Mahi Binebine on Ambitions for 4th Marrakech African Book Festival

The 4th edition of the Festival du livre africain à Marrakech (FLAM) runs from April 23 to 25, 2026, in Marrakech, Morocco. Founded in 2023 by Moroccan writer and painter Mahi Binebine, the festival gathers nearly thirty authors from Africa, the Maghreb, sub-Saharan Africa, and the diaspora. Featured guests include Nobel laureate Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, Alain Mabanckou, Christiane Taubira, and Yanick Lahens. Binebine, interviewed by Catherine Fruchon-Toussaint, describes FLAM as a space for critical reflection, celebration, and reconnecting African voices. The program includes debates, roundtables, writing workshops, masterclasses, literary breakfasts, nighttime literary events, music performances, readings, an inaugural lecture, a major interview, a pop-up bookstore, storytelling mornings, book signings, and a high school student prize. A strong focus is placed on youth, with dedicated programming to foster critical thinking and cultural access. Binebine emphasizes that FLAM aims to reposition Africa as a legitimate center of creativity and thought, engaging with contemporary challenges while addressing historical silences and complex legacies.