Acclaimed American author Ta-Nehisi Coates joins writer and political analyst Tareq Baconi for a major London Literature Festival conversation about freedom, justice, colonialism and the continuing struggle for Palestinian rights.
The event marks the paperback launch of Coates’ international bestseller The Message alongside a first look at Baconi’s new book, What Now: On Palestine, Freedom, and Our Global Future.
Coates is one of the most influential Black American writers and public intellectuals of his generation. His work has explored race, history, inequality and the long legacy of slavery and segregation in the United States.
He is perhaps best known for Between the World and Me, written as a letter to his son about the realities of being Black in America. The book became an international bestseller and won the National Book Award for Nonfiction.
In The Message, Coates turns his attention to the power of stories and the ways societies construct narratives about race, identity and history. Drawing on journeys to Senegal, South Carolina and the occupied Palestinian territories, the book asks difficult questions about who gets to tell history and how those stories shape public understanding.
For this Southbank Centre event, Coates is joined by Tareq Baconi, whose new book What Now: On Palestine, Freedom, and Our Global Future examines the Palestinian struggle and considers its wider implications for ideas of freedom, justice and decolonisation in the twenty-first century.
The conversation will be chaired by Nesrine Malik, a Guardian columnist and author, and will explore the themes raised by both books, including race, colonialism, political power and the role of writers in challenging established narratives.
For Black History Month audiences, Coates’ appearance provides an opportunity to hear directly from a major Black writer whose work has reshaped contemporary conversations around race, history and power.
The event is presented in cooperation with the Palestine Festival of Literature and in association with the Service95 Book Club.
Ta-Nehisi Coates & Tareq Baconi: On Freedom takes place at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, on Wednesday 21st October 2026 at 7:30pm.
The approximate running time is 1 hour 15 minutes, tickets start from £29, and the event is recommended for ages 15+.
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