What happens when a city’s writers, readers, educators, thinkers, cultural leaders and young voices come together to ask one simple question — does reading still matter?
For two days, World of Words Kuala Lumpur (WoW-KL) 2026 answered with a resounding yes. Held on 14 and 15 August 2026 at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, the second edition of WoW-KL brought together literary, cultural and community voices for a festival that went beyond books to explore imagination, freedom of expression, leadership, social change, healing and the future of reading.
Built around the philosophy READ. LEAD. HEAL., WoW-KL positioned itself not simply as an annual literary event, but as a growing movement to revive purposeful reading and meaningful engagement with ideas.
Day One, themed Read to Lead / Read to Inspire, opened with storytelling and creative expression before moving into four major forums.
Forum 1: Stories Shape Us — How Reading Builds Imagination and Creativity featured Dr Malini Ramanan as moderator, with Shanthini Venugopal, Nor Azhar Ishak (NAI), Ninot Aziz and Sabin Iqbal exploring the role of stories in shaping imagination, creativity,
language and cultural memory.
The conversation then moved into Forum 2: The Power of Words in Changing Society, moderated by Aisha Rashid, with Andrew Yap, International Booker Prize-winning author Bhanu Mushtaq, Aneeta Sundararaj and Prof Dr Roselina Ahmad Saufi examining how words, stories and public expression can influence culture and society.
The afternoon took a more provocative turn with Forum 3: When Ideas Are Restricted — What Happens to a Society? moderated by Malachi Edwin Vethamani, featuring Dina Zaman, Mahi Ramakrishnan, Dato’ Ramli Ibrahim and Vinodh Rajendran. The discussion explored expression, imagination, art and storytelling — and what society stands to lose when ideas are limited or silenced.
Day One concluded with Forum 4: Can Reading Be Social Again? moderated by Dr Tarumaraaj Jaganathan, with Vickneswaran Manickavasagar, Dr Swagata Roy, Diana Yeong and Thanbeer Kaur examining how book clubs, reading groups and communities can turn reading from a solitary activity into a sustainable social culture.
Day Two shifted the focus towards leadership, national reading cultures and the next generation.
Forum 5: Read to Lead — How Reading Shapes Leadership and Society featured Halimah Kadir as moderator, with Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Ahmad Zakie Sharief, Chandran Nair and Dr Madiha Fuad exploring how reading can sharpen judgement, build clarity and strengthen leadership.
This was followed by Forum 6: Reading Without Borders — How Nations Build Reading Cultures, moderated by Geetha K, featuring Kanishka Gupta, Gayatri Sarkar, Pramudith D. Rupasinghe and Naz Ghazali.
The morning concluded with Forum 7: Voices of the Next Generation, moderated by Hisham Hamzah, with young voices Diya Aretha, Liam Ishan, Navnoor Kaur and Natalia Cheong bringing their perspectives on the future of reading, writing and storytelling. The afternoon culminated in the WoW-KL Awards 2026, recognising individuals and organisations contributing to Malaysia’s reading, writing, publishing, education and literary ecosystem. Honourees selected across key categories included legendary literary figure Dato’ Seri Dr. Abdul Samad Mohamed Said for Lifetime Contribution to Malaysian Literature, Dr. Madihah Fuad for the WoW-KL Luminary Award 2026, Ninot Aziz as Reading Culture Champion 2026, and Amir Ridzuan Bahari recognized as Emerging Literary Talent 2026.
Among other notable awardees, Thanbeer Kaur Sekhon received Outstanding Educator promoting reading, Amir Muhammad was honoured for Social Impact In Literature 2026, and Aneeta Sundararaj was presented with the Founder’s Recognition Award. Highlighting key cultural ecosystems, BookXcess RexKL was recognized as a top Reading Culture Bookshop, Gerakbudaya as Outstanding Local Publisher, KL Reading Festival for Outstanding Reading Community, and Cempaka International School as Reading Culture School of the year.
The Awards form an important part of WoW-KL’s wider mission to give visibility to the people and communities actively keeping reading culture alive.
The ceremony also featured musical and theatrical performances, a look back at “WoW-KL: The Year That Was”, and a Reading Pledge / Commitment Moment, reinforcing the movement’s ambition to carry the conversation beyond the festival itself. Among the prominent voices featured across the festival were Bhanu Mushtaq, Andrew Yap, Dato’ Ramli Ibrahim, Prof Dr Roselina Ahmad Saufi and Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, alongside a diverse cross-section of Malaysian writers, educators, academics, book community leaders, creatives and young readers.
Reflecting on the two-day gathering, Sajeet Soudagar, Founder & CEO of WoW-KL, said: “WoW-KL was born from a simple concern — that while we have never had greater access to information, we are increasingly reading less deeply, listening less carefully and engaging less
meaningfully with ideas. These two days showed us that the appetite for stories, books and intelligent conversation is very much alive. We are not building a festival for two days. We are building a culture that we hope will live in schools, universities, homes, workplaces, book clubs and communities long after the festival ends. If we can inspire one more person to pick up a book, question an idea, discover a new perspective or find their own voice, then the movement has already begun.”
Perhaps the most important outcome of WoW-KL 2026 was not simply the number of people who attended. It was the energy in the room. For Kuala Lumpur’s literary and creative community, WoW-KL 2026 became a space to reconnect — with books, with ideas and with
one another. For writers, it was an opportunity to share perspectives. For readers, a reminder of why stories matter. For educators, a platform to rethink how reading can become a living culture. For young people, an invitation to find their voices. And for society, a reminder that the ability to read deeply, think critically, speak freely and listen meaningfully remains fundamental to building a stronger nation.
WoW-KL now looks towards building on this momentum as a year-round movement involving schools, universities, workplaces and communities, making purposeful reading part of everyday life.
For more information, visit their website.
