This year’s edition of the festival will be headlined by Chuma Nwokolo and Cheluchi Onyemelukwe.
By Hope Ibiale
The organisers of the Second edition of the Umuofia Arts and Books Festival have announced that this year’s edition will be held in Enugu from July 31st-August 3rd, 2024. This year’s edition of the festival will be headlined by Chuma Nwokolo and Cheluchi Onyemelukwe. Other confirmed appearances include Cheluchi Onyemelukwe, Carl Terver, Chimezie Chika, Emmanuel Esomnofu, Chinua Ezenwa, Professor Onye Egwu, and many others.
The festival will feature book readings, book signings, art exhibitions, film screenings, drama performances, and panel discussions on topical issues bordering the arts, politics, philosophy, technology, and sciences.

The festival venues are Centre for Memories, 2, Awgwu Street, off Umuoji Street, Independence Layout, Enugu, and 9B Nza St, Independence Layout, Enugu 400001, Enugu.
According to its founder, the novelist and journalist, Michael Chiedoziem Chukwudera, the move to Enugu is part of the vision that the festival should be held in every city in Igbo land at some point.
“Umuofia, as represented in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, is an insignia for the whole of Africa which was colonised, and if you study world literature, it goes even beyond Africa. In this way, we think the festival is a global one, especially one that represents the literary values of colonised people trying to make sense of their realities through art. So if we rotate the festival across Africa or even beyond, it is valid. This is what we are trying to begin in Igbo land. At some point, we hope to hold an edition in Owerri, Abakaliki, Asaba, Umuahia and so on”.

This year, the Umuofia Arts and Books Festival looks forward to being a convergence of creative minds from all over the world, exploring and discussing the continuous impact of artistic and cultural awareness on society.