The Franschhoek Literary Festival: Fourth Edition will hit the streets of this Winelands village starting on Friday 14 May.
It will be 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:
- 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 Vladislavic, 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 as 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.
Details will be up on the website soon, with the programme due towards the end of February.
For further information, please refer to the FLF website, www.flf.co.za, or e-mail the helpline info@flf.co.za. For accommodation and general enquiries contact the Franschhoek Tourism office 021 876 3603 or go to www.franschhoek.org.za
