Day Two of the Free Books Festival - come through for another brilliant day of film screenings, activations with Gymshark and Fujifilm, DJ sets, creative workshops, free food and books, our pop-up photography studio, author panels and so much more!
Our festival takes place across different spaces and rooms, see below for our full line-up of events all entirely free for you to attend!
The Playground
(10:30am - 11:30am) - Children’s Workshop
Glow in the Dark Orisa Mythology Event with author Maria Motunrayo Adebisi
Full of action, magic and eye-catching comic book-style illustrations, Maria Motunrayo Adebisi's novel Kòkú Àkànbí And The Heart Of Midnight is a thrilling tale of ancient tribes, dangerous demons and vengeful mermaids.
This interactive event will feature an introduction to the Orisa Gods, an exploration of Nigerian Mythology and a reading of an extract from the book by the author.
(12pm - 1pm)
Telling your own story - Reconnecting & Learning from our Elders with Cũcũ (Granny) Studios
Join Njerũ Danson Njoka on his journey reconnecting with Kenyan indigenous knowledge & language passed through storytelling from his 100yo cũcũ.
(1:30pm - 2:30pm)
More Than Just: Show & Tell x Minute Shorts
Spotlighting a collection of stories from across the regions, join us for a special screening of supercharged short films followed by an insightful chat with the powerhouses behind the scenes. This More Than Just session is powered by Minute Shorts.
(3pm - 4pm)
Gymshark
Join Gymshark’s fitness pros for a mid-festival wellness session.
(5pm - 6pm)
Back In Stock IRL - Featuring Christian Adofo + Special Guests.
Described as Desert Island Discs with All Purpose Seasoning, Back In Stock is a special in conversation series featuring guest - DJ Larizzle and poet Belinda Zhawi aka Ma.Moyo - from the African and Caribbean diaspora across music and culture. This special one IRL edition hosted by writer Christian Adofo uses our guests favourite riddims as a vehicle for storytelling from childhood,heritage,creativity and more
(6:45pm - 8pm)
Sampha x Caleb Femi: In-Conversation
Please note, this event is ticketed separately. Saturday tickets will not get you entry to the headline event. Please see ticket site for separate tickets. (Event 18+).
Kora Performance by Kadialy Kouyate at 6:45pm - 7pm
Sponsored by VAMP, Tallawah, Chivas Regal, Daily Paper & FANE
(8:15pm - 10:00pm)
4 The Floor: Official Festival Shoobs
DJ Sets Featuring HAGAN, Adesuwa + Kwame (Christian Adofo)
A special shoobs with sounds from across the Black Atlantic to start your Saturday night off righteously. Get your stretches in, spray some WD40 on your joints (don’t take this literally ah beg) and get ready for the floor. (Event 18+)
Sponsored by VAMP, Tallawah, Chivas Regal, Daily Paper & FANE
Activity Space
(11am - 3pm)
Summer is Ours Photography Studio Pop-Up
Come and get your portraits taken by the team behind Summer is Ours. You’ll get to personalise your very own instax and take them home with you!
Free Bookstore
(11am - 5pm)
Finding Diverse Books for Children with Inclusive Books for Children
Join Inclusive Books for Children (IBC) librarian, Janet Nobel, to learn how to find the best diverse books for children of all backgrounds and help make it easier to find inclusive stories for your bookshelves.
Belly Full: Culture, Food and Storytelling Stage
(1pm - 2pm)
Senegalese Supper Club: Food, Culture and Storytelling with Jami Ceesay
Join Jami Ceesay to explore cooking, culture and storytelling in Senegal - grab a plate of Jollof and hear some delicious stories of heritage, tradition and passing on our recipes.
(3pm - 4pm)
Tatale: Cooking Ghanaian Food & Storytelling
Join Akwasi Brenya-Mensa, the brilliant chef behind the delicious Tatale - a contemporary
Pan-African concept, telling stories through food, art and heritage for an in conversation with some bites for you all to enjoy!
(5pm - 6pm)
Creative Translation Workshop & Hotpot with Tilted Axis
Publisher of translated texts, Tilted Axis will take you through the process of translating storytelling using extracts in different languages, learn how to translate line by line.
Creative Debuts
(1pm - 2pm) - Childrens Workshop
Mama’s Sleeping Scarf - Illustration & Reading with Joelle Avelino
Join award winning illustrator Joelle Avelino for a fun-filled storytelling event, reading Mama’s Sleeping Scarf followed by a 'draw along' for the whole family to enjoy!
(3pm -4pm)
Clay Vibes with Motions of Clay
Join Ceramic artist and tutor Ronaldo Wiltshire for a relaxing and enjoyable pottery workshop! Experience the tactile pleasure of working with clay and the intuitive process of shaping it into beautiful finished pieces. You can even take your creations home and decorate with acrylic paints.
(5pm - 6pm) - Teenage / Young Adult Girls
Exploring Girlhood, Unleashing Creative Expression
Led by authors and producers from Milk Honey Bees the workshop will use creative expression through art, writing and film to showcase how Black Girlhood can be seen and heard. The workshop will also be a chance to hear and respond to essays from our book Girlhood Unfiltered and watch our short film See Us Hear Us.
The Library Stage
(10:30am - 11:30am) - Children’s Event
Memory Makers: Create Your Own Storybook
Windrush Wonders: Tales and Travel and Triumph is a children’s book that tells the true tales of three individuals from the Windrush Generation who left their homes in the Caribbean for greater opportunities in the UK. Join Kamilah McInnis - the author - and Kenya Josiah - the illustrator - for a two-hour inter-generational workshop where children and their parents come together to create a unique mini storybook. Children will interview their parents to learn about their lives, and then capture these stories through art and writing.
(12:30pm - 1:30pm) - Children’s Workshop & Reaading
Sunflower Crafting Workshop & Reading with Lanisha Butterfield
Join fantastic debut author Lanisha Butterfield for a reading from her beautiful new book Flower Block, followed by a workshop exploring the book’s joyful, powerful themes, with magical sunflower craft activities.
(2:30pm - 3:30pm) - Children’s Workshop
Harness Your Superpowers with Janelle McCurdy
Join author and avid gamer Janelle McCurdy as she introduces her epic fantasy series, Mia and the Lightcasters.
Mia always dreamed of being an umbra tamer until she met the wild creature on the Nightmare Plains. Since that day, she prefers to stay safe within the walls of Nubis. Safe, that is, until a surprise attack. With her parents captured, Mia’s only hope is to travel to the City of Light. But with only her little brother, two friends and one solitary tamed umbra, the journey feels impossible. Mia has to overcome her fears and learn to harness her umbra-taming abilities if they are to complete the quest in time.
In this workshop, you'll discover how to harness your own superpowers by writing stories with fun characters inspired by video games, films and more. Plus, learn how to hone your umbra-taming abilities by creating your very own umbra!
(4pm - 5pm)
Diaspora Debuts with Tawseef Khan and Rajasree Variyar
Join our panel discussion with Tawseef Khan, author of Determination, and Rajasree Variyar, author of The Daughters of Madurai, as they unpack their illuminating debut novels exploring belonging, identity, and the burden of expectation. Hosted by Jyoti Patel, they’ll dissect the intricacies of their process, and how they claim space writing about diaspora communities.
Think Tank
(12pm - 1pm)
In Transit - A Materclass into How Immersive Sound Can Be Used to Create Deeper Meaning & Nuance in Literature
A creative duo, Chad Orororo (Emmy-Nominated Sound Designer) and Samir Ishmael (Poet) are combining their creative minds to offer a masterclass into a literature listening experience. There has been surge of new possibilities for the modern audio book experience; Scripted audiobooks. As a result, listeners are being transported to a new world of immersion while being giving the visual freedom to create their own picture narrative by imagination. Chad and Samir invite you on a journey of further immersion with the additive elements of creative sound.
(1:30pm - 2:30pm) - Children's Workshop
Illustration Workshop with Chanté Timothy
Join talented Author and Illustrator Chante Timothy’s drawing workshop, where you’ll learn the building blocks of character design by exploring shape and design to create your own superhero character.
(3:30pm - 4:30pm)
Opinion Writing: Communicating your Story with Sophia Leonie
How to find and develop the opinion writer in you.
The Front Room
(3pm - 4pm)
The story of Wax: Vinyl DJ workshop
Turn off that sync button and join Celeste Delarue for an hour of vinyl history, record collection show & tell, and the basics of mixing on wax. I’ll let you in on my best beat matching tips, the origins of vinyl and some sweet tunes to top it all off.
(All Weekend: 10:00am - 6:00pm)
Tapestry Weaving with Synonym Lab
Interactive pop-up installation for all to take part in throughout the weekend.
(All Weekend: 10:00am - 6:00pm)
Ninentendo Gaming Station
Come play some games and relax in our Front Room space!
(All Weekend)
Caleb Femi: Before Today Endz II (Exhibition)
A documentation of Deptford through a surrealist lens by Caleb Femi.
(All Weekend)
Summer is Ours (Exhibition)
Documenting Black British London, Summer is Ours is a visual archive of our summers.