ESEA Lit Fest

The UK’s award-winning East and South East Asian literary festival

Joyful
Celebration
Thought
Provoking

Southbank Centre | Saturday 19th July
Edinburgh International Book Festival | Saturday 16th August
Foyles, Charing Cross Road | Saturday 20th September
Cheltenham Literature Festival | Sunday 19th October

A joyful, thought-provoking celebration of ESEA culture that’s open to all

Connections
Talks
Workshops
Food

What people are saying

“An amazing day… It was one of the very few occasions in my life so far where I was in a room with the majority filled by people who were from the East and South-East Asian community and I'm so glad that @eseapn has helped to create this space for us by putting this event together. I hope that this is just the start of an annual literary festival as yesterday definitely showed there's a need for one! ❤️”
WhatSallyReadNext
‘Incredible event… There was so much love and support throughout the whole day. In nearly twenty years of speaking at festivals, I’ve rarely been at one that has been so engaged and energetic.’
Tash Aw, author of Five Star Billionaire
‘An amazing and historic occasion… It was so meaningful to have the luxury of that space to just be without the limits of expectation that can come with being ESEA or a person of colour, to explore messiness and complexities and joy through the lens of literature. I was honoured to be a part of such a well-curated event.’
Helena Lee, founder and editor of East Side Voices
‘An outstanding and much needed literary festival.’
Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti
‘I felt quite emotional looking at the crowd... It’s wonderful to see the community you’re building now. I loved the fact the sessions were so thoughtfully put together… You’ve made something really special.’
Tania Branigan, author of Red Memory