WoW-KL 2026 CLOSES WITH A CALL TO REBUILD

MALAYSIA’S CULTURE OF READING

The two-day World of Words Kuala Lumpur brought together writers, thinkers,

educators, cultural leaders and young voices at Universiti Malaya

KUALA LUMPUR, 20 AUGUST 2026 — 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.

TWO DAYS OF IDEAS, STORIES AND CONVERSATIONS

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: READING TO BUILD, LEAD AND HEAL

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.

“WE ARE NOT BUILDING A FESTIVAL. WE ARE BUILDING A

CULTURE.”

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 toinformation, 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.