Marula Literary Festival doubles attendance cap for July 2026 edition

South Africa's Marula Literary Festival in Makhanda has doubled its attendance cap to 7,200 for its July 2026 edition, citing demand and a new venue partnership.

Announcement

Organizers of the Marula Literary Festival announced on April 6, 2026 that the festival's July 2026 edition will double its attendance cap from 3,600 to 7,200, the largest in the festival's twelve-year history. The 2026 edition will run July 22–27 in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The expansion is enabled by a new venue partnership with Rhodes University's Eden Grove complex.

Programme

The 2026 programme features 84 sessions including readings, panels, and translation workshops, more than half conducted in or featuring isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sesotho, or Afrikaans. The keynote address will be delivered by novelist Tendai Mthengwane, whose 2025 novel 'The Coppertown Almanac' won the Pamberi Prize. A separate young-readers track aimed at ages 8–14 has been added with 22 sessions.

Tickets and access

Festival passes are R780 for the full week or R220 per day. Bursary tickets — available to undergraduate students at any South African public university — are R0 with valid ID and run-of-festival pass; the bursary pool is capped at 600 passes. The festival is wheelchair-accessible at all eleven venues; British Sign Language interpretation is available at the keynote and four panel sessions on request before July 8.

Operational notes

Festival director Bonisile Maquba-Lerotholi said the venue partnership reduces the festival's reliance on temporary marquee structures, which had cost about R3.4 million in the 2025 edition. The festival's operating budget for 2026 is R28.6 million, of which 41% comes from the National Arts Council, 28% from corporate sponsorship led by Standard Bank, and the remainder from ticket sales and book vendor concessions.

Key facts

The Marula Literary Festival doubled its attendance cap from 3,600 to 7,200 for July 2026.
The 2026 edition runs July 22–27 in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
The expansion is enabled by a venue partnership with Rhodes University's Eden Grove complex.
The 2026 programme features 84 sessions across multiple languages.
The keynote will be delivered by Tendai Mthengwane, author of 'The Coppertown Almanac'.
Full-week passes are R780 and day passes are R220.
The bursary pool for undergraduate students is capped at 600 free passes.
Temporary marquee costs in the 2025 edition were about R3.4 million.
The 2026 operating budget is R28.6 million, with 41% from the National Arts Council.

Details