Knysna Literary Festival

Presented by Pam Golding Properties Knysna to promote South Africa's rich literary heritage, the Knysna Literary Festival is now in its 10th year. It is the Garden Route’s only annual festival that hosts an exclusive group of hand-picked authors from South Africa and is fast becoming a must-attend with bookworms and lovers of all things literary.

Knysna Literary Festival (#KnysnaLitFest) will be hosted from 8th – 10th March 2019, offering a diverse and inspiring programme.

This year, all events take place at selected venues around the iconic Thesen Islands, in the heart of Knysna, and topics and books are guaranteed to inspire lively debate both at the festival, as well as long after.

The #KnysnaLitFest aims not only to expose locals and visitors to South Africa’s literary talents, but also to provide established authors with a platform to connect directly with their readers and target audience.

The Festival’s diverse programme touches on matters such as hot-topic current affairs and politics, history, adventure, conservation, cuisine and storytelling – meaning there’s something for everyone. All best-selling authors are either local or have close ties to South Africa, and have been selected not only for their literary talents, but also for their skills in entertaining and delighting audiences with readings, conversations, debates and workshops.

Over the years the #KnysnaLitFest has attracted many well-known literary celebrities, and this year is no exception – making the festival the ‘must-do’ event of all literary enthusiasts, book worms and culture vultures. Not only is the #KnysnaLitFest high on the agenda for readers, but authors and journalists likewise aspire to be a part of this prestigious festival, setting the bar higher each year with the programme on offer. 

As an aside from the main festival weekend, writing competitions are held for school-goers in the area, encouraging reading and writing amongst the local youth; the idea being to instill a passion for reading and writing from an early age. 

Says Ling Dobson, Principal of Pam Golding Properties Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, “Our goal is to stimulate the creative minds of students of the greater Knysna area, encouraging these young adults to make the most of their educational opportunities.  We present unique workshops throughout the year to stimulate literary awareness, focusing on both the skill and sheer enjoyment of writing. We are very proud to have recently coordinated two successful workshops in conjunction with FunDza.”

Don’t miss out! Join us for this highlight on the local calendar.