Scripted
Where the books we read meet the lives we live
One festival. Four cities. Three countries. 26 September – 11 October 2026.
Jos · Lagos · Juba · Buea
RTI Lit Fest is not held in one place. It happens across several cities and countries at once, each with its own venue, its own line-up and its own local team, all built around a single theme. What began in 2023 as Readers' Meetup has reached 13 cities in 8 countries, a model no other literary festival on the continent is running. In 2026 it brings four chapters together: Jos and Lagos in Nigeria, Juba in South Sudan, and Buea in Cameroon. Entry is free everywhere.
Where the books we read meet the lives we live.
Fiction is often just reality, written down, sometimes plainly and sometimes in disguise. And life has a way of feeling scripted: the roles we are handed, the plots we did not choose, the endings that arrive on cue.
Scripted sits in that overlap. Across four cities, our authors, readers, psychologists, poets and debaters ask the same question in their own contexts: who is writing this, and what happens when we pick up the pen?
Each city takes the theme somewhere different: mental health in Buea, ambition and intimacy in Lagos. What feels scripted in Jos is not what feels scripted in Juba. That is the point of doing it this way.
Every chapter is free to attend and open to everyone. Register for the city nearest you.
Nigeria
Literature and Peace
Jos opens the festival in a reading garden, with writers whose books speak to peace and to life in Jos and its environs, a spoken word set from Joe Exalt, and a morning built for people who came to talk about books properly. The Jos team is also running a “Literature and Peace” book donation to two local schools alongside the public programme.
Nigeria
Ambition, hustle and love in a fast-paced city
Lagos is uniquely placed to script the reality of hustle and love in a city that never stops moving. Three novelists who live here on what ambition costs and what intimacy becomes when everything is transactional, plus a spoken word set and an open mic where readers name the books that scripted their own lives.
South Sudan
When Times Are Hard, Who Is Shaping Your Life?
Juba does it differently: no panels. A short opening, then small-group roundtables moving from reality to reflection to action, anchored by a moderated conversation with a South Sudanese author who has lived what the room is describing. Everyone leaves with one book to read and one thing to do in the next thirty days.
Cameroon
Mental Health and Literature
An afternoon where therapists and Cameroonian authors think out loud together about what reading and writing actually do for the mind: a keynote, ten quiet minutes of guided journaling, a formal debate, and games.
More names are announced through September. Follow @readtoimpact so you do not miss your city's.
Ebere Joy Ekekwe
Author of Lagos Sugar Baby
Lagos
Obase-Sam Ikoi
Author of The Comedian's Diary
Lagos
Sylva Nze Ifedigbo
Author of Believers and Hustlers
Lagos
Dr Daniela Nkemta
Medical doctor and clinical psychologist
Buea
Mme Nguty Stella Etoh-Nombo
Keynote · Mental and behavioural health therapist
Buea
David Onotu
Guest speaker
Jos
Izang Haruna
Guest speaker
Jos
Joe Exalt
Spoken word
Jos
Lisa Moses-Scouty
Guest speaker
Jos
Muyiwa Joseph
Guest speaker
Jos
Sam Samako
Guest speaker
Jos
The venues, wellbeing practices and booksellers making each chapter possible.
JosNigeria
Jarding Reading GardenVenue
Lightville Book Cafe
Jos Book Fair 2026JubaSouth Sudan
Scenius HubVenueBueaCameroon
DIBA Holistic Wellness Care
SECURE Mentorship
Safe Space Library Buea
Light's Book MarketInterested in partnering with RTI Lit Fest? Write to info@readtoimpact.org.
Entry is free at every chapter. Registering helps the local team plan seating and refreshments.
Photography. We photograph our events. At registration you can tell us not to photograph you, and you can change your mind at any point during the day.
Getting there. Each chapter is hosted by a local team. Venue directions are on your registration confirmation, and your city coordinator's number follows in a reminder the week of your chapter.
Accessibility. Tell us at registration what you need and the city coordinator will get in touch.
Under 18? Come with a guardian, who will sign you in at the desk.
RTI Lit Fest 2026 runs from 26 September to 11 October 2026 across four cities in three countries under the theme Scripted. Press are welcome at every chapter. For the press pack, high-resolution images, interviews with the Creative Director or City Coordinators, or accreditation, write to info@readtoimpact.org.
#RTILITFEST2026 · #Scripted
Four ways into RTI Lit Fest 2026, wherever you are.
Attend
Register for the city nearest you. Entry is free.
Volunteer
City teams need help on the day. Tell us where you are.
Exhibit
Booksellers and publishers can take a table at most chapters.
Partner
Brands and institutions reaching young African readers, get in touch.
13 cities. 8 countries. Since 2023, as Readers' Meetup.
The 2025 edition ran under the theme Pages and Perspectives.
