Abdulrazak Gurnah will be attending the first two days of the festival.
On the 15th, he will participate in a joint session with Mozambican writer Mia Couto, recently honored with the PEN/Nabokov Award 2025 for International Literature.
Other confirmed participants include Ricardo Araújo Pereira and classic studies essayist, poet, and professor Frederico Lourenço, who will present the book ‘Bíblia VI’ on November 22, in a relaxed conversation where religion meets the boundaries of humor.
Prior to this, on November 16, Espaço Vita’s auditorium hosts the premiere of the play ‘Ponto de Fuga,’ created by musician and conductor Martim Sousa Tavares, combining music, words, and movement.
The third edition of Utopia also features literary dinners, bringing together authors and readers around the table for moments combining the best of gastronomy with storytelling, conversations, and autograph sessions.
The program also focuses on a young audience, with stories, workshops, and sung readings for children.
Highlighting the interplay between literature and music is the session ‘Letras de Canções’ on November 23, featuring singer Dino D’Santiago and writer D.H. Machado.
This edition of the festival also revisits its first internationalization outside Europe.
This milestone will be marked by a roundtable dedicated to Utopia Colombia, which in July took Portuguese authors to Bogotá and Medellin, with programming tailored for the Latin American context.
Looking to the future, the literary festival also anticipates the 2026 edition, marking Utopia’s debut in Ponta Delgada, which will be the Portuguese Capital of Culture, dedicating a special moment of this third edition’s programming to the Azorean city. Fado singer Kátia Guerreiro will perform, creating a symbolic bridge between the two locations.
To close the festival with humor, irreverence, and intelligence, blending literature and cinema, Utopia will feature, for the first time, the screening of a cinematic piece. The documentary ‘Uma Nêspera no Cu,’ directed by Gabriela Soares and inspired by the comedic show of the same name by Bruno Nogueira, Nuno Markl, and Filipe Melo, will be shown.
Espaço Vita will be the main venue for the event.
The programming is free and open to the public, except for literary dinners, writing courses, and Martim Sousa Tavares’ performance, which require paid admission.
Overall, the festival will offer over 600 hours of programming.
The aim is to reposition Braga’s relationship with books and literature, creating a space for dialogue between different artistic languages, from theater to documentaries, including music.
