Join us for our Vernac Book Fair on 16 Aug

Preserving languages is imperative for our future, and connects us to our past. That's why we're launching a Vernac Book Fair at our shop in Marshalltown. 

In a country so laden with linguistic diversity and with a history of suppressing vernacular languages, it’s important to us that more voices, in more languages, are heard. 

Bridge Books is proud to invite you to its first Vernac Book Fair on 16 August 2025, at the Barbican branch in Marshalltown. Bridging the gap between writers and publishers, and authors and readers, is what Bridge Books does best. The line-up includes sessions for young readers, professional language practitioners, and leisure readers — storytime sessions, performances, and panel discussions. Join us in celebrating local and indigenous languages, and the people who work tirelessly to ensure that our local tongues and all their tales are still heard today.

We’ll start at 12:30, followed by a storytelling and a performance by writer and poet Sabelo Soko. Afterwards, we look forward to a panel moderated by award-winning broadcaster Kgomotso Monyai between Nozizwe Jele, Kalvyn More and Sabelo Soko, about the ins and outs of the editing and publishing spaces that exist for vernacular languages. After that, we’re opening up the floor for local language lovers of all calibers to connect, cash bar included. 

We look forward to hosting you! To find out more, click here.