The Knysna Literary Festival is an annual literary festival held in Knysna, Western Cape, South Africa with a focus on South African authors and South African literature.

6th ANNUAL KNYSNA LITERARY FESTIVAL A SOLD-OUT SUCCESS

KNYSNA (March 24, 2015) – Presented by Pam Golding Properties Knysna, the 6th annual Knysna Literary Festival took place over the weekend to great success, with ticket sales far exceeding any other year so far. Festival Founder Ling Dobson explains, “We were sold out within four hours for Zapiro Unplugged at Il de Pain, and the Delicious Word journey sold out in just two days – compared to a week last year. Before the festival even started we were down to just a scattering of tickets still available.”

It seems that what started off as a small, rather intimate, festival has grown in magnitude and calibre with the support of some of South Africa’s top publishers. “The festival, which offers a unique literary experience, has established itself as an exclusive experience more than anything – a platform to be inspired and connect with prominent and exciting authors, to discuss and listen to a ‘take’ on our country’s current politics, and be entertained by good authors, good wine and good food. This is the essence of our festival, and we will never compromise this, ” says Dobson.

Starting with a celebration of young people, the festival kicked off on March 18 with children’s theatre performances by the Lilliput Players and Hare Manje. The performances were completely sold out for the second year, with 1,200 learners in attendance. The Children’s Theatre was followed by the Young Writers Awards Ceremony, which saw a record number of 286 entries, up from 181 entries in 2014. Other highlights on the 2015 programme included the ‘Fate of the Nation’ political panel, creativity workshops by Graeme Butchart, and appearances by PJ Powers, Tony Leon, Shani Krebs, Jonathan Kaplan, Mandy Wiener and many more.

Festival Manager Sasha Campbell says the festival has gained momentum since it first started. “We have tried to ensure that attendees experience a programme that is quirky, exciting and current in terms of both the topics and the speakers. After putting in a lot of effort, we can now say that the Knysna Literary Festival is one-of-a-kind for the region.”

Campbell concludes, “The festival is thankful for the support it has received from Pam Golding Properties, Business and Arts South Africa (BASA), Exclusive Books, Jonathan Ball Publishers, Jane Simon – The Wine Ambassador, Red Bridge Brewing Co, and Bos Tea, not to mention our incredible and unique venues such as Ile de Pain, the Turbine Boutique Hotel & Spa, Conrad Pezula Resort & Spa, and Mitchells Brewery. None of this would be possible without the support we have received.”

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