The Johannesburg-based writer, filmmaker and photographer Lidudumalingani was the curator of the African Book Festival in Berlin. Taking place from 26-28th August 2022, the event once more brought together the stars of contemporary African literature in the German capital. In 2016, winning the Caine Prize for African Writing propelled him to literary stardom. Shortly after he was awarded the Miles Morland Scholarship for his debut novel Let Your Children Name Themselves, cementing his fame.
His short stories and essays have been published in various anthologies, his photographs exhibited in galleries. He regularly writes for the Johannesburg Review of Books and is currently working on his first novel, a non-fiction book and a feature film.
No other African country has made headlines as often during the Covid-19 pandemic as South Africa. In an attempt to counter the questionable narratives of the so-called continent in crisis, the African Book Festival focused on South African literature and culture.
Titled Yesterday.Today.Tomorrow, the programme curated by Lidudumalingani will include readings, concerts, panel discussions, poetry and comedy. The theme of the 2022 edition explores the connections between writers – the way older writers hold the hand of the young writers when they write, and how, in turn, they too hold the hand of the writers coming after them.
