Open Book Festival

17/09/2025

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16/09/2025

If you find yourself missing Open Book Festival, enjoy this beautiful conversation between poets Sindiswa Busuku-Mathese and Sarah Uheida, recorded by Pagecast at .

Pagecast was at the 2025 Open Book Festival, where we spoke with authors about their writing journeys and the stories they share with readers. In this episod...

11/09/2025

Award-winning writer Diane Awerbuck perfectly captures the magic of Open Book 2025 - three days where local and international authors wove their 'golden thread' of stories around time, memory, and hope. A must-read reflection on our festival. 📚

"To make sense of things for yourself and then for others is a joyous burden, the purpose of many of these writers’ professional lives. They write for collective repair. We owe these diplomats a debt we cannot repay, except by buying their books. Reading their books. Talking about them. One audien...

08/09/2025

Sunday brought the house down! 🔥

What a way to close Open Book Festival 2025. Absolutely packed. Absolutely perfect. From Tsitsi Dangarembga's powerful conversation with Maneo Mohale to the epic Writersports championship finale, from intimate storytelling to standing ovations - Sunday delivered the grand finale Cape Town deserved.

The energy was electric, the conversations unforgettable, and the community we built over three days was pure magic.

Thank you, Cape Town, for making OBF 2025 extraordinary. Thank you for showing up, speaking up, and proving that when voices rise up, people will listen.

Stay tuned! Over the next few months we'll be releasing videos of sessions and posting photo highlights from all three incredible days.

The conversation continues beyond these walls. Until September 2026! ✨

07/09/2025

We had an absolutely packed lunch time session.

👑📖 Literary icon Tsitsi Dangarembga was in conversation with Maneo Mohale. We also spoke about grief, and recovering from childhood. The depth of discussion here is extraordinary.

🎤 Join us at 4pm to close off the festival. The incredible Siphokazi Jonas is here for the one year celebration of Weeping Becomes a River. We also have multiple authors competing in Writersports - you provide the prompts and decide who did best!

🎟️ Tickets through Webtickets, via our website (links in bio) or at the door.

📷 Photo credit iSkeem Semicimbi

07/09/2025

This morning we started the final day of strong 🏠📚

From q***r anxiety, to spiritual inheritance and speaking into silences. These conversations map new territories of understanding.

There are still more powerful conversations coming at 2pm and 4pm. Join us in closing the festival this afternoon.

Photo credit iSkeem Semicimbi

***rAnxiety ***r

07/09/2025

Last night, Cape Town's boldest voices took the stage! 🎤🔥

The Slam City Showcase brought together the poets who've been battling it out monthly. Lyrical grit and brilliance in different African languages. This is where the future of poetry is being written.

Plus Better Late: the country's most brilliant, bewildering, and occasionally unhinged creatives - Yaaseen Barnes and Callum Hitchcock - together on the set of a Late Night TV to talk OBF. With special guests Dan Corder and Céline Tshika!

The final day of is already underway - don't miss the powerful close of three days of bold conversations. There are still some tickets available through Webtickets, via our website and at the door.

Your voice matters. Join the conversation.

Photo credit iSkeem Semicimbi

07/09/2025

Last call! 🔔📚✨

Today marks the final day of Open Book Festival. It’s your last chance to dive into incredible conversations, meet brilliant authors, and connect with our amazing literary community. Don’t let this opportunity slip away! Come join us for the closing celebrations.

06/09/2025

Day 2 absolutely delivered! 🔥

Saturday's energy was unreal - from morning conversations that shifted perspectives to evening poetry that moved souls. We witnessed unmatched magic, saw emerging voices claim their space, and felt the power of community in every single session.

The way difficult conversations became healing spaces, the way strangers became family over shared stories - this is why Open Book Festival exists.

One more day of this magic awaits! Sunday brings the grand finale - don't let the final day happen without you.

Tickets through Webtickets, via our website, and at the door.

Your voice matters. Join the conversation. ✨

06/09/2025

Reproductive rights meet poetic intimacy 💪📝

From pregnant expectations to the poetics of self, plus exploring how trauma shapes our cities through structured violence and alienation. These voices didn't hold back.

We still have one more day of so don't miss out! Tickets available through Webtickets, via our website or at the door. See you tomorrow for the final day!

Photo credit iSkeem Semicimbi

06/09/2025

At Open Book Festival. we balance the serious with the playful 😂💭

From comedy to spec fic and science, plus a celebration of uHlanga Press, and a vital conversation about mental health and capitalism with Make Noise. We covered the full spectrum of how we make sense of our world. This is why literature, and the conversations it sparks, matters.

Photo credit iSkeem Semicimbi

06/09/2025

When feminist voices come together to reimagine space, magic happens ✨🔥

Shakeelah Ismail, Charisse Louw, Mbali Mazibuko, and Simphiwe Rens delivered conversations that were both intellectually rigorous and deeply revolutionary, with Joy Watson steering this powerful dialogue. This collection launch reminded us that feminist understanding doesn't just critique space - it completely reconstructs it 🏗️💪

continues tomorrow. Be part of the conversation.

Photo credit iSkeem Semicimbi