The city of Porto has long been a place where literature extends beyond the page. Its steep, cobbled streets and riverside setting have inspired writers, artists and cultural thinkers across centuries, while perhaps the world’s most beautiful bookshop, Livraria Lello, opened there in 1906. Now, as the store celebrates its 120th anniversary, the city is building on that legacy with BABELL, a new literary and cultural festival taking place across Porto from 24–29 June.
Conceived by Fundação Livraria Lello, the inaugural festival will transform the city’s streets, squares and cultural institutions into stages for conversation, creativity and debate. Across five days of talks, exhibitions, performances and concerts, internationally renowned writers and thinkers – including Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Olga Tokarczuk, Conceição Evaristo and artist Ai Weiwei – will join local voices in exploring themes of power, identity, memory, culture and the stories that shift and shape our world.
In a world-first initiative inspired by Livraria Lello’s own model – where you must purchase a voucher to enter, fully redeemable on a book in-store – access to festival sessions is granted through the purchase of books from participating bookshops across the city. A fitting reminder that at BABELL, books aren‘t just at the centre of the conversation, they’re the ticket in.
Whether you’re joining us in Porto for BABELL or following along from afar, these are the 14 events, speakers and cultural moments we’re most looking forward to.
1. Visit To Livraria Lello
Wednesday 24 June, 14:30, Livraria Lello
With its soaring bookshelves, stained-glass ceiling and carved wooden staircase, Livraria Lello is reason enough to visit Porto. It’s also the perfect spot to begin your festival experience.
2. Opening Lecture By Alberto Manguel
Wednesday 24 June, 21:30, Theatre Rivoli
Set the tone for the week ahead with acclaimed writer and literary critic Alberto Manguel, who opens the festival with a reflection on the history of the written word and the enduring power of reading.
3. Opening Of Gestures Of Love By Kelly Santos
Thursday 25 June, 11:00, Almeida Garrett Municipal Library
The opening of Kelly Santos’ new exhibition offers a glimpse into BABELL’s wider cultural programme, which extends far beyond the written word.
4. GNR, Pedro Abrunhosa and Rui Veloso in Concert
Thursday 25 June, 21:30, Aliados Avenue
Three celebrated Portuguese music acts, one night of music: singer-songwriters Rui Veloso and Pedro Abrunhosa and rock band GNR join forces for a concert in the heart of the city.
5. Conceição Evaristo and Milton Hatoum
Friday 26 June, 16:00, Saint Ildefonso Square
What happens when writing becomes an act of memory and resistance? Two of Brazil’s most celebrated literary voices come together to discuss.
6. Bibllioterra
Saturday 27 June, 09:30, Crystal Palace Gardens
Start the morning in the picturesque Crystal Palace Gardens alongside authors, storytellers, illustrators and performers for Bibllioterra, a celebration of storytelling in all its forms.
7. Poetry To Power
Saturday 27 June, 12:00, Porto City Hall
Poetry takes centre stage as local poets read from the balcony of Porto City Hall. This open-air celebration of the spoken word, curated by Rui Spranger, sees poetry spill out into the city streets.
8. Margaret Atwood In Conversation With Tânia Ganho
Saturday 27 June, 16:00, Gomes Teixeira Square
A chance to hear from one of the most influential writers of our time. Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale (Dua’s Monthly Read for November 2025), sits down with author Tânia Ganho for one of the festival’s most anticipated conversations.
9. Literary Session With Olga Tokarczuk
Saturday 27 June, 18:00, Gomes Teixeira Square
Nobel Prize-winning author Olga Tokarczuk is celebrated for her imaginative, genre-defying fiction (including Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead, Dua’s Monthly Read for January 2025). This is a rare opportunity to see her speak live.
10. Performance by Cai Guo-Qiang
Saturday 27 June, 20:15, Ribeira do Porto / Gaia Waterfront
Artist Cai Guo-Qiang takes over Porto's waterfront for a large-scale creative intervention using gunpowder, colour and time.
11. Dwayne Betts in Conversation with Raquel Marinho
Sunday 28 June, 14:30, Gomes Teixeira Square (Lions' Square)
Few writers explore questions of justice, identity and transformation as powerfully as Reginald Dwayne Betts. Covering how the poet, lawyer and memoirist’s work is shaped by his lived experience of incarceration, this talk is not to be missed.
12. László Krasznahorkai in Conversation with Pedro Abrunhosa
Sunday 28 June, 18:30, Gomes Teixeira Square (Lions' Square)
László Krasznahorkai’s novels demand complete immersion, rewarding readers with rich, unsettling worlds that linger long after the final page. We’'re curious to hear the Hungarian author, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, discuss his craft, influences and approach to storytelling.
13. Salman Rushdie in Conversation with Alberto Manguel
Sunday 28 June, 21:30, Porto Coliseum
Salman Rushdie has blurred the boundaries between history, myth and imagination, creating novels where reality and invention coexist. He’s joined by anthologist, translator and novelist Alberto Manguel, to look back across his expansive career, spanning more than four decades.
14. Forum: Reading, Citizenship & Libraries
Monday 29 June, 14:00, Almeida Garrett Municipal Library Auditorium
A fitting way to round out the festival. This timely discussion explores the role reading, libraries and cultural institutions play in public life, getting to the heart of many of the ideas and questions running through BABELL’s programme.
