Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival The Hague announces the first names of foreign authors in attendance. From Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 January 2026, more than a hundred writers and poets will perform. The festival presents recitals, stories, poetry, spoken word, film and music in theatres, libraries and schools throughout The Hague.
Pankaj Mishra, one of the most important writers of our time. His books include The Romantics, Age of Anger and From the Ruins of Empire. He contributes political and literary essays to the Guardian, the London Review of Books, the New York Review of Books and the New Yorker. He recently published The World After Gaza: A History. During the festival, Mishra will speak about geopolitical issues, neo-colonialism, inequality and the rise of the radical right. (pictured above, photo: Maya Mishra)
Leïla Slimani won the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 2016 for Lullaby (US title: The Perfect Nanny). She draws on her own family's inspiring story for the novel trilogy The Country of Others (part 1), Watch Us Dance (part 2) and J’emporterai le feu (part 3, to be published in English translation). Starting off in part 1 during Morocco’s intense struggle for independence with French-born Mathilde and her Moroccan husband finding themselves caught in the crossfire, the story continues in part 2 during the 1960s. On the cusp of adulthood, two biracial siblings search for their place in a newly independent Morocco brimming with both possibility and peril. In her work, Slimani writes about female sexuality and autonomy; she denounces the oppression of female sexuality and the double sexual morality towards women.
Kim Hyesoon is a Korean poet, essayist and critic. Physicality and mortality are important themes in her work, but emancipation and freedom, as well as references to historical and socio-political issues, are also central to her unconventional poetry collections. She is one of South Korea's most important modern poets and has won numerous literary awards. The festival features a programme dedicated to her poetry.
José Eduardo Agualusa is an important voice from Africa and from the Portuguese-speaking world. The novels of the Angolan-born author, are appreciated for the way in which he addresses themes such as colonialism, politics and cultural identity. In 2024 he published his latest novel Master of Drums, to be published in January 2026 in Dutch titled Meester van de trommels.
More participants will be announced in the coming months. The full festival programme will be available at writersunlimited.nl from the beginning of December.
The 31st festival edition focuses on the body in literature. “Let's get physical” is the motto of the Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival 2026. For four days, we will explore how writers and poets give the body a place in their work – as a source of desire, vulnerability, identity and resistance.
At a time when autonomy over our bodies and freedom of expression are increasingly under pressure, we will discuss current themes such as gender, violence, health, well-being, freedom and sexuality. We also want to celebrate the body, with a focus on food, the representation of the body in visual arts, and dance and music.
Let yourself be carried away by conversations with writers from home and abroad, prose and poetry readings, music, films and spoken word. And, just as importantly, readers and writers can meet each other in person during this festival full of dialogue, depth and inspiration.
At the heart of the festival programme are two grand, varied evenings at Theater aan het Spui and Filmhuis Den Haag: Friday Night Unlimited on 23 January and Saturday Night Unlimited on 24 January. Visitors can choose their own route through dozens of performances on five stages. There will be interviews about new books and recitals of poetry, prose and spoken word, film screenings and musical performances.
The foyer of Theater aan het Spui is the central meeting place with performances, drinks, meet & greets with authors and books for sale on display tables by Boekhandel De Vries Van Stockum.
In collaboration with the Literatuurmuseum, Writers Unlimited will present the Hague Literature Prizes on Saturday afternoon, 24 January, with festive performances. Lieke Marsman will receive the Constantijn Huijgens Prize 2025 for her oeuvre. The winners of the other prizes will be announced later this autumn by the Literatuurmuseum.
The festival offers free performances and public interviews with authors in the Schilderswijk, Nieuw Waldeck and Ypenburg neighbourhood libraries and at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, as well as a storytelling session for students and all interested at the Institute of Social Studies. Writers will visit secondary schools for closed meetings with pupils.
Writers Unlimited actively supports young and new writing talent: Het Zwarte Schaap, a platform for spoken word and spoken literature, and poetry collective FFÛH – both from The Hague – will present themselves with performances. Pupils from secondary schools in The Hague will write a Very Short Story and recite it at the festival.
Ticket sales have already started for both major festival evenings, Friday Night Unlimited and Saturday Night Unlimited. Tickets are available at writersunlimited.nl until 26 December at a reduced Early Bird rate; young people up to the age of 30 always pay an extra low admission price.
In early December, Writers Unlimited will publish the complete festival programme with programme descriptions, schedules and profiles of all authors and artists.
Writers Unlimited brings together writers, poets, spoken word artists, thinkers and scientists from all over the world to talk to each other and our audiences about current topics, literature, poetry, art, science and society. Annually at the Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival in The Hague, throughout the year in Writers Series conversations at various locations in The Hague, and 24/7 in the freely accessible YouTube channel videos with hundreds of conversations and performances.
Writers Unlimited has been organising the International Literature Festival The Hague since 1995. Tens of thousands of visitors have attended discussions and readings by writers and poets on current topics. The festival has grown into one of the most important international literary events in the Netherlands. Under the motto “The floor is yours”, Writers Unlimited has involved literature in the national and international social debate.
The activities of Writers Unlimited are made possible in part by subsidies from the Municipality of The Hague and the Dutch Foundation for Literature, contributions from various private funds, media partners VPRO and De Groene Amsterdammer, and partners in The Hague such as the Literatuurmuseum, Mauritshuis, Huis van het Boek, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Social Studies, Bibliotheek Den Haag, Laaktheater, Theater en filmhuis Dakota, Het Zwarte Schaap, PIP/De Situatie, Mensen Zeggen Dingen, Paard and FFÛH.
About Writers Unlimited
Writers Unlimited brengt schrijvers, journalisten, denkers, dichters, artiesten én hun publiek samen in het Writers Unlimited Internationaal Literatuurfestival Den Haag en in programma's op locatie in Den Haag ('Writers Series). Tijdens die ontmoetingen wisselen ze hun literaire werk, hun ervaringen, dromen en ideeën uit over grenzen van culturen en talen.
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Writers Unlimited connects writers, journalists, scholars, poets and artists with their audiences, across borders of cultures and countries, in the annual Writers Unlimited International Literature Festival The Hague and in monthly literary events on location in The Hague (Writers Series). During those encounters, they exchange - before an audience and amongst each other - their work, their experiences, dreams and ideas. In all languages and cultural diversity.