One of Britain’s most acclaimed novelists, Zadie Smith, joins Dua Lipa for a special conversation celebrating the enduring legacy of her landmark debut novel, White Teeth.
Published in 2000 when Smith was just 24, White Teeth became one of the defining British novels of its generation and established her as a major new literary voice.
Set largely in north-west London, the novel follows the intertwined lives of the Jones and Iqbal families, exploring friendship, immigration, race, religion, family and what it means to belong in modern Britain.
The story moves between generations and cultures, reflecting the experiences of families whose histories stretch from Britain to Jamaica, Bangladesh and beyond.
More than 25 years after its publication, White Teeth remains an important work in contemporary Black British literature, helping to broaden the range of voices, families and communities represented at the centre of mainstream British fiction.
For this London Literature Festival event, Smith looks back at the novel with the perspective of an author whose career has since encompassed fiction, essays, criticism, theatre and short stories.
In conversation with Dua Lipa, she will discuss the extraordinary success of her first novel, its portrayal of multicultural London and how the lives of its characters might look in Britain today.
The conversation will also explore what it means for a writer to live with the legacy of a book written so early in their career and how Smith’s relationship with White Teeth has changed over the intervening years.
Born and raised in Willesden, north-west London, Smith has gone on to become one of the most influential British writers of her generation, with novels including On Beauty, NW, Swing Time and The Fraud.
The event will be recorded live for the Service95 Book Club podcast.
Dua Lipa & Zadie Smith: White Teeth takes place at the Royal Festival Hall on Saturday 24th October 2026 at 3:00pm, with an approximate running time of 1 hour 15 minutes.
Age guidance is 15+.
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