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DAYS TO GO
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THEME
HISTORY IS HANDMADE
Featuring conversations, poetry readings, creative writing and craft workshops, an art exhibition, musical performances, and vinyl selections about the rituals, processes, challenges, and joys of analogue storytelling, the 2026 Doek Literary Festival seeks to reinvigorate classic ways of writing, telling, and sharing stories: savouring the scratch or effortless glide of a pencil or pen on paper; the anticipation of waiting for a new book and the joy of rediscovering an old one in a secondhand shop and cosying up in a comfortable nook in which to read it; sitting around a fire and listening to a song; whispering a secret to a friend; finding a long-lost record and tenderly placing it beneath a record player’s stylus to enjoy the opening crackles; and being immersed by words, sounds, and visions created by others in times and worlds far from this one.
Throughout the planning, organising, curating, and hosting of the festival special emphasis will be placed on human-made efforts and the many hands that keep the literary community and publishing industry alive. By centering people and human-made artefacts, the importance of the individual in an increasingly digital and distant world will be highlighted, reaffirming the belief that meaningful change—whether cultural, social, political, or economic—can only be effected by individual efforts working together towards communal goals.
WRITERS
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah • Ayesha Harruna Attah • Roxane Bayer • Abdi Latif Dahir • Pumla Dineo Gqola • Filemon Iiyambo • Femi Kayode • Bongani Kona • Samuel Mayinoti • Xavierie Mbangtang • Polo Moji • Frankie Murrey • Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu • Laura Nkula-Wenz • Ondjaki • Clarise Reichley
POETS
Justin Boening • Hugh Ellis-Mwiya • Nathalie Handal • Jedidja Kakuva • Vekondjisa Nosipho Katusuva • Michael Kelleher • Buhlenbenkosi Ndhlovu • Gregory Pardlo • Johannes Shikongo • Jeremy Tiboth • Devon Walker-Figueroa
VISUAL ARTISTS
Katherine Hunter • Amine Serhane
FESTIVAL GUESTS
MUSICIANS AND SELECTORS
Brother Mbango • DJ Musketeer • Le Roux van Schalkwyk • Querida
PHOTOGRAPHER
Justin Boening
BANK WINDHOEK CANCER APPLE PROJECT
Bite Into A Good Story • Round Of Appl(e)ause
PROGRAM
Day 1: 30 September • Day 2: 01 October • Day 3: 02 October • Day 4: 03 October.
FESTIVAL PARTNERS
OFFICIAL PARTNERS
Bank Windhoek • Directorate Of The Arts In The Ministry Of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts, And Culture • Windham Campbell Prizes • Goethe-Institut Namibia • Caine Prize For African Writing • European Union Delegation To Namibia
HOSTING PARTNERS
African Literary Cities Project • Ants Of The Prairie • Book Den • Horsethief Books • Humanities And Arts, NYU Abu Dhabi • Namibian Arts Association • National Art Gallery Of Namibia • NRF SARChi Chair In African Feminist Imagination At Nelson Mandela University • Open Book • The School Of Architecture And Planning, UB
DESIGN PARTNER
CULINARY PARTNER
DESIGNERS AND FABRICATORS
Alexandra Dunaiski • Quin-Leigh Hammond • Ange Mucyo • Clara Mupopiwa
CITY GUIDE
COORDINATING TEAM
Alexandra Dunaiski • Hannah Dunaiski • Ange Mucyo • Pena Usiku
FESTIVAL DIRECTOR
THE DOEK ARTS TRUST
The Honourable Justice David Smuts (Patron) • Jakob De Klerk (Treasurer) • Bonita De Silva (Trustee) • Cara Mia Dunaiski (Secretary) • Louis Kato Kiggundu (Trustee) • Rémy Ngamije (Chairperson) • Heike Scholtz (Trustee)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
If you have any queries about the festival, please consult our FAQs page.