief that words do not simply describe the world – they reshape it.
In a moment marked by democratic backsliding, spiralling inequality, algorithmic manipulation and the renewed swagger of authoritarianism, WoWFEST26: New World Disorder confronts the forces fracturing our common ground: the rise of AI without accountability, the mainstreaming of far-right ideologies, the weaponisation of disinformation, escalating global conflict and an economic order rigged in favour of the ultra-wealthy.
But this is not a festival of despair. It is a festival of resistance. WoWFEST will foreground writers, artists and activists who refuse inevitability – who challenge power, expose injustice and imagine alternatives. In the face of manufactured chaos, we choose solidarity. In the shadow of reaction, we choose creativity. Together, we reclaim language as a site of struggle and possibility – and insist that another world is not only necessary, but possible.
Each year, the festival brings together writers, artists, activists and audiences to share stories, question power and explore how creativity can support resistance, solidarity and social change. WoWFEST26 will once again showcase outstanding progressive writing alongside bold, generous and thought-provoking conversations, shaped by the social and political moment we are living in and driven by hope, collective action and the belief that culture can open up new possibilities for change.
Here’s a selection of our events throughout May, join us and connect with the role creativity can play in building a more just, inclusive and joyful society.
Tickets can be booked for individual events, with prices ranging from £5-£12, plus some events will have book+ticket bundles so you can take home the author’s texts. For the full programme, including timings and booking details, please visit: https://writingonthewall.org.uk/wowfest-26/
The confirmed programme is as follows:
Comma Press presents The Monster, Capital
6 May 2026, The Black-E
Book Launch: Rhythms by Tony Wailey
12 May 2026, Quaker Meeting House Liverpool
Cultural Fallout: Writing Chornobyl
12 May, Online
Against All Odds: Class and Resistance in the Arts
13 May 2026, The Black-E
Joelle Taylor: Maryville
14 May 2026, The Music Room, Philharmonic Hall
Writer’s Bloc Sharing Event
15 May, 2026, Toxteth Library
Rebecca Solnit – The Beginning Comes After the End
May 19, 2026, Online
A Reason to Sing – The Popular Song Movement of 70s Chile
19 May, 2026, Victoria Gallery and Museum
Juno Dawson: Survival Show
20 May, 2026, Online
“Sumud versus the Sword”: Solidarity, Direct Action, and Palestinian Liberation
20 May, 2026, The Caribbean Centre
Democracy on Trial with Chris Nineham, Basma Ghalayini and Stephen Kapos
21 May, 2026, The Black-E
Black Women Speak Volumes
26 May 2026, The Women’s Organisation
Launch of Buckled: a play by Helen Jeffery
27 May 2026, Unity Theatre Bar
Children’s Storytelling at the Palm House
27 May, 2026, The Palm House, Sefton Park
Desert Island Dissent with Linton Kwesi Johnson
28 May 2026, The British Music Experience
An Evening with Colm Tóibín
31 May 2026, The Black-E
Categories: 2026 | Festivals & Events | In Conversations & Talks
