Dua Lipa To Curate 2026 London Lit Fest

Pop polymath Dua Lipa is adding another line to her ever-expanding résume — this time as a literary tastemaker. The Grammy- and BRIT-winning star has been tapped to curate the 2026 edition of the London Literature Festival at Southbank Centre, marking a high-profile collision of global pop and the written word.

Running Oct. 21 through Nov. 1, the 19th annual event will see Lipa take the reins for opening weekend (Oct. 24–25) while shaping programming across the full slate in collaboration with her Service95 Book Club. Lipa’s role is part of Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary celebrations and the U.K.’s National Year of Reading, positioning her role both as a curator and cultural bridge between pop audiences and literary spaces.

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Since launching Service95 in 2023, Lips has turned her book club into a global platform, pairing monthly selections with in-depth author conversations and using her reach to spotlight issues like censorship, access and marginalized readers. “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,” she said in a statement. “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. I can’t wait to dive into the imaginations of some of my favorite authors in one of London’s most iconic cultural spaces.”

Details on the lineup and ticketing are still under wraps, but organizers promise a mix of established heavyweights and emerging voices, plus free events aimed at widening access. The festival slots into a stacked anniversary program featuring “You Are Here,” a large-scale collaboration involving Danny Boyle, Paulette Randall, Gareth Pugh, and Carson McColl, the Harry Styles-curated Meltdown concert series (the lineup for which has yet to be revealed) and a major exhibition from Anish Kapoor at the Hayward Gallery.

As previously reported, Lipa continues to work on her next studio album and has also been cast in the A24 film Peaked, which centers on “the two girls who traumatized you in high school” attempting to recapture their former glory at a 10-year reunion. It co-stars Emma Mackey, Laura Dern, Heated Rivalry‘s Connor Storrie and Simone Ashley and was written and directed by Molly Gordon (The Bear, Oh, Hi!).

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