After a three-year hiatus, the Gaborone Book Festival is back with fresh voices, bold environmental conversations, a children’s writing workshop and a mission to prove that books are still the hottest place to start a national conversation
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
Three years is a long time to leave a bookmark hanging. But the Gaborone Book Festival (GBF) is finally flipping the page. From 20-22 August, Botswana’s biggest literary celebration returns determined to remind readers that books don’t just tell stories, they spark movements, shape identities and challenge the future.
MORE THAN JUST BOOKS
This year’s comeback leans into the classics—book launches, author conversations, panel discussions and bustling book sales—but adds a new chapter with a dedicated children’s festival.
Around 50 children from schools in low-income and hard-to-reach communities around Gaborone will take part in a writing workshop designed to nurture tomorrow’s storytellers.
“We are bringing the traditional format of the festival… What we are also excited about this year is the fact that we will have the children’s festival,” co-founder of GBF Kenanao Phele told Time Out.
“We want to inspire Batswana to keep writing their own stories and view writing as an essential and critical part of national discourse.”
THE ENVIRONMENT TAKES CENTRE STAGE
Forget the idea that literature only belongs on library shelves.
The festival’s central theme—the environment—will stretch far beyond books, inviting filmmakers, artists, chefs and creatives whose work is inspired by nature to join the conversation. The aim is to show that storytelling lives everywhere, from cinema screens to kitchens and canvases.
“We will feature film makers, artists, chefs and others whose focus is also inspired by the environment in their everyday work,” Phele explained.
A FESTIVAL FOR A COUNTRY AT 60
As Botswana marks six decades of independence, GBF 2026 will also reflect on where the nation has been and where it’s heading. The programme promises conversations that connect literature with identity, national progress and the questions shaping modern Botswana.
Rather than simply celebrating books, the festival wants to strengthen the entire literary ecosystem by creating a rare meeting place where readers, established authors and emerging writers can exchange ideas.
With new collaboration with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and more guest announcements still to come, GBF 2026 isn’t just making a return. It’s making a statement: the best stories are the ones that bring everyone into the conversation.