THE first Africa Book and Design Festival is taking Mzansi by storm.
The festival that will take place at The Future Africa Campus at the University of Pretoria in Tshwane from 11 to 13 November, will see literature being hyped.
Manager Mudzithe Phiri told SunBuzz: “We are progressing into the digital world and slowly going into AI. People are forgetting books. The love of literature is dying, especially in Africa.
“Books are only things read at school and after school, no longer paid attention to.
“Reading culture is going away, especially in South Africa. Literature is at the basis of culture and learning and it is important. That’s why we started this festival, to bring back the love for reading.”
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Mudzithe said the three-day festival will start virtually on Thursday with the panel led by author Dudu Busani-Dube.
“This will be a hybrid event. We will have the Bookies Under The Stars event on Thursday, and it will be led by Dudu, because we love her story. She grew up loving books and ended up being one of the best selling authors in the country. She is now also working on a series called The Wife with streaming platform Showmax,” she said.
She said the festival honoured female authors for the work they do.
“Dudu will lead a panel of female storytellers discussing life the loves and life of modern African women. Most books from South Africa are mostly about colonialism, but women tell stories about modern-day Africa. We hope this festival will make people love reading again, because it is so important.”
