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Free the Word!: A celebration of world literature
Meet the great writers you know and the great writers you don't... Come and feast upon a weekend of events that promises to engage.
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Sacred Land: A Place Called Home
A conversation across seas and cultures about the land rights of indigenous people and giving voice to a place called home.
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The Writer Next Door
Egyptian author Alaa Al Aswany speaks out on translation, engaged literature and why being a dentist makes him a better writer.
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Moving Words Literary Walk

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Found in Translation 1
Emine Sevgi Özdamar discusses her novel 'The Bridge of the Golden Horn'
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International Poetry
How can politics, poetry and life journeys come together to form new and powerful languages?
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Found in Translation 2
Sjón will be in conversation with Victoria Cribb, the translator of his novella, ‘The Blue Fox’
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The Rights of the Reader
A celebration of the liberating power of stories and storytelling - three writers discuss how the world can act as a library for the imagination.
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The Insulting Cabaret
Got a favourite insult or banned work? To insult or not to insult - where do you draw the line?
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A Short History of Sedition
A journey through the writings and experiences of literary dissidents - Francisco Goldman, Perihan Magden and Abdellah Taïa.
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Faïza & Friends
Faïza will be giving a different spin to the festival theme, The Writer Next Door - talking about insiders, outsiders, and building a home in language.
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Festival in a Thimble
If you can only attend one event at Free the Word!, step inside our ‘thimble' to savour the highlights.
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Meet the Playwright
Iraqi playwright Hassan Abdulrazzak in conversation with Mike Bartlett, ('Artefacts'), and Andrew Steggall, director of The Old Vic's British-Iraqi bilingual version of 'The Soldier's Tale'.
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International Futures
International Futures gets right to the heart of International PEN's work, celebrating the great writers you know and the great writers you don't.
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Enchanted Endings
Rushdie will discuss his latest novel ‘The Enchantress of Florence’, as well as strong female protagonists and the role of the imagination in fiction.
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