Open Book Festival

When Mervyn Sloman and Ben Williams planned to add a new literary festival to the South African calendar, they hoped for 60 events with 15 international authors and local talent, but in it’s fifth year the Open Book Festival will have over 100 events in 2015, featuring over 100 of the best local and international authors. The festival attracts the largest number of international authors compared to any festival of its kind in South Africa and 2015 will be no different, with 21 international authors already confirmed. Sloman says festival-goers can look forward to a wealth of stimulating and entertaining experiences. One of the main purposes of the festival is to encourage a love of books and reading and this is done throughout the year through two projects: the stocking of libraries at underprivileged schools and a mentoring project which nurtures the interest students in Cape Town have in writing. The vision of the festival is to build a love of reading and books among the youth of Cape Town and to be an international festival with an audience and authors from around the world whilst still showcasing some of South Africa’s best writing talent. We spoke to well-known South African author C.A. Davids who will be attending her second Open Book Festival this year. Carol-Ann has an MA in Creative Writing from UCT and currently works as a writer and editor.

Over the past few years, literary festivals have grown in number and size in South Africa, with new festivals being added to the calendar almost every year. What would you say is the importance of literary festivals?

Literary festivals are a great opportunity for writers, readers, publishers and booksellers to intersect (and maybe sell some books). But, more than this, the best festivals are sites for having fun with the written word, for talking and thinking about books. And anything that encourages reading and literature are worthwhile pursuits, I think. But festivals can also be important in establishing spaces for discourse and creative engagement on a number of matters: I think the debates around how inclusive South African festivals are, have been important, as are the discussions about our cities, politics, our children, and issues that resonate more globally. They’re modern town hall meetings.

In your opinion, what is the greatest success of the Open Book Festival?

From what I’ve seen, Open Book tries to engage with as many reading publics as it can and as part of this, has taken a considered approach to the range of writers invited to be part of the programme. I think, in turn, audiences reflect this intention to capture a wide pool of readers and have grown in number and diversity, which matters. Open Book has become known in global circles quickly and this is also indicative of its potential and trajectory.

South Africa is seen as a nation that does not read. Do you agree with this and how has this changed over the years with the growth of the digital era?

Well, sadly, we have statistics to guide us here and it is grim. I think that for a number of reasons, SA does not have a reading culture and this is quite widespread, demographically. I believe that digital represents new opportunities, especially for children where reading has relevance for their learning abilities and potential. Still, it need not always be this way and we have to be conscious in how we approach reading and the consumption of literature. Brazil has a multitude of agencies to promote reading and literature, with incentives too. How literate (and I think educated) we will be as a society in twenty years’ time, is determined by what we do now.

Books in South Africa are quite expensive compared to many other countries. Do you think this will ever change to make books more accessible?

For starters, we shouldn’t be charging VAT on books. I don’t really understand the logic of it: books are considered luxury items, hence VAT is applied keeping them interminably elite. But really, books and reading are closely aligned with learning and educational potential in children. Adults benefit too: entertainment, engaged thinking, perhaps empathy and perspective … So, I think this approach to books by the SA government is, at the very least, counterintuitive.

How do international literary festivals compare to South African festivals?

I was invited to participate in the Edinburgh International Book Festival in 2014, which was an extraordinary experience. The festival was well-run, professional, fun, with impressive writers from across the world. The audiences were also quite special – I shared a panel with Lauren Buekes (who is something of a global phenomenon) and at the end of our talk, streams of people lined up to buy both of our books, which I in no way anticipated. I’ve also attended a couple of World Voices festivals in New York. It was incredible to see and hear some of my literary idols; writers who had in some way shaped my thinking. Many South African festivals are well on their way there, if not there already.

This is your second year at the Open Book Festival. How do you experience the atmosphere and program?

As an audience member I’ve attended all but one since its inception, and the festivals have been consistently energetic and generous. On the one hand there has been a sort of irreverence and a willingness to have fun with literary matters, but there have also been important conversations. I like that one aspect is not pursued to the detriment of the other.

For more info visit www.openbookfestival.co.za