FLiP Independent Literature Festival, Hosted by Irvine Welsh

FLiP, the independent literature festival , opens its sixth edition on Thursday, September 3, 2026, at Palazzo Lancellotti in Casalnuovo , in the province of Naples. The opening night's featured guest is Irvine Welsh , the cult author of Trainspotting, who will present his new novel. All events are free to attend.

FLiP 2026, the theme of the Immortal

The festival, curated by Eduardo Savarese , magistrate and writer, this year revolves around the theme of the Immortal , understood as contemporary literature's striving to imagine visions of the beyond. As always, the program is divided into sections for adults and children.

The event is organized under the patronage of the Campania Region and the Municipality of Casalnuovo , thanks to the contribution of sponsors and supporters: all the initiatives on the calendar are completely free.

Irvine Welsh and Men in Love, the return of Trainspotting

The highlight of the first day is at 20:30 pm with Irvine Welsh , who will be in conversation with Augusto Penna , author of Cavalcando l'ondra, moderated by Ferruccio Mazzanti . The Scottish writer presents Men in Love , the return of Trainspotting, published by Guanda, together with Augusto Penna and Alfredo Palomba.

Starting at 22:30 PM, a DJ set will close the first day of the festival. The presentation of "Men in Love" and the DJ set will be streamed live on the social media channels of SeraoAlive , the Matilde Serao High School's web radio, and Radio Base , media partner of the 2026 edition.

The September 3rd program for adults

The adult section program starts at 16:30 pm with the presentation of Pomigliano d'Arco: five hundred years of popular traditions by Marco Melito (Wojtek editions), in conversation with Francesco Di Bella , historic voice of the 24 Grana, moderated by Mario Visone.

• next, the writers Vincenzo Montisano, Simone Capozzi, Livio Santoro e Claudia Grande present their latest works;
• 19:30 the “Oasis” moment with reflections on literature and critics Filippo La Porta e Fabrizio Coscia;
• 20:30 the meeting with Irvine Welsh.

The kids' section with competitions and workshops

The children's section, curated by Maria Carmela Polisi of the "Mio nonno è Michelangelo" bookshop, opens at 17:00 PM with the awards ceremony for the Teresa Teacher Competition , organized with the PHILdiStorie association. At 18:00 PM , Nicoletta Costa , author and illustrator, will speak with Claudia Cioffi and Consiglia Aquino.

Each meeting in the children's section is followed by a workshop with the authors, which children and their families can participate in. If the festival has inspired you to read, here are also 10 books to read before visiting Naples ; for those who want more, the Campania Libri Festival 2026 arrives at the Palazzo Reale in October.

When and where is FLiP 2026 held?

The sixth edition of FLiP opens on Thursday 3 September 2026 at Palazzo Lancellotti , in Casalnuovo in the province of Naples.

How much does it cost to participate?

All festival events are completely free , thanks to the patronage of the Campania Region and the Municipality of Casalnuovo and the contribution of sponsors and supporters.

Who is Irvine Welsh?

He is the Scottish writer of Trainspotting , also made famous by the film of the same name. At FLiP he presents Men in Love , the return of Trainspotting published by Guanda.

Is the festival live streamed?

Yes: the presentation of Men in Love and the final DJ set will be broadcast live on the social channels of SeraoAlive and Radio Base , media partner of the 2026 edition.