When? 2 – 4 September 2022
As someone who read their way through most of their hometown’s small library before starting high school and where a single book signing was held in all that time, having an exciting series of events like the Cape Town Open Book Festival to look forward to makes my bookish heart truly happy.
Debuting in 2011, the Open Book Festival (OBF) is an annual literary festival hosted in the heart of the Mother City and takes place in-person for the first time in two years from 2 – 4 September 2022.
As Cape Town’s biggest literary festival, it offers a diverse range of events covering a multitude of topics. Offering various panel discussions with local authors, open mic events and storytimes, this is a not-to-be-missed event that should certainly be circled on the calendar of every book-lover, writer and literary enthusiast. The vision of OBF is to attract top writers and an international audience, showcase the best of South African writing, build a love of reading & books among Cape Town’s youth and draw representative audiences to all their events. This year’s program speaks to these goals and is sure to offer something for everyone. Whether you enjoy poetry, get inspired by migrant’s survival stories or (like me) have a morbid fascination with cults, you are guaranteed to find ample opportunity for insightful discussions and forging genuine connections.
The hub of the festival is the HCC: Homecoming Centre (previously The Fugard Theatre), with events running in the Star Theatre, Avalon Theatre and HCC Workshop. A children’s storytime event will also be hosted in the beloved indie bookshop, The Book Lounge, where all the festival’s featured books will be available for purchase.
For the full program, ticketing information and further details, visit the Open Book Festival website: https://openbookfestival.co.za/
