WoW-KL 2026 calls for stronger reading culture

The second edition of World of Words Kuala Lumpur (WoW-KL) 2026 concluded with a call to rebuild Malaysia’s culture of reading, bringing together writers, educators, thinkers, cultural leaders and young voices to examine the role of books and ideas in society.

Held on Aug 14 and 15 at the Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, the two-day festival explored reading through the themes of imagination, leadership, freedom of expression, social change, healing and the future of storytelling.

Built around the philosophy “READ. LEAD. HEAL.”, WoW-KL sought to position reading as more than an individual activity, promoting it instead as a foundation for critical thinking, creativity and meaningful social engagement.

Reading explored as force for social change

The first day, themed “Read to Lead / Read to Inspire”, featured four forums examining how stories and ideas influence individuals and communities.

Speakers including Shanthini Venugopal, Nor Azhar Ishak, Ninot Aziz and Sabin Iqbal discussed how reading can shape imagination, creativity, language and cultural memory.

Another forum examined the power of words to influence society, featuring International Booker Prize-winning author Bhanu Mushtaq alongside Andrew Yap, Aneeta Sundararaj and Prof Dr Roselina Ahmad Saufi.

Discussions later turned to freedom of expression and the consequences of restricting ideas, with Dina Zaman, Mahi Ramakrishnan, Dato’ Ramli Ibrahim and Vinodh Rajendran exploring the relationship between artistic expression, storytelling and society.

The day concluded with a discussion on making reading a social activity through book clubs, reading groups and community initiatives.

Awards highlight Malaysia’s literary community

Day Two shifted towards leadership, national reading cultures and younger generations. Forums explored how reading can strengthen leadership and judgement, how countries develop reading cultures, and how young people view the future of reading and storytelling.

The festival culminated in the WoW-KL Awards 2026, recognising individuals and organisations contributing to Malaysia’s literary, publishing, education and reading ecosystem.

Legendary literary figure Dato’ Seri Dr Abdul Samad Mohamed Said received the Lifetime Contribution to Malaysian Literature award, while Dr Madihah Fuad was named WoW-KL Luminary Award 2026 recipient. Ninot Aziz was recognised as Reading Culture Champion 2026 and Amir Ridzuan Bahari as Emerging Literary Talent 2026.

Other recipients included Thanbeer Kaur Sekhon for Outstanding Educator Promoting Reading, Amir Muhammad for Social Impact in Literature 2026 and Aneeta Sundararaj for the Founder’s Recognition Award.

BookXcess RexKL, Gerakbudaya, KL Reading Festival and Cempaka International School were also recognised for their contributions to reading culture, publishing, community engagement and education.

WoW-KL founder and CEO Sajeet Soudagar said the festival was driven by concern over declining deep reading and meaningful engagement with ideas despite unprecedented access to information.

“These two days showed us that the appetite for stories, books and intelligent conversation is very much alive,” he said.

“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.”

The festival ended with performances, a retrospective of WoW-KL’s development and a Reading Pledge and Commitment Moment.

Organisers said the movement will now focus on extending its activities throughout the year, involving schools, universities, workplaces and communities to make purposeful reading part of everyday life.