Dua Lipa curates a special lineup for the London Literature Festival
Photo: Dua Lipa (Getty Images)
Dua Lipa is stepping away from the concert stage and into literature. The Grammy-winning singer and founder of the Service95 book club has been named curator of the 2026 London Literature Festival.
Who Dua Lipa invited to the festival
The event will take place at the Southbank Centre from October 20 to November 1. Dua Lipa helped shape the program and invited authors whose books and work she personally admires.
The main events curated by the singer will take place on October 24 and 25. Dua Lipa will personally host a conversation with Zadie Smith about her debut novel, White Teeth.
Later that day, the singer will meet with Canadian poet and musician Mustafa. The following evening, she will be joined by Patti Smith, who will present her memoir, Bread of Angels. Tickets for the event have already sold out.
The festival's wider program will also feature conversations with Ta-Nehisi Coates, Hernan Diaz, Malorie Blackman, Kae Tempest, Hanif Kureishi, Carlo Kureishi, and other figures from contemporary literature.
The Service95 team will organize discussions on censorship, male vulnerability, and the relationship between music and literature, as well as a free event for emerging writers. One of the sessions will be held in partnership with English PEN, an organization that defends freedom of expression and supports writers.
Why Dua Lipa was chosen as curator
Literature has long played an important role in the singer's life. In 2023, she founded the Service95 Book Club.
Each month, the project selects a new book, publishes an interview with its author, and features related articles, music playlists, and questions to spark discussions among readers.
The book club's previous guests have included Margaret Atwood, George Saunders, and Nobel Prize laureate Olga Tokarczuk. For October 2026, Dua Lipa selected Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Klara and the Sun.
"Reading has sustained me at every stage of my life, from being the new girl at school to finding a quiet refuge while on tour," the singer said.
According to Dua Lipa, curating the program for one of London's leading literary festivals has been a dream come true.
Dua Lipa (Getty Images)
She wanted to bring established authors together with emerging voices that are only beginning to attract a wider audience.
The London Literature Festival is now in its 19th year. Organizers describe it as the longest-running festival of literature and spoken word in the British capital.
This year's event will also form part of the Southbank Centre's 75th-anniversary celebrations and the UK's National Year of Reading.
