The Franschhoek Literary Festival: Fourth Edition will hit
the streets on Friday 14 May, with another gathering of writers, editors,
publishers, readers and assorted book fans who will be deep in various
conversations – sometimes to applause and laughter, occasionally
escalating to hot argument – until sunset on Sunday 16 May.
The FLF is a celebration of books and writers with the focus on promoting
South African writing and reading, run largely by volunteers and well
supported by the Franschhoek community.
The programme and the list of visiting writers are in the final stages of
being confirmed, and some of the overseas writers who will be
participating include:
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• From Japan: bestselling French author Muriel Barbery,
courtesy of the Alliance Francaise
• From Spain: John Carlin, author of the book about Madiba and the 1995
Rugby World Cup that Clint Eastwood turned into the movie Invictus
• From the UK, sponsored by the British Council: TV personality Tom Watt,
Arsenal fanatic and author of The Beautiful Game, a book of soccer heroes.
South African authors will include former FLF stars Ivan
Vladislaviæ, Deon Meyer, John van de Ruit, Rian Malan, Chris van Wyk, Niq
Mhlongo and Imraan Coovadia. This year we look forward to welcoming
Jonathan Jansen, Mandla Langa, Jacob Dlamini, Michiel Heyns, Véronique
Tadjo, Ndumiso Ngcobo, Mark Behr, Pieter Haasbroek, Aher Arap Bol and
Angela Makholwa. Of special interest will be Wessell Ebersohn, pioneer
writer of SA thrillers who dropped out of sight for nearly twenty years
and is now back with a new Yudel Gordon book, The October Killings.
Negotiations with other exciting writers – a number from
Africa – continue. There will also be a cookbook discussion on Friday 14
May with three Ms of local cuisine: Marlene van der Westhuizen, Mark Dendy-Young
and Myrna Robins.
The price of FLF tickets remains the same than last year:
R60 per event, with concessions for students. Regular festival
participants know that the proceeds of ticket sales and donations go into
the FLF Library Fund which puts books into schools and crèches, with the
long-term goal of achieving a new library to serve all communities in our
valley. In three years the FLF has raised over R415 000 for the Fund.
‘The people shall read’ is the mantra of the 2010 Festival, starting with
children. Your enjoyment of the FLF 2010 from 14 to 16 May will help to
work towards this essential objective.
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