Wisconsin Book Festival Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Focus on African Literature

Among the festival's diverse programming are two key sessions featuring African literature. Ainehi Edoro-Glines, a Nigerian literary scholar, will present her debut book, *Forest Imaginaries: How African Novels Think*, on October 15 at 5:30 PM in Central Library’s Lower-Level Program Room. In discussion with Raquel Kennon, Edoro-Glines will explore how African writers utilize the forest not just as a setting but as a dynamic space for challenging traditional literary structures. The book, set to release in January 2026, examines the narrative significance of the forest in works by authors such as Chinua Achebe, Wọlé Ṣóyíinká, and Nnedi Okorafor. Edoro-Glines is currently the Mellon-Morgridge Assistant Professor of English and African Cultural Studies at UW–Madison and the founder of Brittle Paper.

Michael Imossan will follow on October 17, appearing from 3 to 4 PM in the same room for a panel titled “Histories & Self-Discovery: Writing the African Diaspora,” alongside poet Kiki Petrosino and moderator Maryhilda Obasiota Ibe, a fellow Nigerian poet and UW–Madison MFA candidate. Imossan will discuss his Sillerman Prize-winning collection *All That Refuses to Die*, due out in March 2026. The collection engages with African historical narratives, including themes of the Biafran War and ongoing exploitation, through a lens that questions the interpretation of past and present. Imossan is also a current MFA student at UW–Madison and a two-time recipient of the PEN International Writers’ Grant. Attendees of the session will receive free copies of both *Perfect Italian* by Petrosino and *All That Refuses to Die*.

This year, UW–Madison’s Creative Writing program will feature prominently at the festival, with faculty and alumni contributing to at least eight new titles set for 2026. For complete event details and the venue schedule, visit wisconsinbookfestival.org.