The Open Book Festival is an annual literary festival held in Cape Town, South Africa with a focus on South African literature in an international context. The event includes over 150 literary events,[1] featuring over 100 authors over 5 days. Although South African literature features prominently literature from across the world is also featured with both Anglophone and Francophone authors featuring prominently in the festivals events.[2][3]
| Open Book Festival | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Multi-genre |
| Venue | Fugard Theatre |
| Location(s) | Cape Town |
| Country | South Africa |
| Inaugurated | 2011 |
| Attendance | 20,000 |
| Website | http://openbookfestival.co.za |
Main venue of the event is located at the Fugard Theatre but also includes other nearby venues in Cape Town such as The District 6 Museum, The Homecoming Centre, the Townhouse Hotel, The Slave Lodge, The Museum, The National Gallery, Central Library and Lobby Books.[4]
History
editThe first Open Book festival was held in 2011. The event was initiated by Mervyn Sloman of The Book Lounge (a Cape Town-based bookshop) and Ben Williams of Books Live (a literary focused subsidiary of the South African newspaper Times Live).[5]
Focuses of interest
editThe festival was founded to bring the best literature in the world to Cape Town; to promote South African writing on an internationally; and to make books and literature more accessible to young readers.[5] The event is noted for being more representative and drawing a wider range of authors than other South African book festivals.[6]
Most of the 150 events fall into one of the following sub-events with particular focuses:[7]
- Poetica: a two-day-long programme of events focused on poetry.
- Comic Book Fest: focus on comic books and graphic novels.
- Authors: number of panel discussions, workshops, presentations, and other events focused on authors.
- Youth Programme: a number of events that focuses on encouraging a love for books amongst young people.
Notable events
edit- In 2013 the Open Book Festival broke the Guinness Book of World Records for the world's longest book chain consisting of 2586 books.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Open Book Cape Town Literary Festival". Smart Cape. 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ "Open Book literary festival in Cape Town to host a special edition of "Étonnants Voyageurs"". Institut Français. 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ "Great Texts and Open Book Festival collaborate in a unique presentation". GIPCA: University of Cape Town. 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ "Event: Open Book Cape Town Literary Festival". News24. 4 September 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ a b "Make the Best Comment and Choose a Book! Make the Best Comment and Choose a Book! Open Book Cape Town, a New Festival for South Africa, Announced at The Book Lounge". Books Live. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ Davis, Rebecca (11 September 2013). "Open Book Festival: Better and Better". Mail and Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ "Cape Town Magazine: Open Book Festival". Cape Town Magazine. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ "Open Book Festival 2014". Cape Town Travel. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
External links
edit- Open Book Festival and Cape Town Central Library break the Guinness World Record, Open Book Festival, 19 June 2014