Please consider donating to the Open Book Festival.
You could also do a direct payment; our details are as follows:
Account number: 1128958783
Swift Code: NEDSZAJJ
If you have any other questions, please email either Mervyn or Frankie.
Mervyn | mervynsloman@gmail.com
Frankie | frankie@openbookfestival.co.za
Open Book Crowdfunding
Recent developments have fundamentally changed our financial landscape. When we were last in touch, we had not yet heard the outcomes of applications to the Western Cape Cultural Affairs and Sport, or to the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture. Since then, we have received a letter from the Western Cape confirming they can support us with just over R55 000. Our original application was for R300 000. The DSAC list of projects does not include Open Book at all (see the list of supported projects here). After years of receiving crucial multi-year funding as a Western Cape Flagship Project (including R700 000 in 2024), we can no longer depend on government support.
Open Book isn’t just an event – it’s a vital cultural ecosystem. If Open Book Festival ceases to exist, the impact will be felt by many writers who have enjoyed the platform the festival creates, the sales of books, the opportunities to meet, engage and connect with other writers and the opportunities to talk to readers and engaged citizens. This isn’t just about preserving tradition – it’s about ensuring that a safe, inclusive space for authors, readers and all socially and politically conscious people continues to exist in an increasingly fragmented world.
If you have any other questions, please email either Mervyn or Frankie.
Final words from the Open Book team
Since 2011, we have been curating a festival that speaks to our love for the work of South African (and other) writers, as well as our commitment to seeing the literary landscape in this country transform. It has been a space where we have been privileged to create inclusive, interesting, entertaining and meaningful events that are part of much broader conversations. We have witnessed friendships being made, work being created and published because of new connections, and have come to think of so many of you as family. We are heartbroken that the continued existence of Open Book feels so tenuous. Please help if you can.
Mervyn, Frankie and the Open Book Team