Calling all bookworms! Cape Town’s literary scene is booming this year, starting off with a youth event at the end of March. The Open Book Festival’s Youth Fest takes place between March 25 and April 1 at schools and libraries across the Mother City.

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Frankie Murrey, the program coordinator for the Open Book Festival says there has always been a focus on children and young adult readers, and the people who write for them. Notably, the youth event stands as an independent event. In the past it was part of the larger Festival lineup:

This year will be the first time we’ve organised a festival dedicated to young readers. It means we can focus all our attention on organising the kind of conversations and engagement that is relevant for a younger audience

Murrey adds that there are many activities for all age groups at the Youth Fest. Young readers can enjoy a number of diverse storytime sessions. Teens can look forward to a collection of writing and storytelling workshops, open mic sessions for young poets, and talks by writers.

Find the full event program on the Open Book Festival website. The events are free, but book is essential.

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Frankie adds that there are clear links (and synergies) between the objective of this Youth Fest and the big Festival in September:

BOTH EVENTS AIM TO ENGENDER A LOVE FOR READING AND TO PROVIDE A SAFE SPACE FOR IMPORTANT DISCUSSIONS TO BE HAD, PRESENTED THROUGH THE LENS OF BOOKS. FOR THE YOUTH EVENT OUR PRIMARY FOCUS WILL BE TO MAKE MORE YOUNG PEOPLE FALL IN LOVE WITH THE WRITTEN WORD AND TO HELP GROW SUPPORT FOR WRITERS WHO CREATE CONTENT FOR THIS AUDIENCE

Murrey says the team is already preparing for this year’s Workshop Week and the Open Book Festival. Workshop Week takes place between 5 and 10 June. The larger Book Festival takes place from September 8 until September 10, at the Homecoming Centre in the City centre:

We are hard at work reading the work that SA based writers have produced to put together another incredible event and look forward to providing updates later this year

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