With Open Book Festival 2025 fast approaching, we’re back with five more themes that capture the soul of this year’s programme.
1. Identity & Belonging
Building on the Past sees Foluso Agbaje, Zara Julius, and Patric Tariq Mellet explore with Aphiwe Ngalo how our uneasy present rests on layers of history in our cities.
Unsettled Accounts | The Interpreters sees Alexandra Dodd, Bongani Kona, and Antjie Krog discuss memoir and personal nonfiction as ways of grappling with memory, complicity, silence, and shame—both in private lives and in the shared fictions that shape them. The Soundscape of Masculinity features Sven Axelrad, Nthato Mokgata, and Rémy Ngamije speaking to Koketso Sachane about creative work as resilience and reimagining masculinity through music and conversation.
Tensions of Home brings together Antjie Krog, Frankie Murrey, and Sarah Uheida in conversation with Bongani Kona about writing one’s way to belonging. Space Shifters features Andile Cele, Khaya Dlanga, and Nthato Mokgata speaking to Ondela Mlandu about code switching and translating yourself to belong.
2. Love & Relationships
Difficult Mothers examines one of our most complex relationships. These sessions don’t offer easy answers—they offer honest conversations about the relationships that shape us, whilst Unlikely Friendships explores the surprises found family can bring.
Is This Love? brings together Mpho Boshego, David Cornwell, and Andrew Robert Wilson in conversation with Kelly Smith about weaving intimacy into their creative work. Tales of Marriage features Nadia Cassim, Ntombifuthi Nkabinde, and Zibu Sithole speaking to Bianca Flanders about the struggle to say ‘I Do’ to the institution of marriage.
Facing Death sees Foluso Agbaje, Rémy Ngamije, and Sarah Uheida speak to Erin Bates about journeying with grief—exploring how loss shapes our capacity for connection and love.
3. Poetry & Performance
Poetry isn’t just on the page at Open Book—it’s alive, breathing, demanding to be heard. The Poetics of I features Kopano Maroga, Manthipe Moila, and Pieter Madibuseng Odendaal speaking to each other through their poetry in an intimate evening of verse and conversation.
uHlanga 10 Year Celebration presents a stellar lineup of poets published by Nick Mulgrew, founder of uHlanga Press, featuring conversations and readings with Athambile Masola, Maneo Mohale, Manthipe Moila, and Pieter Madibuseng Odendaal. English Alive | 70 Year Celebration honours the South African Council for English Education’s annual anthology and pays tribute to Robin Malan, featuring performances by students alongside guest poet Siphokazi Jonas.
Slam City Showcase brings together Cape Town’s premier poetry slam champions—poets who’ve been “slamming for their lives” month after month. Hosted by Thapelo Tharaga and Zizipho Bam, this celebration of new talent, lyrical grit, and poetic brilliance in different African languages promises to set the festival alight.
Don’t miss Weeping Becomes a River, where the unmissable Siphokazi Jonas creates an immersive storytelling performance that’s more than celebration—it’s an intentional space for community and reflection, joined by Elvis Sibeko and Inganam Batala.
4. Humour & Lightness
In dark times, laughter isn’t frivolity—it’s survival. Finding Lightness sees Sven Axelrad, Khaya Dlanga, and Karen Vermeulen speak to Dela Gwala about the necessity of humour to process pain. Why So Serious? brings together Tom Eaton, Paige Nick, and Zibu Sithole in conversation with Qarnita Loxton about balancing lighthearted writing with themes that resonate.
Better Late offers the festival’s most irreverent take on proceedings, where “the country’s most brilliant, bewildering, and occasionally unhinged creatives” Yaaseen Barnes and Callum Hitchcock get to the bottom of whatever’s happening at the festival, joined by Dan Corder and Céline Tshika.
And of course, Writersports 2025 returns—our legendary live writing competition featuring Alistair Mackay, Lesedi Molefi, Rémy Ngamije, Paige Nick, Sue Nyamnjoh, and Zibu Sithole, with Festival Director Mervyn Sloman as “Master of Cheating.”
5. Futures & Possibilities
Speaking to the Next Generation features Xolisa Guzula, Nathi Ngubane, and Sibabalwe Nobandla discussing with Faye Kabali-Kagwa the importance of translating complex contexts into accessible knowledge for those who come after us. Out of This World and Into the Next features renowned theoretical physicist Adriana Marais speaking to The Cosmic Savannah podcast hosts about extraplanetary settlement and our ethical responsibilities.
Spec Fic and Science explores the intersections of art and science, while What the Water Gave Me brings together Veruska De Vita, Traci Kwaai, and Malika Ndlovu in conversation with Zolani Mahola about reclaiming ancestral and intimate connections to our rivers and oceans. The Loss Rate brings together Wale Lawal, Athambile Masola, and Moray Rhoda to discuss meaning-making in the age of AI.
Ready to Join These Conversations?
Many events are just R50, with several free sessions. We believe everyone should have access to these vital conversations. If costs present a barrier, please reach out to openbooktickets@gmail.com for a complimentary ticket.
Head to our website now to see the full programme. Book via Webtickets and prepare for three days that will challenge, inspire, and transform how you see the world.
For those eager to dive into the worlds created by our featured authors, all participants’ books are available for purchase from our partner, The Book Lounge. We encourage you to support these talented writers and get reading ahead of the festival.
These conversations matter. Your voice matters. Join us.