Cape Town - The second edition of the Khayelitsha Book Festival will take place this weekend.
Hosted by uHlanga Books, the annual literary festival will take place at the Khayelitsha Thusong Centre, opposite the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court, on September 9 from 11.30am to 7pm.
The inaugural literary festival took place on September 17, last year.
The festival will showcase authors and an array of artists under the theme, “Township Reimagined through Literature and the Arts”.
The programme will include poetry and reading sessions, performances, book launches, a colloquium, art exhibitions and much more.
Festival founder and publisher at uHlanga Books, Zimkitha Macengulashe Zilo, said: “uHlanga Books dreams of flooding the streets of Khayelitsha with books, and what better way than to use National Book Week to introduce reading for pleasure in the township and encourage writers to publish their work and have published prominent authors share their journeys of being published authors? We want being a writer, a novelist to be a career option.”
A compilation of short stories, Township Reimagined Through Our Stories will be launched to commemorate the festival, as well as four books by uHlanga author Dr Lucas Yakobi.
Single mom in Action by Nomsa Ntetha will also be launched. Single parent, Nthetha, runs an empowerment programme for other single parents.
A motivational book by Amahle Adkin, Vision to the Blind, will join the books to be launched.
The woman-owned publishing house in Khayelitsha was established during Covid-19 in 2020, “when everyone was at home and had so much to reflect on and no outlet”, Zilo said. uHlanga was launched to be that outlet.
Panel participant Lumkile Mzukwa said: “I expect the book festival to be a pillar of motivation for those who are avid readers. It will contribute to the intractable challenge of illiteracy in schools. I expect the book festival to encourage new book lovers.
“As a result of the book festival, the community will start appreciating the relevance of book-reading for leisure. The book festival is key in inculcating the culture of reading in the townships in the backdrop of the dying relevance of libraries.”
The organiser has called on public support through donations of children’s books and snacks for the event, as there will be 150 children and volunteers.
Entry is free. RSVP by visiting the uHlanga Books Facebook page to scan the QR code. For more information, call 069 187 8120.