Welcome to Books on the Bay, the Simon’s Town Literary Festival.

The setting for bestselling fiction, Simon’s Town and the far south is home to a number of South Africa’s most renowned authors.

Photo credit: Jon Kerrin
www.jonkerrin.com

Festival details

10 and 11 March 2023

Friday–Saturday 10 and 11 March 2023: Main festival programme, 19 events in six venues, over two days – readings, panel discussions, music, and spoken word poetry.

Festival map

Everything you need to know about the venues and getting here, created by MapMyWay.

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2023 Participants

The inaugural Books on the Bay in 2023 is supported by an incomparable line-up of writers, including a Nobel Laureate and two Booker Prize winners. See our Authors page.

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Books on the Bay is a community-supported non-profit festival – with your help, we can continue to bring inspiring experiences and programs to the far south. Your contribution will ensure that future generations of book lovers get the opportunity to explore literature in all its forms!

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Latest News

People’s Stories & Books: A story from the inaugural Simon’s Town Literary Festival by Nancy Richards

Renowned broadcaster Nancy Richards has created a podcast episode about Books on the Bay for her series People's Stories & Books. Over two days, in the seaside town awash with heritage of all sorts, scores of well-known and would-be writers, readers and...

Programme change: ‘Adventures in Life Writing’ replaces ‘Character in Biography’

Dear Books on the Bay attendees, Very sadly, Mark Gevisser has had to withdraw from the festival following the passing away of his mother. Our sincere condolences to Mark and his family. The session on ‘Character in Biography’ involving Mark and Elleke Boehmer, in...

Coetzee, Krog and the comfort of words (Financial Mail)

Chris Roper has written a detailed account of the Books on the Bay launch event. The full article requires a BL Premium subscription to view. Some of the region’s top writers will appear at the inaugural Books on the Bay festival in Simon’s Town next month. Their...