Friday, March 30, 2007

The Franschoek Literary Festival is in May

Franschoek is hosting the inaugural Franschoek Literary Festival on the 11-13 May. The three-day festival brings together authors, publishers and readers for informal talks, readings and discussions.

The festival aims to o foster a vibrant culture of reading, and support the drive for a new community library by creating a buzz about books, the organizers say.

The programme and speaker lineup is very impressive, with children’s author like Jenny Hobbs and Chris Van Wyk.

Liz Calder of Bloomsbury, publisher of the Harry Potter series, children’s writer Louis Baum and Cape Town writers and mothers Margie Orford, and Helen Brain are also scheduled to talk about ways and means of keeping kids interested in books.

There is also a poetry competition for all valley residents, from primary school children to adults, who are encouraged to submit a short poem (no more than 12 lines) in English, Afrikaans or Xhosa, the organizers say.

Winners will receive cash prizes and have their poems printed on posters and handed out with menus in the restaurants.

Wishful thinking

I wish I had the time and resources to take off from work to attend the conference, but what with work, a school going child and money, there is no chance that I can go this year.

But they say they are starting small and aim to make the event an annual thing, so maybe in time I will be able to attend it.

Another event I wish I could attend is the Cape Town Book Fair on the 16-19 June – but I suppose it will be more feasible for me to attend these events once I have books out there in the market.

If you happen to live in and around Franschoek, why not check the festival out? For more information, go to http://www.flf.co.za/

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