Here is a list of all the amazing events you can look forward to at the Franschhoek Literary Festival this year! Because there are so many wonderful events we have decided to split them into 3 blogs (one for each day of the festival).

What’s going on in the ANC?
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: School Hall
Wouldn’t we all like to know? Moeletsi Mbeki and journalist Carol Paton take us behind the scenes, chaired by UCT’s Richard Calland.

Steve Biko
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: Congregational Church
Christi van der Westhuizen of the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice and Suren Pillay of the Centre for Humanities Research at UWC in discussion with Xolela Mangcu about his recent biography.

A song of Africa
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: Council Chambers
Izak Dinesen wrote, “If I have a song of Africa, does Africa have a song of me?” Marguerite Poland (Taken Captive by Birds) and Patricia Glyn (What Dawid Knew) tussle with the question.

How have wars changed over the past century?
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: Hospice Hall
Antony Beevor in conversation with Hamilton Wende.

Thomas Pringle
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: The Screening Room
Bill Nasson talks to Randolph Vigne about his new biography Thomas Pringle, SA pioneer, poet and abolitionist.

Liberal: fine ideal or dirty word?
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: School Hall
Expect a fiery debate as Tony Leon and Eusebius McKaiser square up to each other again with Dennis Davis in the chair.

Literary prizes
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: Church Hall
Michele Magwood explores the substantial pros and sometimes-voiced cons with Kate Mosse, co-founder of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, formerly the Orange Prize, and prizewinners Tan Twan Eng (The Garden of Evening Mists) and Finuala Dowling.

Digging for the truth
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: Congregational Church
Investigative journalism under the spotlight with Jenny Crwys-Williams talking to Jacques Pauw, Julian Rademeyer and Antony Altbeker (Fruit of a Poisoned Tree).

Dis ek, Anna (tweetalig)
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: Council Chamber
Helen Naude in conversation with Anchien Troskie.

HHhH
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: Hospice Hall
Laurent Binet, whose novel HHhH about the assassination of Heydrich won the Prix Goncourt for a first novel in 2010, in conversation with Tymon Smith.

Poetry in the Screening Room
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: The Screening Room
Joan Hambidge (Lot se vrou) and Isobel Dixon share poems and talk about nurturing new talent, being a critic as well as an artist, and their own poetic craft.

The Great African Society
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: School Hall
Francis Wilson chairs this discussion between Hlumelo Biko, one of our country’s vibrant new voices, and Aubrey Matshiqi.

Anthony Horowitz
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: Church Hall
… in conversation with John Maytham.

Feisty women
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: Congregational Church
Journalist Gaye Davis conducts this quartet of spirited women writers: Pat Fahrenfort (A Spanner in the Works), Melanie Verwoerd and Melinda Ferguson (Hooked and Smacked).

Moscow!Moscow!
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: Council Chambers
Christopher Hope who wrote the travel book in conversation with A D Miller.

Child soldiers
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: Hospice Hall
Jamala Safari and Hamilton Wende (Only the Dead) agonise about one of the scourges that ravage our continent, chaired by Ndumiso Ngcobo.

Poetry in the Screening Room
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: The Screening Room
Three winners of SA’s prestigious Ingrid Jonker prize in conversation. Finuala Dowling (I flying) asks Bev Rycroft (missing) and Megan Hall (Fourth Child) why grief, love and dark wit make the best poems.

To frack or not to frack
Time: 14h00 – 15h00
Venue: School Hall
Karoo resident and contributing editor to Business Day Tim Cohen (A Piece of the Pie) undertakes what is bound to be a fracktious debate between Ivo Vegter (Extreme Environment), environmental lawyer Cormac Cullinan and Jonathan Deal of the Treasure Karoo Action Group.

Prisms on the past
Time: 14h00 – 15h00
Venue: Church Hall
Lynda Gilfillan explores the possibilities of historical fiction with Laurent Binet, author of HHhH, and Claire Robertson, author of The Spiral House.

Writing Africa
Time: 14h00 – 15h00
Venue: Congregational Church
Njabulo Ndebele, one of our country’s literary icons, in conversation with Oswald Mtshali
and Mtutuzeli Nyoka.

The Last Afrikaner Leaders
Time: 14h00 – 15h00
Venue: Council Chamber
Author Hermann Giliomee of Stellenboschtalks to broadcaster Mike Wills.

Vrede
Time: 14h00 – 15h00
Venue: Hospice Hall
Jo-Anne Richards and Fred de Vries bought a weekend retreat which transformed gradually from utopia to dystopia. It became a strong thread through both their recent works – one fiction, the other non-fiction. Here they tease out their different treatments of a dorp which encapsulates many of South Africa’s issues.

Patricia Glyn…
Time: 14h00 – 15h00
Venue: The Screening Room
…presents her riveting TEDx talk about what she learnt on her journey into the Kalahari with
the late Khomani San leader, Dawid Kruiper, and his family.

11h30-12h30
Concert Schubert II:‘A consolation for our loneliness’
(NGK Church) R90, pay at the door
Christopher Duigan plays solo piano music by Schubert including Four Impromptus, selections from Moments musicaux and Drei Klavierstücke. (70 mins)

15h30
Concert SCHUBERT III: ‘The Trout’
(Café BonBon at La Petite Dauphine) R150, concert only
Schubert’s Trout Quintet for violin, viola, cello, double-bass and piano played by Christopher Duigan (piano) and friends.
Book a table for lunch from 12 noon or join the audience in time for the concert. Tel: Café BonBon 021 876 3936

Here is a list of all the amazing events you can look forward to at the Franschhoek Literary Festival this year! Because there are so many wonderful events we have decided to split them into 3 blogs (one for each day of the festival).

Leadership and Corruption
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: School Hall
Njabulo Ndebele (Fine Lines from the Box), David Lewis of Corruption Watch and A D Miller discuss these crucial issues of our time, chaired by Shaun Johnson of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation.

World War II
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: Church Hall
Distinguished war historian Antony Beevor (The Second World War) engages with French academic and novelist Laurent Binet (HHhH), chaired by Professor Bill Nasson of Stellenbosch (South Africa at War 1939-1945).

SOS Africa
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: Congregational Church
Julian Rademeyer (Killing for Profit), Jacques Pauw (Rat Roads) and Jamala Safari (The Great Agony and Pure Laughter of the Gods) wrestle with the extent of some of our continent’s problems, chaired by Ray Hartley, former editor of the Sunday Times and The Times.

Drug Muled
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: Council Chamber
By the time Vanessa Goosen had spent 16 terrible years in a Thai prison, a lot of publishers were after her story – but newbie Melinda Ferguson prevailed.

Literary Lionesses of False Bay
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: Hospice Hall
Ann Donald of Kalk Bay Books, who knows them well, talks to novelists Finuala Dowling (Homemaking for the Down-at-Heart), Diane Awerbuck (Home Remedies) and Claire Robertson (The Spiral House).

Poetry in the Screening Room
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: The Screening Room
Poets Antjie Krog and Ingrid de Kok in conversation and reading new work.

Alexander McCall Smith
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: School Hall
Michele Magwood engages with this most engaging of authors, polymath creator of The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and more than a hundred books (and counting) translated into over 45 languages.

Does patriarchy lead to sexual violence?
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: Church Hall
… or are submissive or absent mothers also at fault? A crucial debate for our troubled time between Redi Thlabi, Anchien Troskie and Casey B Dolan (An Appetite for Peas), chaired by Eusebius McKaiser (A Bantu in my Bathroom).

Found in translation
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: Congregational Church
Editor Lynda Gilfillan asks Afrikaans authors Ingrid Winterbach (The Book of Happenstance/Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat), Eben Venter (Wolf Wolf) and Carel van der Merwe (Shadow /Skaduwee) whether translations do their original versions justice.

Shock/horror
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: Council Chamber
Lauren Beukes, winner of the 2012 Arthur C Clarke Award, delves into the underworld of techno-terror with the co-authors of The Mall and The Ward, Sarah Lotz and Louis Greenberg.

Karoo mosaic
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: Hospice Hall
Tim Cohen talks to writers whose books give intimate glimpses into Karoo lives: poet and activist Sydda Essop (Karoo Kitchen), poet Isobel Dixon (The Tempest Prognosticator) and Carol Campbell (My Childen Have Faces, about karretjie people).

Poetry in the Screening Room
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: The Screening Room
Oswald Mtshali in conversation with Tessa Dowling about the republication of Sounds of a Cowhide Drum , now with Zulu translations

How to fix South Africa
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: School Hall
This Sunday Times book is a collection of articles written by leading South Africans who suggest solutions. Dennis Davis talks possibilities with Moeletsi Mbeki, Hlumelo Biko and the former editor who commissioned them, Ray Hartley.

Bestsellers
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: Church Hall
Bestsellers Kate Mosse (Languedoc Trilogy, of which Labyrinth was the first) and Anthony Horowitz, polymath author of over 35 books as well as many TV and movie scripts, plays and journalism, talk to Jenny Crwys-Williams.

Pulp Fiction
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: Congregational Church
Enter the exciting world of African graphic novels as Sean O’Toole exchanges notes with enthusiasts Katie Reid, Stacy Hardy and Ashraf Jamal.

Peacocking
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: Council Chambers
UCT linguists Rajend Mesthrie and Tessa Dowling rap about South Africa’s rich compost of languages, including township slang.

Favourite Poems
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: Hospice Hall
Four poets – Finuala Dowling (I Flying), Ingrid de Kok (Other Signs), Karen Press, (Slowly, as if) and Danie Marais (In die buitenste ruimte) – present their favourite poems.

New Voices
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: The Screening Room
Sue Grant-Marshall of Radio Today talks to crime novelist Amanda Coetzee and medical specialist Mtutuzeli Nyoka who has written a first novel, A Hill of Fools.

Ambassadors
Time: 14h30 – 15h30
Venue: School Hall
SA’s representatives come from both sides of the political divide. Mike Wills talks diplomacy with Melanie Verwoerd, former ambassador to Ireland (The Verwoerd who Toyi Toyied) and Tony Leon who took on Argentina (The Accidental Ambassador).

What do publishers want?
Time: 14h30 – 15h30
Venue: Church Hall
Random House Struik MD Steve Connolly quizzes Melinda Ferguson (M F Books, a Jacana imprint with a focus on black women’s stories), Debra Primo (UKZN Press) and American Ron Irwin, a UCT academic who teaches creative writing and doubles as a literary agent

Prodigal Daughters
Time: 14h30 – 15h30
Venue: Congregational Church
Palesa Morudu talks to Annemarie Wolpe, Gonda Perez and Ruth Carneson about their exiled lives during the Struggle, with editor Lauretta Ngcobo, Barbara Bell and Elizabeth Trew standing by.

Social Issues In Fiction
Time: 14h30 – 15h30
Venue: Council Chamber
Lauren Beukes talks to Rebecca Davis about her new thriller, The Shining Girls, and using inventive fiction to explore big issues in an engaging way.

Where’s the Chicken?
Time: 14h30 – 15h30
Venue: Hospice Hall
With a foreword by Mamphela Ramphele, this brief practical book with fresh perspectives on creating a safer society in South Africa is by two academics who know what they’re talking about: John Cartwright and Clifford Shearing. Ndumiso Ngcobo asks the questions.

Poetry in the Screening Room
Time: 14h30 – 15h30
Venue: The Screening Room
Then/Now: Michael Cope (Ghaap; Sonnets from the Northern Cape) in an illustrated multimedia conversation with Bev Rycroft (missing).

Don’t touch me on my dog
Time: 16h00 – 17h00
Venue: School Hall
How do we grow beyond the racism that still blights our country? Francis Wilson probes for answers from political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi, Eusebius McKaiser and Zapiro, the cartoonist who can make us cringe with a few pen strokes.

A sense of place
Time: 16h00 – 17h00
Venue: Church Hall
Christopher Hope engages with three authors whose recent novels have a strong sense of place: Ken Barris on growing up in PE, Alistair Morgan who sets The Land Within on a former family farm in the Karoo, and Ron Irwin who writes about an obsession with rowing in an American boys’ school.

Researching war and cities
Time: 16h00 – 17h00
Venue: Congregational Church
Antony Beevor in conversation with Vivian Bickford-Smith of UCT.

Critics on critics
Time: 16h00 – 17h00
Venue: Council Chamber
Sean O’Toole in conversation with Margaret von Klemperer, books editor of the Witness, and Fred de Vries (The Fred de Vries Interviews).

Haunted by waters
Time: 16h00 – 17h00
Venue: Hospice Hall
A treat for trout fishermen: John Maytham talks to Duncan Brown (Are Trout South African?) with doyen Tom Sutcliffe in attendance.

Author to author
Time: 16h00 – 17h00
Venue: The Screening Room
Jo-Anne Richards in conversation with Rachel Zadok.

Patricia Glyn …
Time: 17h30 – 18h30
Venue: The Screening Room
… presents her riveting TEDx talk about what she learnt on her journey into the Kalahari with the late Khomani San leader, Dawid Kruiper, and his family.

10h00 – 15h00
“Live news” sessions (Protea Hotel) (pay at the door)
Editor Martin Welz will chair four activistexperts talking about hot news stories. See poster in the Town Hall during the FLF or www.noseweek.co.za for details.

Concert Schubert I: ‘Withered flowers’ (NGK Church) R90, pay at the door
Pianist Albie van Schalkwyk joins Liesl Stoltz (flute) and Christopher Duigan to play Schubert’s Trockne Blumen for flute and piano and Fantasia in F minor for four hands at one piano. (70 minutes)

Ingrid Winterbach as writer and visual artist (IS Art Gallery)
A conversation between Ingrid and Lize van Robbroeck. Bookings: 021 876 8443. (Free event)

10h00 – 12h00
Flash Memoir Workshop (Double Event)
Learn tools to access the core of your life story – giving equal weight to the facts and the poetry of the matter – with Dawn Garisch.

11h30 – 12h30
Taken Captive by Birds
John Maytham talks to the author of this childhood memoir Marguerite Poland and bird illustrator Craig Ivor, some of whose work will be exhibited.

18h00
Sunday Times Literary Awards Shortlist announcement (Le Coq Restaurant, Huguenot Square) (By invitation only).

18h00
Concert Voices for Africa FREE concert (NGK Church)
A celebratory event featuring some of Cape Town’s most established operatic voices, including Beverley Chiat (soprano) with new talent from Anzwi Omzansi Africa National Singing Competition, a project initiated by London–based baritone Njabulo Madlala. The local Simunye Choir also feature in a selection of traditional songs Everyone welcome. (70 mins)

19h00 for 19h30
Dinner with talk show host and author Jenny Crwys-Williams at Pierneef à La Motte restaurant, R45 Main Road, Franschhoek Valley.
Enjoy dinner with some of the best authors around and Porcupine Ridge wines. Phone Jade Horn on 076 780 6383 or email justjenny@iafrica.com

19h30
Sunday Times dinner at Reuben’s
Join Sunday Times for a literary evening at Reuben’s Restaurant & Bar: Alexander McCall Smith and Kate Mosse in discussion with Michele Magwood. Tickets: R550 each for four courses with a welcome drink of Porcupine Ridge wine. To book, email goodtimes@sundaytimes.co.za

Here is a list of all the amazing events you can look forward to at the Franschhoek Literary Festival this year! Because there are so many wonderful events we have decided to split them into 3 blogs (one for each day of the festival).

Alexander McCall Smith (event for schools and adult fans)
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: New High School Hall
The bestselling author is also an unforgettable speaker. This is the first of two chances to be royally entertained by him with Jenny Crwys-Williams asking the questions.

Science is Cool (event for schools)
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: School Hall
UCT Emeritus Professor George Ellis talks to two young scientists, Ethel Phiri of Stellenbosch and Jeff Murugan of UCT, and Business Day Science and Technology editor Sarah Wild, author of Searching African Skies, about science as an exciting profession.

Paul Geraghty (for 5-10 year olds and anyone with a sense of humour)
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: Church Hall
The award winning author of The Hunter and Dinosaurs in Danger will delight and inspire young readers with his exuberant storytelling and illustrations. His picture books encourage children to read, write, draw and think creatively.

Great Gardens of South Africa
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: Congregational Church
Horticulturist Ida Raimondo discusses their gardening books with Nini Bairnsfather Cloete (Remarkable Gardens of SA), Jane Griffiths (Jane’s Delicious Garden, Delicious Herbs and Delicious Kitchen) and Bernadette le Roux (Roots, Shoots & Leaves).

New voices at the FLF
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: Council Chamber
Sue Grant-Marshall chats to Jill Nudelman (Inheriting the Earth), Gareth Crocker (Journey From Darkness) and Liesl Jobson (Ride the Tortoise) about their new books.

Epidemics
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: Hospice Hall
Howard Phillips of the Department of Historical Studies at UCT (Plague, Pox & Pandemics) gets into fascinating medical and social details with Jillian Riley (Shame: Confessions of an aid worker in Africa)

Surprise event
Time: 10h00 – 11h00
Venue: Screening Room
(to be announced)

Rising eighteen
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: New High School Hall
Samantha Page (editor, From Me to Me) joins comedian Nik Rabinowitz (South Africa: Long Walk to a Free Ride), writer Osiame Molefe, author Fiona Snyckers (Team Trinity) and Athambile Masola (contributor to My First Time) to talk about surviving the final years at school.

The Power of Horowitz (event for schools)
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: School Hall
Michele Magwood introduces multi-talented Anthony Horowitz, best known for his Alex Rider series and The Power of Five supernatural thrillers, who will talk about his passion for creating spellbinding stories for devoted young fans and enticing new readers.

Cooking up a Storm
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: Church Hall
Irresistible and very different cookbooks with Sydda Essop (Karoo Kitchen), Jane-Anne Hobbs (Scrumptious) and Hilary Biller (Sunday Times Food Weekly Cookbook), chaired by food magazine editor Abigail Donnelly.

Assegais & Commandos
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: Congregational Church
Bill Nasson (The War for South Africa) takes a trip into our warlike past with Willem Steenkamp (Assegais, Drums & Dragoons) and Trevor Emslie, publisher of a new Afrikaans translation of Deneys Reitz’s Commando. (In the audience will be Michael Reitz with his grandfather’s Anglo Boer War Mauser).

Storytelling for little ones (free event)
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: Council Chamber
Children’s author Dianne Stewart and other storytellers for ages 5-9.

New Voices
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: Hospice Hall
Linda Gilfillan introduces three new writers with a Cape focus: Claire Robertson (The Spiral House), Ashraf Kagee (Khalil’s Journey) and Mark Winkler (An Exceptionally Simple Theory [of Absolutely Everything]).

Ingrid Jonker: A Poet’s Life
Time: 11h30 – 12h30
Venue: The Screening Room
Biographer Petrovna Metelerkamp in conversation with Ingrid’s daughter Simone.

Technology wizards (event for schools)
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: School Hall
Toby Shapshak, editor of Stuff magazine, Marlon Parker, social entrepreneur and founder of community oriented RLabs, and broadcaster Simon Dingle talk about the latest available technology

Dystopia in Science Fiction (event for schools)
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: Church Hall
Five top S.F. authors dissect the futures they predict: Sarah Lotz (The Mall) Lauren Beukes (The Shining Girls), Cat Hellisen (When the Sea is Rising Red), Karen Jayes (For the Mercy of Water) and Rachel Zadok (Sister-Sister).

Jane Raphaely Unedited
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: Congregational Church
Toni Younghusband in conversation with the doyenne of South African magazine editors about her autobiography.

Mampoer Shorts
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: Council Chamber
Joining Wits journalism professor Anton Harber to talk about his new initiative publishing longform journalism online are Dutch author Fred de Vries, writer Osiame Molefe and travel writer Justin Fox (The Marginal Safari).

Crime Conversation
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: Hospice Hall
Witness books editor Margaret von Klemperer (Just a Dead Man) talks crimewriting with Amanda Coetzee (Redemption Song), Consuelo Roland (Lady Limbo) and Rahla Xenopolous (Bubbles).

Home From Home
Time: 13h00 – 14h00
Venue: The Screening Room
Rhodes professor of poetry Chris Mann and Julia Skeen present their multi art show.

Surviving Childhood
Time: 14h30 – 15h30
Venue: School Hall
This event focuses on the devastation and effects of childhood trauma. Redi Thlabi (Endings & Beginnings) Martinique Stilwell (Thinking up a Hurricane) and Diane Awerbuck (Home Remedies), chaired by Melinda Ferguson.

Trial by twitter
Time: 14h30 – 15h30
Venue: Church Hall
Tweets are an instantaneous news medium with growing influence on public opinion. Fiona Snyckers quizzes Julian Rademeyer, Sam Wilson and non-tweeting journalist Ann Crotty about the pros and cons.

Carcassonne
Time: 14h30 – 15h30
Venue: Congregational Church
Novelist Christopher Hope chats to British author and playwright Kate Mosse about their engagement with France and one of its great historical cities.

Three writers walk into a book deal…
Time: 14h30 – 15h30
Venue: Council Chamber
Sarah Lotz, Paige Nick and Helen Moffett talk about the exciting international publishing deal for their fun and feisty choose-your-own-adventure erotica series “A Girl Walks Into…” and how it’s giving them what all writers crave – the freedom to write full-time.

Eastern Cape blues
Time: 14h30 – 15h30
Venue: Hospice Hall
Anchien Troskie (Dis ek, Anna and Die Staat Teen Anna Bruwer), Ken Barris (Life Underwater) and Marguerite Poland (Taken Captive by Birds) in conversation with Jo-Anne Richards (The Imagined Child).

Patricia Glyn …
Time: 14h30 – 15h30
Venue: The Screening Room
… presents her riveting TEDx talk about what she learnt on her journey into the Kalahari with the late Khomani San leader, Dawid Kruiper, and his family.

Fifty Shades of funny
Time: 16h00 – 17h00
Venue: School Hall
The combination of Sunday Times columnist Ndumiso Ngcobo and stand-up comedians Marianne Thamm and Nik Rabinowitz will have this audience laughing all the way home.

Fiction editing in South Africa
Time: 16h00 – 17h00
Venue: Church Hall
On a more serious note, John Linnegar of the Professional Editors’ Group talks to editor Maire Fisher, author/critic Brent Meersman (Reports Before Daybreak) and publishers Fourie Botha (Umuzi) and Colleen Higgs (Modjaji) about the local state of the art.

Writing a path through grief
Time: 16h00 – 17h00
Venue: Congregational Church
Sean Davison (Before We Said Goodbye, After We Said Goodbye) has been much in the news since his house arrest in New Zealand. Here he talks to Mignonne Breier (Letters to my Son) about the healing process of writing, chaired by Dawn Garisch (Eloquent Body).

Feeding Africa
Time: 16h00 – 17h00
Venue: Council Chamber
Leonie Joubert discusses her important and timely book The Hungry Season: Feeding Southern Africa’s Cities with sustainable development specialist Michelle Matthews.

Jenny & Jenny
Time: 16h00 – 17h00
Venue: Hospice Hall
Jenny Crwys-Williams (Just Jenny) and Jenny Hobbs (Napoleon Bones) – two longstanding friends with a passion for promoting books and reading – talk about their lives, their writing and the nuts and bolts of the FLF.

Poetry in the Screening Room
Time: 16h00 – 17h00
Venue: The Screening Room
Mellow out for the evening with tasters of poetry by Oswald Mtshali (Sounds of a Cowhide Drum), Kerry Hammerton (These are the lies I told you), Gus Ferguson (Holding Pattern) and Justin Fox (The Marginal Safari).

10h00-12h30 (Library)
All About Writing workshop with Jo-Anne Richards & Fred de Vries (Double Session)
A good story-teller can make us care about real-world issues, or about imagined people. Novelist Jo-Anne Richards and non-fiction writer Fred de Vries discuss how to get a story going, maintain the momentum and come to a dramatic climax and a satisfying resolution.

14h30-17h00 (Library)
The Suitcase Under the Bed Seminar (Double Session)
Experienced publishers Alison Lowry and Tracey McDonald give practical advice about publishing for aspiring authors.

14h30-15h30
A D Miller
… in conversation with Ann Donald about his Booker-shortlisted novel Snowdrops.

16h00-17h00
Flat Water Tuesday
John Maytham talks to UCT academic and literary agent Ron Irwin about his new novel.

18h00
FLF Wine Writer’s Prize presentation at Essence
(By invitation only)

19h30
Sunday Times dinner at Reuben’s
Join Sunday Times for a literary evening at Reuben’s Restaurant & Bar: Antony Beevor, Anthony Horowitz and A D Miller in discussion with Tymon Smith. Tickets: R550 each for four courses with a welcome drink of Porcupine Ridge wine. To book, email goodtimes@sundaytimes.co.za

19h30
Concert The Literary Liszt
(NGK Church) R90, pay at the door
Pianist Christopher Duigan plays music with literary connections by Romantic virtuoso Franz Liszt. (70 minutes)

The 2013 Franschhoek Literary Festival takes place 17 – 19 May and this year has it all! Fiction, non-fiction, political debates, poetry, lifestyle books, writing workshops – you name it, they’ve got it covered for book lovers of all ages.

On the fiction side, the sessions range from Precious Ramotswe to a Nazi general; False Bay to Moscow and medieval heretics to dystopian sci-fi. International fiction authors Alexander McCall Smith, Kate Mosse, AD Miller and Laurent Binet will be joined by a slew of local authors including Lauren Beukes, Claire Robertson and Jo-Anne Richards.

In non-fiction there are some hard-hitting sessions on leadership, corruption and the politics of the day,  and there’s also time to discuss technological wizardry and trout fishing. British historian Antony Beevor, former ambassadors Tony Leon and Melanie Verwoerd and radio personalities Redi Thlabi and Eusebius McKaiser join other non-fiction writers to debate the wide range of topics on the programme.

They have also created events for children and teens during the Friday 17 Open Morning for schools: meet bestselling authors Anthony Horowitz and Paul Geraghty, find out why Science is Cool and how to survive those last few years of high school. Tickets for learners to the specially marked school events are available at R20.00.

The full programme can be found at www.flf.co.za.

Tickets are on sale through Webtickets and events are already selling out, so please book promptly to avoid disappointment.

The FLF’s mission to support reading in the valley is made possible with proceeds from ticket sales. Money raised supports the FLF Library Fund, which pays a full-time qualified librarian to work in 5 local school libraries, promoting a love of reading for all in Franschhoek.

Exclusive Books will be setting up our mini store at Franschhoek Literary Festival again this year, so make sure to stop by and visit us! We will also be selling books at each of the events, so you can be sure to get your books signed by all of the amazing authors attending this year.

Our digital ninja will also be in attendance, so keep an eye on our twitter feed for constant live updates on the FLF.

Protea Hotel Franschhoek has offered an amazing special for all of our Fanatics members. Not only do you get a 10% discount on your booking, but you will also get a voucher booklet containing discounts at Franschhoek establishments to the value of R 1000! For bookings and more information about the fabulous Protea Hotel Franschhoek go to www.proteahotels.com. Terms and conditions apply.

Exclusive Books recently celebrated the launch of Drug Muled by Joanne Joseph at our Hyde Park store. The event was attended by both the author (Joanne Joseph) and the subject of her book, former Miss SA Finalist Vanessa Goosen.

Vanessa Goosen was young and excited at starting a successful new career when she was accidentally and unknowingly caught up in the world of drug trafficking. Pregnant, alone and stranded in Thailand (a country known for it’s strict and often extreme non-tolerance policies) she faced the ultimate penalty for a crime she did not know she had committed – death.

Eventually her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and then after many royal pardons she was released after 16 and a half years. Vanessa is one of many women who have been trapped in the notorious Lard Yao prison after being found in possession of drugs she wasn’t even aware she was carrying.

Her story is one of loss, depression, suffering and the long hard struggle to reclaim herself and fight to keep strong under the terrible circumstances she had to suffer for so many years.

Below are some images of the fantastic launch held at our Hyde Park store:

You can click on this link to hear an interview with Vanessa this morning on Jacaranda FM.

You can also see Vanessa tonight (Tuesday 07 May) at our Brooklyn branch for another launch of Drug Muled.

QHUBEKA CYCLE FORCE – MOBILIZING COMMUNITIES ONE BICYCLE AT A TIME

The Qhubeka CYCLE FORCE yellow and black beaded bracelet was launched at the 94.7 Cycle Challenge in South Africa, in November 2012, and sells for R30 to support Qhubeka’s fundraising. 12 million children walk to school each day, sometimes a four hour return trip. Qhubeka provides bikes in rural areas and townships, where communities grow trees or collect litter in return for bicycles. Qhubeka uses the funds raised by CYCLE FORCE to purchase and distribute bicycles, providing effective transportation to schools, clinics and shops.

The Qhubeka initiative seeks to empower communities by donating bicycles in exchange for planting seedlings or collecting recyclable waste – actions which also improve the communities in which they live. This embodies Qhubeka’s commitment to breaking the cycle of poverty while investing in the youth of South Africa.

Children will receive a brand-new, durable Qhubeka bike. Designed by World Bicycle Relief for the harshest African conditions, each bicycle is constructed locally, creating additional jobs in vulnerable communities.

Studies have shown five ways in which a bicycle makes a difference:

1. Improved School Attendance
Results of a study indicated an average 18% improvement in school attendance for girls and 16% for boys after bicycle distribution, and this lasted for two years. This is an encouraging sign of the program’s long-lasting benefits for students’ access to education.
96% of surveyed caretakers reported increased school attendance due to the bicycle, and that distance was the primary reason for absence. 89% of students get to school in an hour or less after bicycles were distributed, and Qhubeka believes that reduced travel times contribute to the increased attendance rates.

2. Improved Academic Performance
Academic performance data collected from schools in this study indicate an average 22% point improvement for both girls and boys after bicycle distribution, higher than the average, and improved pass rates were sustained for two years after receiving bikes.

3. Quality Of Life Indicators
Surveyed students rated their own feelings of well-being – 73% indicated they felt their lives were significantly improved after receiving bicycles, and 17% reported a noticeable change.

4. Less Fear
All surveyed rural students indicated they were afraid while walking to school – most feared attack by wild animals; and girls feared rape because their long walk starts in the dark. After bicycles were distributed, 69% of the students reported feeling safe most of the time while they traveled to school.

5. Better Access To Healthcare
Many survey respondents indicated using the bicycle to visit the local clinic. Appointments for children under 5 more than doubled, and this was attributed to the fact that mothers were able to transport young children for treatment with ease.

Qhubeka has distributed more than 100,000 bikes since 2004.

Anthony Fitzhenry, Qhubeka Founder says,

“My vision is to mobilise kids on bikes, a world where transportation is not a barrier to healthcare, education or economic development.”

Bracelets can be purchased online www.cycleforce.co.za , or at an Exclusive Books store. Buy and wear your Qhubeka CYCLE FORCE bracelet to support this exciting initiative. Visit Qhubeka’s site for details on the programme and donations www.qhubeka.org

We have picked out our winners of The Storyteller competition by random number generation, and they are:

Please check your inboxes for your special emails. If it isn’t there, it may be in the spam folder. Unfortunately anything with ‘you’re a winner!’ tends to get eaten up by spam bots.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon

Linking your card is a simple procedure. Go to https://www.exclus1ves.co.za//fanatics/join/ and pick YES if you have a Fanatics card, or NO if you don’t and would like to sign up for one.

If you respond YES, you’ll be taken to this screen:

Simply fill in the requested information, and your card will be linked!

Should you have any further problems, you can contact Fanatics and Online as follows:

FANATICS QUERIES

0800 332 550

8am – 4pm Monday – Friday
info@fanatics.co.za

EXCLUS1VES.CO.ZA

+27 11 798 0111

086 682 5834

+27 11 807 1063

8am – 6:30pm Monday – Friday
8am – 1pm Saturday
info@exclusivebooks.co.za

Yesterday our good friends at Lazygamer.net announced that they are now officially the first ever media outlet in Africa to be affiliated with Metacritic.com! And we couldn’t be more proud of them.

Lazygamer was started in 2007 by Gavin Mannion as a way to keep himself busy between work and study, but what started as a small hobby quickly grew into something much greater.

Lazygamer.net - The early days

This news is means a lot to the hard working staff at Lazygamer, as well as to the gamers who they so devotedly serve. For the first time ever, the South African gaming community will have a voice in an international forum. And perhaps now the rest of the world will finally start taking us seriously, which could have many benefits for all aspects of South African gaming. Perhaps one day we will finally have the same release dates as the rest of the world? Or, even better, perhaps South African game studios will start to have some serious progress in having their games internationally recognised.

What this news means for Lazygamer and the South African community right now has been aptly described by Gavin Mannion himself:

Metacritic is so prevalent in the industry that its aggregated review scores are included in developer contracts. The higher the score the more bonus they get paid. Which means we now indirectly affect what developers do and as such we are now exceptionally important to them and that means South Africa as a region now has a much louder voice.

Whatever the eventual outcome, the future of South African gaming is definitely brighter thanks to the hard work and dedication of the team at Lazygamer. The gaming community salutes you all!