Books on the Bay, Simon’s Town’s annual literary festival, will return in 2025 with a diverse line-up of authors, historians, and political commentators.
The festival will feature 24 events, including readings, panel discussions, and a poetry soirée.
Held from Friday March 14 to Sunday March 16, the festival will draw South African and international writers, including award-winning authors and thought leaders.
Notable participants include political cartoonists Zapiro and Kenyan Gado, writer John van de Ruit, and Professor Njabulo Ndebele.
There will be discussions on white supremacy, climate change, the legacy of forced removals in Simon’s Town and other topics.
Joline Young, a social historian and author, will participate for the first time. Her work focuses on forced removals, indigenous dispossession, and slavery in Simon’s Town.
Her book, An Uncomfortable Paradise, tells the human stories uncovered in her archival research.
“Some years ago, I was asked by a woman who had been forcibly removed from Simon’s Town, Patty Davidson, to research the history of her community. This led to a long academic journey and a Master’s degree on the history of slavery in Simon’s Town,” Ms Young said.
Another participant, author and doctor Dawn Garisch, of Kalk Bay, has won several literary awards, including the Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award and the NIHSS (National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences) Award for What Remains, a collection of short stories.
She will join a panel discussion on short stories with Diane Awerbuck and Bongani Kona.
“We are all passionate storytellers who have been writing all our adult lives; we are also animated conversationalists keen to share this passion,” she said.
“A short story can dip into an intense or curious moment in a situation, open up observations and questions about the human condition, and then end without necessarily resolving much, yet leaving a reader something to think about and discuss.”
The festival will again feature a tuk-tuk service to transport attendees between venues free of charge.
Tickets cost R80 and can be bought from Webtickets.
Visit booksonthebay.co.za for more information and a detailed line-up.
