The British pop star will lead the 2026 London literature festival in collaboration with her Service95 book club, as part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary celebrations
Brit award-winning pop star Dua Lipa is to curate this year’s London literature festival at the Southbank Centre, organisers have announced.
The festival, now in its 19th year, will run from 21 October to 1 November, with Lipa shaping a programme of events across the opening weekend and beyond in collaboration with her Service95 book club. The news comes as part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary programme and during the UK’s National Year of Reading.
Lipa, who launched the book club in 2023 as an extension of her wider cultural platform Service95, has increasingly established herself as a prominent advocate for reading. Through monthly selections and long-form author interviews, she has sought to spotlight established writers and emerging voices, including podcast interviews with Margaret Atwood, George Saunders and Olga Tokarczuk.
“Reading has anchored me through every chapter of my life – from being the new kid at school in a new country to finding quiet refuge on tour,” Lipa said. “Curating the Southbank Centre’s London literature festival is a dream come true. I’m thrilled to indulge one of my greatest obsessions: books and the brilliant minds behind them.”
