Doek is back!
Doek, in partnership with Bank Windhoek, proudly announces the second edition of the Doek Literary Festival, taking place at the Goethe-Institut in Windhoek from 21 to 24 August 2024. Good news is that the event is free to attend.The biannual event celebrates writers, poets, and visual artists featured in Doek! Literary Magazine, which showcases Namibian literature alongside works from Africa and the African diaspora. It aims to nurture Namibia’s reading and writing culture and provide a space to encounter the works of Namibian and African creatives.
This year's festival features:
• Writers: Roxane Bayer (Namibia), Chiké Frankie Edozien (Nigeria), Ndawedwa Denga Hanghuwo (Namibia), Ishion Hutchinson (Jamaica), Filemon Iiyambo (Namibia), Maaza Mengiste (Ethiopia & USA), Nelson Mlambo (Zimbabwe), Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, Troy Onyango (Kenya), Ondjaki (Angola), David Smuts (Namibia), Mukoma Wa Ngūgī (Kenya), and Zukiswa Wanner (South Africa).
• Performing poets: Charmaine //Gamxamus (Namibia) and Veripuami Nandee Kangumine (Namibia).
• Visual artists: Namafu Amutse (Namibia) and Jean-Claude Tjitamunisa (Namibia).
• Performing musicians: Querida, Gabes, and Slow.
With Bank Windhoek as the official sponsor, the festival offers an exciting roster of award-winning authors, poets, photographers, and musicians.
Attendees can enjoy panel discussions, creative writing workshops, and musical performances centred around the theme “IndePENdence—freedom through reading and writing.”
The festival features diverse creatives who will explore storytelling’s past, present and future. The event highlights Namibia's role as a literary destination, thanks to international collaboration and support from literary organisations like the Windham Campbell Prizes.
“Thanks to Bank Windhoek’s support, we can bring literary talent from Jamaica and the USA to connect with local readers and writers,” said Rémy Ngamije, Doek’s founder and festival director. “This festival is a chance for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry enthusiasts to learn from the best. Additionally, Namibia’s promising photographers will showcase their work.”
Co-sponsored by the Windham Campbell Prizes, the Doek Literary Festival builds on its mission to establish a vibrant community of readers and writers in Namibia. In 2022, the inaugural festival was hosted by the University of East Anglia’s International Chair of Creative Writing.
Ngamije thanked the festival’s supporters, including Justice David Smuts and the board of trustees, for making the event possible.