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, the African diaspora, and international literary traditions which help to enrich the country’s literary community.
Described as “a gathering of readers, writers, and lovers of storytellers”, the Doek Literary Festival strives to provide an opportunity for passionate readers and aspiring, emerging, and established writers, poets, visual artists, and musicians to encounter and learn from each other with literature forming the connective tissue between the various disciplines. The inclusion of visual art exhibitions, poetry and musical performances, and activities such as creative writing workshops creates an interactive and engaging festival experience that showcases the breadth and depth of storytelling. For visiting literary artists, the Doek Literary Festival offers glimpses into Windhoek’s social, economic, political, and cultural life—in this way, the festival is a portal of encounter that places the curious traveller close to the pulse of the city’s rhythms.
Each year, the festival is anchored by a theme or focus which provides a guide for festival curation and programming and for designing the aesthetic and experiential components. Rather than being prescriptive, each year’s theme lends itself to multiple interpretations which infuse the festival’s conversations, visual art exhibitions, poetry readings, and musical performances with diverse points of engagement.
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, African, and international writers, poets, visual artists, and musicians.
2022 DOEK LITERARY FESTIVAL
hosted in parternership with the University of East Anglia’s International Chair of Creative Writing
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2024 DOEK LITERARY FESTIVAL
hosted in partnership with Bank Windhoek
and co-sponsored by the Windham-Campbell Prizes
Cover Image: Bookshop.
© Eli Francis.