Staff Writer
The Harare Open Book Festival will be held on 19 October 2024 at The Garden in Newlands, Harare.
Now in its third year running, The Harare Open Book Festival continues to grow in patronage and impact in the literary community.
This year’s edition is themed: ‘Necessary Conversations”.
In 2021, three young men, joined by the love for African literature started having conversations on what kind of a literary space they wanted to see in Zimbabwe.
A space where readers and readers, writers and readers as well as writers and writers would meet.
The three are Allen Kudzashe Mwanyekondo, Derek Sibanda and Brain Garusa. They decided to leverage on the relationships that had been created by Book Fantastics, a bookshop on feet, so to speak, which was started by Brain and Kudzashe in 2020 during the Covid pandemic.
Book Fantastics offers a unique book delivery service that is personal and flexible. They order books from around the world allowing the sometimes-inaccessible books, to be available to the Zimbabwean reader and deliver to your doorstep.
“We started the discussions in August 2021 and a date was set for October 29th, 2022. We also began talking to writers who warmed up to our idea. Most of them were people we worked with as partners of Book Fantastics. We made a call to those who wanted to do public readings. Writers were eager.
“We were even more encouraged when Eleni Athitaki of The Garden welcomed our idea and allowed us to use her venue free of charge, and for this we are forever grateful. The first edition themed United Through Our Stories was dominated by readings.
“We were impressed by the inaugural event and got a little motivated to do a yearly gathering. In 2023 the festival went through the theme ‘Telling our stories: securing our futures’ and attracted writers from the region for the first time,” said Brain Garusa the curator of the festival.
The 2024 edition will feature a new festival format that will elevate the festival to global standards reflecting the hard work and dedication from the organisers and partners of the festival.
The festival will include panel discussions, readings, a possible workshop, performance poetry, music and an author inspirational retreat in the Eastern Highlands.
“This year we are grateful to our partners, Fastjet, Cresta Hotel, Ruparara Lodge, The Garden, Carnelian Heart Publishers, NyashaMusaGrace, Book Fantastics and most importantly, always, all the writers who are dedicating their time and knowledge to the festival, without them the festival would be non-existent,” said Garusa.
Some of the esteemed writers confirmed to be participate include Togara Muzanenhamo, Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, Sue Nyati, Aaron Chiundura Moyo, Tinashe Muchuri, Beaton Mabaso, Rutendo Chichaya, David Bene, Sista Zai, Pauline Chirata Mukondiwa, Pamela Phiri, Clive Mono Mukundu, Sylvia Sanyanga, Fungai Chigumbura, Nomsa Mpambo and Dawne Chimba. The full festival line-up will be announced in due course.
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