AALFIE Edition VII takes place from 15–17 October 2026 under the theme Literature & Art as an Antidote to Tribalism. At a moment when nationalism, xenophobia and populism are reshaping political and cultural life across Europe, the festival asks a deliberately open question: can literature and art offer a shared language against division? Can stories make strangers kin?

Rather than offering a single answer, this edition creates space for many voices, languages and forms of expression. Through panels, performances, keynotes, one-person plays, read-a-thons, dance and music, artists and thinkers will explore identity and the future of Europe, the creative possibilities of fragmentation, and intimacy, desire and connection. As always, AALFIE embraces multilingualism and makes space for the unruly and the tender — for play, laughter, encounter, sensuality and the unexpected.