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Dua Lipa to interview Zadie Smith at London Literature festival
Dua Lipa is curating this year's London Literature festival at the Southbank Centre, and will interview Zadie Smith, Patti Smith and other high-profile authors as part of the programme. The festival, now in its 19th year, runs from 21 October to 1 November and coincides with the Southbank Centre's 75th anniversary, with organisers praising the pop star's "deep curiosity about the world" as a fitting quality for the milestone celebration.
Lipa will speak to Zadie Smith on 24 October about her 2000 debut novel White Teeth, and interview Patti Smith the following night about her memoir Bread of Angels. The wider line-up includes the poet and musician Mustafa, Nobel peace laureate Nadia Murad, and a conversation between Ta-Nehisi Coates and Tareq Baconi, alongside a translated fiction showcase and a poetry and music night with Kae Tempest. The programme builds on Lipa's Service95 book club, launched in 2023, and follows last year's edition curated by Self Esteem; tickets go on sale to Southbank Centre members on 3 August, Service95 members on 4 August, and the public on 5 August.
In short
- Dua Lipa curates the 2026 London Literature festival at Southbank Centre.
- She'll interview Zadie Smith and Patti Smith among others.
- Festival runs 21 October–1 November; tickets go on sale from 3 August.
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The case for
Dua Lipa's demonstrated engagement through her Service95 book club and track record of thoughtful cultural conversation suggest genuine intellectual curiosity worthy of a curatorial platform. Her involvement grants the festival access to younger and more diverse audiences who might otherwise never encounter world-class writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates and Nadia Murad, advancing the festival's democratic mission to make literary culture accessible rather than preserving it as the preserve of a narrow elite.
The case against
Whilst celebrity involvement brings publicity, appointing a pop star to curate a serious literary institution risks subordinating curatorial expertise and literary merit to entertainment value and brand building. The festival's credibility depends on rigorous programming; outsourcing curation to someone whose authority stems primarily from music rather than literary engagement risks reducing it to a celebrity vanity project where writers become secondary to the curator's personal brand.
Explained simply
The London Literature festival is an annual event at the Southbank Centre that brings together authors, poets and speakers for talks and discussions. This year marks a significant milestone: the festival is in its 19th year, and the Southbank Centre itself is celebrating its 75th anniversary.
Dua Lipa is a pop star curating this year's festival. The Southbank Centre's organisers praised her "deep curiosity about the world" as suited to the role. She previously launched Service95, a book club, in 2023, demonstrating her interest in literature.
The festival will feature interviews with authors including Zadie Smith, discussing her debut novel White Teeth, and Patti Smith, discussing her memoir Bread of Angels. Other speakers include Nobel peace laureate Nadia Murad and author Ta-Nehisi Coates, along with poets and musicians. The festival runs from 21 October to 1 November.
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