Liverpool’s WoWFEST 2025 starts – celebrating 25 years of radical writing
Published on
Liverpool’s longest running annual literary festival WoWFEST starts today, Thursday 1 May 2025.
On until Friday 30 May, WoWFEST 2025 celebrates 25 years of radical writing, bold ideas, and transformative conversations.
This year, the University of Liverpool is once again proud to partner with Writing on the Wall (WoW) to present a series of powerful events, hosted at the Victoria Gallery & Museum (VG&M).
Dr Matt Greenhall, Director of Libraries, Museums and Galleries, University of Liverpool, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Writing on the Wall (WoW) and to be supporting this year’s WoWFest. Hosting these festival events is a great example of how our spaces and services can enable and inspire discussion, collaboration and debate, with people from across the city and beyond. We’re proud to be supporting WoWFest and look forward to welcoming festival attendees to the Victoria Gallery & Museum.”
Events include:
Phil Scraton: Bearing Witness to the ‘Pain of Others’; Public Inquiries, Independent Panels, Holding Institutions to Account
Tuesday 6 May 2025, 7–9pm
VG&M, Ashton Street, L69 3DR
£7.00
Phil Scraton, renowned for his work on Hillsborough and deaths in custody, explores five decades of research exposing institutional failures—from police brutality to state cover-ups. Drawing on his work with families and survivors, he reflects on truth, accountability, and the role of critical research in driving justice.
Levi Tafari: Book Launch ‘Being Human’
Friday 9 May 2025, 7–9pm
VG&M, Ashton Street, L69 3DR
£5.00
Join acclaimed poet and performer Levi Tafari as he launches his new collection Being Human. Expect a powerful evening of poetry exploring identity, humanity, and resilience. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience a truly dynamic artist who has helped shape the cultural landscape of Liverpool and beyond. The event includes a Q&A and book signing.
The Man who Photobombed de Gaulle with Gary Younge
Friday 16 May 2025, 7–9pm
VG&M, Ashton Street, L69 3DR
£10.00
2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end Second World War. Author and journalist Gary Younge revisits a WWII photograph to expose how Black contributions to the war have been erased from history. Younge will ‘explore a range of mythologies about who fought and what they were fighting for’ and what that tells us about Europe as a whole and how Black people’s presence here is misunderstood.
For more information and to book tickets to our other events across the Liverpool City Region visit https://writingonthewall.org.uk