Award-winning Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been named the headliner of the 2025 edition of the Things Fall Apart Festival, a week-long literary celebration dedicated to honouring the life and works of the legendary Chinua Achebe. The festival, scheduled to run from June 29 to July 5, will be hosted at the Centre for Memories in Enugu, Nigeria.

The Centre for Memories, the principal organiser of the annual event, announced Adichie’s participation in an enthusiastic social media post on Tuesday, expressing excitement over her return to Enugu for this major cultural occasion. The post described the globally renowned writer as “one of the most powerful literary voices of our time” and hailed her upcoming role in the festival as a homecoming celebration of both legacy and literature.

Honouring Achebe’s Influence

The Things Fall Apart Festival pays homage to Chinua Achebe, whose 1958 novel Things Fall Apart became a seminal text in African literature and has since inspired generations of writers, including Adichie herself. Achebe’s profound exploration of culture, colonialism, and identity remains central to literary discourse across the world.

According to the organisers, Adichie will lead a keynote reflection on the art of storytelling, the importance of cultural heritage, and the evolving dialogue between history and identity in African literature. Her appearance comes shortly after her successful global tour for her most recent book, Dream Count, further heightening anticipation for her participation.

The theme for this year’s festival — “Masculine, Feminine, Human: The Dialogue of Complements in Things Fall Apart” — will anchor all discussions, performances, and workshops throughout the week. It draws attention to Achebe’s portrayal of gender, societal roles, and the human condition, with Adichie expected to offer deep insights on these topics, especially given her body of work that interrogates gender dynamics and cultural complexity.

A Week of Culture, Conversation, and Creativity

The festival promises a robust lineup of events that blend traditional art forms with modern technologies to engage audiences of all ages. Highlights of the week-long programme include:

• Dramatic Performances inspired by Things Fall Apart, bringing to life key scenes and themes from Achebe’s classic novel.

• Tech-driven Storytelling, which will use digital tools to reinterpret historical narratives and cultural memory.

• Art Exhibitions showcasing visual interpretations of Achebe’s work and Igbo traditions.

• Film Screenings that explore post-colonial African societies and literary adaptations.

• Memory Walks, allowing participants to engage physically and emotionally with the historical and cultural roots of the stories being celebrated.

• Youth Programmes aimed at nurturing the next generation of storytellers and thinkers.

• A Reimagined Umuofia Village Experience, offering immersive storytelling and live reenactments of life in pre-colonial Igbo society.

• Essay Competitions and Saloon-style Conversations, designed to provoke dialogue and critical thinking around Achebe’s work and its relevance today.

A Symbolic Homecoming

Adichie’s presence at the festival carries immense symbolic weight. Born in Enugu and raised in Nsukka — where Chinua Achebe once lived and taught — Adichie has often credited Achebe with inspiring her path as a writer. She famously once said, “Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart changed my life. It was the first time I encountered characters who looked like me, spoke like me, and lived in a world I could recognize.”

By headlining the festival in her home region, Adichie’s participation not only underscores Achebe’s enduring influence but also highlights her own role in extending the legacy of Nigerian storytelling to a global audience. Her internationally acclaimed novels — including Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, and Americanah — have continued the work of situating African narratives within global literature, just as Achebe did decades before.

Organisers’ Vision

Speaking about the importance of this year’s edition, festival organisers at the Centre for Memories emphasized the goal of reclaiming and celebrating indigenous voices, reinterpreting history through art and literature, and inspiring younger generations to value their heritage.

They also noted that the choice of Adichie as the festival’s central figure aligns with their vision of promoting intellectual engagement with Africa’s past, present, and future. Her insights on gender, identity, and cultural memory align perfectly with the festival’s theme, offering audiences an opportunity to critically engage with Things Fall Apart through a contemporary lens.

Looking Ahead

With Adichie’s participation and a vibrant schedule of cultural programming, the 2025 Things Fall Apart Festival is poised to be one of the most memorable editions to date. It serves as both a tribute to Chinua Achebe’s monumental influence and a celebration of Nigeria’s literary and cultural renaissance.

As literature lovers, scholars, artists, and culture enthusiasts prepare to gather in Enugu for the festival, the occasion also reaffirms the enduring power of storytelling — not only to reflect identity but to shape it. In bringing together voices from the past and present, the festival echoes Achebe’s belief that storytelling is a tool for reclaiming dignity, history, and humanity.