The Doek Literary Festival is hosted every two years in Namibia. It celebrates the works of writers, poets, and visual artists who have contributed to Doek! Literary Magazine and seeks to showcase the best of Namibian literature alongside works from Africa and the African diaspora.

The festival is an integral part of Doek’s mission to nurture and grow the country’s reading and writing culture while providing a creative and immersive space for encountering the works of Namibian and African writers, poets, and visual artists. It also provides unique learning and exchange opportunities through workshops, readings, and performances.

In 2022, Doek partnered with the University of East Anglia’s International Chair of Creative Writing to plan, organise, and host the country’s inaugural edition of the festival which focused on fiction writing in the novel and short form.

In partnership with Bank Windhoek, the 2024 Doek Literary Festival was a coming-of-age and significantly expanded gathering of local and international authors, readers, and lovers of stories in Namibia’s capital city. With conversations, poetry readings, creative writing workshops, and musical performances, the 2024 festival was a continuation of Doek’s work to establish Namibia as a vibrant community of readers and writers and literary destination.