Hot on Creative Week’s tail, Open Book Cape Town, from 21 – 25 September 2011, is bound to be the next best thing for literary lovers in Cape Town (after curling up on the sofa with a good book, of course). What started as a simple idea to showcase a variety of local literary talent has grown exponentially into an extravaganza of international intellectual experiences boasting 150 events with almost 100 authors.
Open Book Cape Town is “a truly international festival that attracts top writers and an audience from around the world, a fantastic showcase of the best of South African writing, making a significant and sustainable contribution to our future by building a love of reading and books among the youth of Cape Town.”
Related activities:
Mentoring project
As part of Open Book activities, 10 students will be mentored for the greater part of a year by suitable mentors. The results of the project will be printed in book form in time to be launched at Open Book 2012. Open Book Cape Town aims to repeat this project annually.
Stocking a library
Equal Education (well known in The Fringe area) identified Matthew Goniwe High School as Open Book Cape Town’s school for 2011. “With help from publishers, donations from festivalgoers and the Book Lounge, we know we will be able to hand a fully stocked and functional library over to the school by 25 September 2011. We will continue to work with the school to make sure they have the support they need to maximise the benefits a library can offer. Mak1one, well known graffiti artist, will be working with students from Matthew Goniwe High School to create a mural in the library, helping to transform the space into somewhere exciting, dynamic and beautiful. This too will be an annual project”.
Projects in the future
There are many South Africans writing today who struggle to get an international audience. Open Book Cape Town is in the process of negotiating exchange programmes that will enable local authors to travel to other countries to showcase their work at other literary festivals.
