Nawal El Saadawi, Bisi Alimi and young talent star at Africa Writes this year

Fearless writer Nawal El Saadawi will be headlining the Africa Writes in London, the Royal African Society’s annual literature and book festival.

The 84-year-old Egyptian feminist will be headlining the three-day event that will focus on women writers, new authors and genres as well as a whole lot more: over 50 authors, poets, publishers, performers and academics will take part.

We’re particularly excited by the Sex, Love & Poetry evening on July 1 which will be hosted by Nigerian LGBT rights activist Bisi Alimi; a panel discussion, featuring e-publishers Bahati Books, on how digital is revolutionising reading across the continent; and a performance of The Immigrant by Joy Gharoro- Akpojotor. The play is set in 2116, and tells the story of a Brit seeking asylum in the most powerful continent in the world – the African Union.

Last year, highlights included the Meet the Publishers event where aspiring writers had to elevator-pitch their work. If you’re in London for the festival, do go this year and pitch; it’s less terrifying and more entertaining than it at first sounds.

Find out about the festival and programme at africawrites.org