25/05/2026
✨ Stories, conversations and moments from so far.
From the unsettling visions of capitalism and contemporary horror explored in The Monster, Capital, to Tony Wailey’s reflections on Liverpool, migration and memory in Rhythms, WoWFEST26 has already brought together powerful conversations on history, identity and social change.
📚 The Monster, Capital explored capitalism through horror, surrealism and Mark Fisher’s concept of Capitalist Realism, examining algorithmic obsession, parasocial addiction and the eerie logic of the market.
⚓ Rhythms traced generations of Liverpool life through family stories shaped by movement, memory, solidarity and struggle across the twentieth century.
✊ Against All Odds explored class, creativity and resilience in the arts through the experiences of working-class artists and writers navigating an often exclusive cultural landscape.
🎭 Joelle Taylor’s staged reading of Maryville explored 50 years of le***an counterculture, tracing q***r histories, resistance and community through poetry and performance.
🖊 At the Toxteth Writer’s Bloc Sharing Event, local writers shared new work inspired by this year’s festival theme, New World Disorder, celebrating the impact of words shared within a community.
🌍 Rebecca Solnit reflected on climate breakdown, democratic erosion, activism and the “slow revolution” of movements and communities reshaping the world.
⚖️ Democracy on Trial opened discussion around protest rights, freedom of expression and growing restrictions on public assembly and democratic freedoms in Britain.
🎶 Francisco Carrasco explored Chile’s Nueva Canción movement through storytelling, live music and reflections on exile, identity and resistance.
And there is still more to come at .
🔗 Explore the remaining programme via our website, https://writingonthewall.org.uk/wowfest-26/
