The Open Book Festival ran from September 6th – 8th, 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. It featured a mix of panels and readings across dozens of topics. Whether you wanted to learn about chosen family in literature, challenges of writing novels, or writing about mental health, there was something for everyone in this three day festival.

One of the featured authors was Damilare Kuku, author of Only Big Bumbum Matters Tomorrow. Another pair of featured authors was Lesedi Molefi, Margie Ordord, and Hedley Twidle who spoke to Festival Director, Mervyn Sloman, about how they craft their work. Each authors work was featured in a panel, either reading excerpts or discussing their writing process and struggles.

This is just a short list of the authors and artists included in this festival. Across all three days there were numerous events that featured every step of the writing process and post-publication. It was a successful festival with great conversations about the world of African literature, and we look forward to next years festivities!

The Open Book Festival posted lots of pictures from the festival on their Instagram @openbookfest. 

Want to see more about the authors featured at the Open Book Festival? Look at some of our past articles about their work