Heavyweight lineup confirmed for Harare Open Book Festival

The Harare Open Book Festival running under the theme, Necessary Conversations, will be held on the 19th of October at The Garden in Newlands, Harare.

Maintaining it’s richness and depth from the previous edition, the festival has once again attracted heavy weights such as Aaron Chiundura Moyo, Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, Togara Muzanenhamo and musician and writer Clive Mono Mukundu.

Sukoluhle Nyathi, affectionately known as Sue Nyathi is currently based in South Africa and will be the guest speaker at the festival. Nyathi author of notable novels such as The Gold Diggers (2018), A Family Affair (2020) and An Angel’s Demise (2022) is also an editor. She has edited texts such as When Secrets Become Stories: Women Speak Out (2021) and has contributed to two Anthologies’: Black Tax: A Burden or Ubuntu (2019) and Hair: Unpicking and Weaving stories of Identity (2019).

Other gifted writers contributing to the festival panel discussions are Tinashe Muchuri, Beaton Mabaso, David Bene, Sista Zai, Pauline Chirata Mukondiwa, Pamela Phiri, Fungai Chigumbura, Zukiswa Wanner, Nomsa Mlambo and Margaret Chideme.

The 2024 edition will feature exciting panel discussions with topics such as, Beyond The Making of an African City a conversation with Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu. Siphiwe is the author of the critically-acclaimed and award-winning novels, The Theory of Flight (2018), The History of Man (2020) and The Quality of Mercy (2022) published in southern Africa by Penguin Random House and in North America by Catalyst Press. Hot off the press is her fourth novel, The Creation of Half-Broken People (2024) which was recently released by Picador Africa.

The veteran Aaron Chiundura Moyo will appear on the Legends Hour segment in conversation with Tinashe Muchuri in what promises to be an explosive inquiry into the life of the veteran writer.

Togara Muzanenhamo will speak on Writing Residencies: Challenges and Opportunities among other necessary and insightful conversations lined up.

Poets Kuda Rice and Takudzwa Goniwa will spice the day with performances together with the rising musician, Ariphileng Kwela.

This year, the Harare Book Festival is supported by Fastjet, Cresta Hotel, Ruparara Lodge, The Garden, Carnelian Heart Publishers, NyashaMusaGrace, Book Fantastics and all the participating writers.