WOWFEST25: 25 Years of Radical Writing – A Festival Celebrating Storytelling and Social Change
Join Writing on the Wall for WoWFEST25, a month-long celebration in May 2025 that marks 25 years of radical writing and the transformative power of storytelling. This festival brings together a vibrant community of artists, writers, activists, and audiences—from longtime friends to first-time guests—to honor a legacy built on social justice and creative resistance.
Featured across a diverse lineup are renowned figures including Irvine Welsh, Frank Cottrell Boyce, The Singh Twins, Armando Iannucci, Michael Rosen, Jackie Kay, Jordan Stephens, Phil Scraton, Simon O’Brien, Mike Berners-Lee, Kit De Waal, Gary Younge, Brian Bilston, Henry Normal, Chris Nineham, Niheen Dasandi, Roger Hill, Yusuf Aliamal, Basma Ghalayini, Skinnyman, Anthony Anaxagorou, lisa luxx, Paddy Hillyard, and John Finucane.
Celebrating a journey that began in June 2000 during the Liverpool Dockers’ Lockout, WoWFEST25 is rooted in the spirit of activism and creative expression that has always defined Writing on the Wall. As co-directors Madeline Heneghan and Mike Morris remind us, the festival is both a tribute to the past and a call to continue using art and words as powerful agents for change in a world facing poverty, climate change, and human rights challenges.
Join Writing on the Wall in embracing the next chapter of radical writing—where storytelling challenges, inspires, and ignites the spark for a better tomorrow.