Due to the corona pandemic, National Book Week will take place online this year. Please join us 7-13 September 2020 as we celebrate books and reading.

The theme for 2020 is Passport to Tomorrow. The country’s social and economic progress depends in large measure on its people’s ability to access and read. The theme is fit-for-purpose for the next decade as we emerge from the pandemic towards the promise of a better tomorrow. It is interpretive, and its appeal lies not in the statement itself, but in the way it is constructed by the reader, for self. Download NBW 2020 marketing material here.

Hosted by the South African Book Development Council (SABDC) in partnership with the Department Of Sport, Arts and Culture, National Book Week is South Africa’s official reading awareness week.

NBW aims to mitigate the findings of the 2007 study that revealed that:

Each year, the SABDC hosts Indigenous Language Reading Festivals in all nine provinces to engage with audiences from all walks of life. Pre-schoolers, grade R to 12 learners, the youth, adults, elders, as well as librarians and teachers from communities throughout the country participate in various programme activities. This annual campaign is aimed at creating an interest in reading through fun, light activities related to reading and books. We focus on promoting leisure reading, i.e. reading for entertainment, enjoyment, fulfillment, information, etc.