Do you know the isiZulu word for the elbow? If you didn't know that it is indololwane, you could be accused of being a foreigner. And you and your family could be in mortal danger. According to the Mail & Guardian this is the new pencil test.
Scenes of brutal and violent attacks have shocked and saddened all South Africans and the world in the last two weeks.
* Are the attacks all about xenophobia? * Chances are you know the word Kwere-kwere. * "No one hates foreigners like we do". * Is stopping migration the solution? * How much has poverty and frustration about broken promises got to do with it? ("We vote for the ANC, but get nothing"). * Is ethnic bloodshed next? * What are the issues raised by these attacks?
BOEKEHUIS
invites you to join us to a discussion about immigrants, refugees, being foreign, home and literature.
Veronique Tadjo and Simao Kikamba,
both authors of books on ethnic and foreigner hatred will discuss
Where: BOEKEHUIS,Cnr. Lothbury and Fawley streets, Auckland Park
When: Saturday 31 May 2008, at 12:30
RSVP: by Friday 30/05 on
011 482 3609 or boekehuis@boekehuis.co.za
About the books:
Going home by Simao Kikamba is a story told by a political refugee living in South Africa. It investigates the life of one particular immigrant, Mpanda from Angola, and his experiences of trying to make the best of being an unemployed foreign national in South Africa.
Going home is a moving debut novel, revealing the anguish of a man trying to survive in a country where nobody allows him to belong. A constant search for a home.
The Shadow of Imana by Veronique Tadjo is a reflection on the Rwandan Genocide.
Along with nine other African Writers, Veronique Tadjo was invited to visit Rwanda to bear witness to the genocide that took place in 1994 - wiping out one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus during a hundred days of barbaric violence. A poet and a storyteller, Tadjo achieves the right tone that challenges our preconceptions. From the unexpurgated story of a young woman reliving the horrors of the massacre to dialogues between strangers meeting across the past, and finally to her own reflections.
About the authors:
Simao Kikamba was born in northern Angola in 1966 in the middle of liberation war against the Portuguese colonialists. At the age of two he emigrated to the neighbouring Zaire on the back of his mother. In 1992 he returned to Angola encouraged by the Bicese peace Accord between UNITA and MPLA.
In 1994 he was abducted in front of his pregnant wife. After his release he emigrated to Johannesburg in South Africa where he still lives and works. Going Home, which touches on the topics of xenophobia and displacement, is his debut novel. This novel won the Herman Charles Bosman Award in 2006.
Véronique Tadjo is a writer, poet, novelist, and artist from Côte d'Ivoire. She completed her BA degree at the University of Abidjan and her doctorate at the Sorbonne and she received the Literary Prize of L'Agence de Cooperation Culturelle et Technique in 1983 and the UNICEF Prize in 1993. Tadjo now lives with her husband and children in Johannesburg where she is the head of French Studies at Wits.
Saturday Voices is a series of readings and discussions by authors at Boekehuis
It normally lasts 45-60 minutes.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Words Create Worlds: Cape Town Book Fair limbers up
The pages are beginning to turn in earnest in preparation for the third Cape Town Book Fair which runs from 14 to 17 June at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
Fair Director Vanessa Badroodien has confirmed that trade stands, comprising publishers, booksellers and more are already sold out.
The fair drew 50 000 to the convention centre last year, the largest number of people to come through the doors for a convention. It's an event where book lovers, authors and publishers come together to celebrate and promote the written word.
Two major international authors have already confirmed they will be attending Alexander McCall Smith author of the Number 1 Ladies Detective series who says, "As an author, I find book fairs offer a wonderful opportunity to hear from readers. If you are making any mistakes, readers will tell you; if you're getting anything right, they'll also tell you. But they are also opportunities to have fun - to share enthusiasms that one has and to get together with like-minded people.
" I attend book fairs and festivals all over the world. The Cape Town Book Fair is one of the very best of these. Why? The readers and the organisers are enthusiastic, and it shows in the positive atmosphere. And it all takes place in one of the most beautiful spots on earth. What more could one ask?"
The other big name author coming to Cape Town is Marina Lewycka, a short history of Tractors in the Ukranian. She will join a host of local and other African writers as they talk about the power of words to create worlds in a programme that will offer more than 370 talks and debates, a bigger children's zone offering the opportunity for children to fall in love with books, and talks and debates by authors hosted by some of South Africa's favourite book reviewers and personalities.
The book fair takes place under the auspices of the Publishers' Association of South Africa and in co-operation with the Frankfurter Buchmesse, the largest book fair in the world.
Where your passion is crime writing, political thrillers, green issues, children's books, romance or a host of other topics you are sure to find the book that is a must have at the fair. You'll also have the opportunity to meet your favourite authors, attend book releases and kick back and enjoy yourself with thousands of people who share a love of reading.
Fair Director Vanessa Badroodien has confirmed that trade stands, comprising publishers, booksellers and more are already sold out.
The fair drew 50 000 to the convention centre last year, the largest number of people to come through the doors for a convention. It's an event where book lovers, authors and publishers come together to celebrate and promote the written word.
Two major international authors have already confirmed they will be attending Alexander McCall Smith author of the Number 1 Ladies Detective series who says, "As an author, I find book fairs offer a wonderful opportunity to hear from readers. If you are making any mistakes, readers will tell you; if you're getting anything right, they'll also tell you. But they are also opportunities to have fun - to share enthusiasms that one has and to get together with like-minded people.
" I attend book fairs and festivals all over the world. The Cape Town Book Fair is one of the very best of these. Why? The readers and the organisers are enthusiastic, and it shows in the positive atmosphere. And it all takes place in one of the most beautiful spots on earth. What more could one ask?"
The other big name author coming to Cape Town is Marina Lewycka, a short history of Tractors in the Ukranian. She will join a host of local and other African writers as they talk about the power of words to create worlds in a programme that will offer more than 370 talks and debates, a bigger children's zone offering the opportunity for children to fall in love with books, and talks and debates by authors hosted by some of South Africa's favourite book reviewers and personalities.
The book fair takes place under the auspices of the Publishers' Association of South Africa and in co-operation with the Frankfurter Buchmesse, the largest book fair in the world.
Where your passion is crime writing, political thrillers, green issues, children's books, romance or a host of other topics you are sure to find the book that is a must have at the fair. You'll also have the opportunity to meet your favourite authors, attend book releases and kick back and enjoy yourself with thousands of people who share a love of reading.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Launch of The Writing Circle by Rozena Maart
Kalk Bay Books & Shuter invite you to be part of the launch of:
THE WRITING CIRCLE
a new book by Rozena Maart
In a Cape Town suburb, five women gather to discuss their writing. When one of the women is attacked in her car at gunpoint and raped, she manages to turn the gun on her attacker and shoot him. The narratives that follow make for a wholly engaging, highly suspenseful novel that holds up a mirror to the violence in women’s lives.
(If you have already replied to this invitation via the Kalk Bay Books newsletter or website, there is no need to respond again - your response has been noted.)
When: Saturday 31 May 2008 Where: Kalk Bay Books, 124 Main Road, Kalk Bay Time: 6.30 for 7pm (please note starting time) RSVP: books@kalkbaybooks.co.za or 021 788 2266 by Friday 30 May (NB: Please indicate numbers for catering purposes)
To find out more about what's happening at Kalk Bay Books, visit our website at www.kalkbaybooks.co.za
THE WRITING CIRCLE
a new book by Rozena Maart
In a Cape Town suburb, five women gather to discuss their writing. When one of the women is attacked in her car at gunpoint and raped, she manages to turn the gun on her attacker and shoot him. The narratives that follow make for a wholly engaging, highly suspenseful novel that holds up a mirror to the violence in women’s lives.
(If you have already replied to this invitation via the Kalk Bay Books newsletter or website, there is no need to respond again - your response has been noted.)
When: Saturday 31 May 2008 Where: Kalk Bay Books, 124 Main Road, Kalk Bay Time: 6.30 for 7pm (please note starting time) RSVP: books@kalkbaybooks.co.za or 021 788 2266 by Friday 30 May (NB: Please indicate numbers for catering purposes)
To find out more about what's happening at Kalk Bay Books, visit our website at www.kalkbaybooks.co.za
Friday, May 16, 2008
New SA PEN literary award
JM Coetzee agrees to be final judge
The South African Centre of International PEN (SA PEN) is pleased to announce a new literary award in Africa to replace the HSBC / SA PEN Literary Award.
The new award for original short stories in English will be known as the PEN / STUDZINSKI Literary Award. John Studzinski, a global investment banker and philanthropist, has generously donated the prize money.
Nobel Laureate John Coetzee has agreed to be the final judge for the new award.
Award-winning author and SA PEN executive committee member, Shaun Johnson, has assumed leadership responsibility for the award. With Shaun’s guidance, the project will build on the momentum of the previous awards sponsored by HSBC Bank plc in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Johnson said he had agreed enthusiastically when asked to take on the task: ‘Having experienced myself how helpful and encouraging it is to a writer to have one’s work recognised in the form of literary awards, I’m delighted to be able to play a part in assisting other authors.’
His debut novel The Native Commissioner won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Africa, the MNet Literary Award, the Neilsen Booksellers’ Choice Award, was longlisted for the international Dublin/Impac prize, and shortlisted for the Sunday Times and University of Johannesburg awards.
In a sponsorship arrangement which makes the PEN / STUDZINSKI award one of the more financially rewarding literary competitions in Africa, the first, second and third prizes respectively will be £5 000, £3 000 and £2 000.
The award aims to encourage new creative writing in Africa and will offer talented writers an exciting opportunity to launch or develop a literary career.
The selected contributions of 86 writers to the earlier HSBC / SA PEN Literary Awards were published in a series of books of new creative writing, entitled AFRICAN COMPASS, AFRICAN ROAD and AFRICAN PENS. First prize winners of the HSBC / SA PEN Awards were Elizabeth Pienaar (2005), Sean O’Toole (2006) and Henrietta Rose-Innes (2007).
SA PEN authors shortlisted for 2008 Caine Prize
Three authors whose short stories were published in AFRICAN PENS in 2007 are on a shortlist of five for the 2008 Caine Prize. They are:
* Stanley Onjezani Kenani (Malawi) – For Honour
* Henrietta Rose-Innes (South Africa) – Poison
* Gill Schierhout (South Africa) – The day of the Surgical Colloquium hosted by the Far East Rand Hospital
Their stories were selected from more than 90 entries which came in from 17 African countries. “SA PEN’s purpose is to encourage creative writing and this is a remarkable achievement by these authors,” said SA PEN President, Anthony Fleischer.
Eight authors whose short stories were published in the SA PEN series are now fully-fledged authors. They are:
* Lauren Beukes – Maverick
* Maxine Case - All We Have Left Unsaid
* Ceridwen Dovey - Blood Kin
* Louis Greenberg - The Beggar’s Signwriter
* Byron Loker – New Swell
* Kirsten Miller – All is Fish
* Sean O’Toole – The Marquis of Mooikloof
* Alexandra Smith – Algeria’s Way
SA PEN has in the past published other collections of South African writing, with contributions from distinguished writers such as Nadine Gordimer, Oswald Joseph Mtshali and Zakes Mda.
International PEN, the literary organisation with which SA PEN is affiliated, was founded in 1921 to advance the cause of literature and defend free expression. International PEN has 145 centres throughout the world and has undertaken to publicise winning contributions to the PEN / STUDZINSKI award in its global journal, PEN International.
Writers who are citizens of African countries are encouraged to begin preparing short stories for submission. There is no age limit. Further information and detailed rules of entry will be posted on the SA PEN website, www.sapen.co.za.
For media enquiries, contact:
Lesley Lambert
Tel: +27 (0)83 326 2500
Email: lesley@wisenet.co.za
For administrative enquiries, contact:
Deborah Horn-Botha
Tel: +27 (0)21 701 8510
Email: rudebs@icon.co.za
The South African Centre of International PEN (SA PEN) is pleased to announce a new literary award in Africa to replace the HSBC / SA PEN Literary Award.
The new award for original short stories in English will be known as the PEN / STUDZINSKI Literary Award. John Studzinski, a global investment banker and philanthropist, has generously donated the prize money.
Nobel Laureate John Coetzee has agreed to be the final judge for the new award.
Award-winning author and SA PEN executive committee member, Shaun Johnson, has assumed leadership responsibility for the award. With Shaun’s guidance, the project will build on the momentum of the previous awards sponsored by HSBC Bank plc in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Johnson said he had agreed enthusiastically when asked to take on the task: ‘Having experienced myself how helpful and encouraging it is to a writer to have one’s work recognised in the form of literary awards, I’m delighted to be able to play a part in assisting other authors.’
His debut novel The Native Commissioner won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Africa, the MNet Literary Award, the Neilsen Booksellers’ Choice Award, was longlisted for the international Dublin/Impac prize, and shortlisted for the Sunday Times and University of Johannesburg awards.
In a sponsorship arrangement which makes the PEN / STUDZINSKI award one of the more financially rewarding literary competitions in Africa, the first, second and third prizes respectively will be £5 000, £3 000 and £2 000.
The award aims to encourage new creative writing in Africa and will offer talented writers an exciting opportunity to launch or develop a literary career.
The selected contributions of 86 writers to the earlier HSBC / SA PEN Literary Awards were published in a series of books of new creative writing, entitled AFRICAN COMPASS, AFRICAN ROAD and AFRICAN PENS. First prize winners of the HSBC / SA PEN Awards were Elizabeth Pienaar (2005), Sean O’Toole (2006) and Henrietta Rose-Innes (2007).
SA PEN authors shortlisted for 2008 Caine Prize
Three authors whose short stories were published in AFRICAN PENS in 2007 are on a shortlist of five for the 2008 Caine Prize. They are:
* Stanley Onjezani Kenani (Malawi) – For Honour
* Henrietta Rose-Innes (South Africa) – Poison
* Gill Schierhout (South Africa) – The day of the Surgical Colloquium hosted by the Far East Rand Hospital
Their stories were selected from more than 90 entries which came in from 17 African countries. “SA PEN’s purpose is to encourage creative writing and this is a remarkable achievement by these authors,” said SA PEN President, Anthony Fleischer.
Eight authors whose short stories were published in the SA PEN series are now fully-fledged authors. They are:
* Lauren Beukes – Maverick
* Maxine Case - All We Have Left Unsaid
* Ceridwen Dovey - Blood Kin
* Louis Greenberg - The Beggar’s Signwriter
* Byron Loker – New Swell
* Kirsten Miller – All is Fish
* Sean O’Toole – The Marquis of Mooikloof
* Alexandra Smith – Algeria’s Way
SA PEN has in the past published other collections of South African writing, with contributions from distinguished writers such as Nadine Gordimer, Oswald Joseph Mtshali and Zakes Mda.
International PEN, the literary organisation with which SA PEN is affiliated, was founded in 1921 to advance the cause of literature and defend free expression. International PEN has 145 centres throughout the world and has undertaken to publicise winning contributions to the PEN / STUDZINSKI award in its global journal, PEN International.
Writers who are citizens of African countries are encouraged to begin preparing short stories for submission. There is no age limit. Further information and detailed rules of entry will be posted on the SA PEN website, www.sapen.co.za.
For media enquiries, contact:
Lesley Lambert
Tel: +27 (0)83 326 2500
Email: lesley@wisenet.co.za
For administrative enquiries, contact:
Deborah Horn-Botha
Tel: +27 (0)21 701 8510
Email: rudebs@icon.co.za
Launch of Zebra Crossings: Tales from the Shaman's Record
Kalk Bay Books & Jacana Media invite you to join us at the launch of:
Zebra Crossings: Tales from the Shaman's Record
by Peter Merrington
When: Friday 23 May 2008
Where: Kalk Bay Books, 124 Main Road, Kalk Bay
Time: 6.30 for 7pm (please note starting time)
RSVP: books@kalkbaybooks.co.za or 021 788 2266 by Thursday 22 May
(NB: Please indicate numbers for catering purposes)
Zebra Crossings: Tales from the Shaman's Record
by Peter Merrington
When: Friday 23 May 2008
Where: Kalk Bay Books, 124 Main Road, Kalk Bay
Time: 6.30 for 7pm (please note starting time)
RSVP: books@kalkbaybooks.co.za or 021 788 2266 by Thursday 22 May
(NB: Please indicate numbers for catering purposes)
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Kalk Bay Books' Open Book table to feature short stories
Because we hate it when books don't receive their due attention, and because as Samuel Butler once commented, 'The oldest books are still only just out to those who have not read them', we have created our Open Book table - a space where we can display books based on a theme, an author, or a category. Changed fortnightly, there is always something special to highlight, and a Bookseller's choice is offered at a reduced price. To find out more, click here... and see our current theme further down.
http://www.kalkbaybooks.co.za/open-book-detail.php?id=7
http://www.kalkbaybooks.co.za/open-book-detail.php?id=7
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Kwela authors at The Franschhoek Literary Festival
Kwela Books is proud to present the following list of our authors featured at the Franschhoek Literary Festival, which takes place from 16 to 18 May. Please come and join our authors for these events:
The Style Council (Municipal Chambers)
You can’t buy style. It has to be hewn out of the language with the sweat of your brow. But what is it and how do writers come by theirs? Damon Galgut, The Good Doctor, Ingrid Winterbach, To Hell with Cronje, and Kgebetli Moele, Room 207, attempt to describe their style and that of others they admire. Chaired by Jeremy Boraine. Friday, 16 May, 13h00-14h00.
I Write What I Like (Hospice Hall)
Poet laureate, Keorapetse Kgositsile, This way I Salute You, and novelists Anne Landsman, The Rowing Lesson, Richard Ford, The Lay of the Land, and Siphiwo Mahala, When a Man Cries, discuss what they like to write and why they like to write what they write. Chaired by Victor Dlamini. Friday, 16 May, 14h30-15h30.
The Art of Review (Hospice Hall)
Poet Gabeba Baderoon, A Hundred Silences, novelist Etienne van Heerden, Asbesmiddag, playwright Mike van Graan and novelist Zukiswa Wanner, Behind Every Successful Man (out in June), talk to Jenny Hobbs about the state of reviewing in SA today. Friday, 16 May, 16h00-17h00.
A Writer’s Writer (Municipal Chambers)
Writers are often the most discriminating readers. Shaun Johnson, The Native Commissioner, Kopano Matlwa, Coconut, and Maxine Case, All I Have Left Unsaid, explain why certain authors make them warm with admiration while others make them burn with envy. Chaired by John Maytham. Friday, 16 May, 16h00-17h00.
Writing Home (Hospice Hall)
Christopher Hope, My Mother’s Lovers, Rayda Jacobs, Confessions of a Gambler, and Anne Landsman, The Devil’s Chimney, talk about the complexities of writing about SA from abroad. Chaired by Jeremy Boraine. Saturday, 17 May, 13h00-14h00.
Chic Lit vs Chick Lit (Hospice Hall)
Novelists Maxine Case, All I Have Left Unsaid, Zukiswa Wanner, Behind Every Successful Man (out in June), Kopano Matlwa, Coconut, and Bridget McNulty, Strange Nervous Laughter, chat to Jenny Crwys-Williams about the dividing line between chic and chick. Saturday, 17 May, 14h30-15h30.
Stranger than Fiction (Church Hall)
Strip away the veneer of fiction and you’ll find the true story. Kgebetli Moele, Room 207, Deon Meyer, Devil’s Peak, and Richard Ford, The Lay of the Land, reveal how they have altered the facts to fit the fiction. Chaired by Victor Dlamini. Saturday, 17 May, 16h00-17h00.
Confessions of a Gambler (Screening Room)
Rayda Jacobs presents the movie of her prize-winning novel, Confessions of a Gambler. Saturday, 17 May, 10h30.
Heartland (Municipal Chambers)
Three very different authors, the poet Gabeba Baderoon, A Hundred Silences, and novelists Zukiswa Wanner, Behind Every Successful Man (out in June), and Damon Galgut, The Good Doctor, talk about the place they call their heartland. Chaired by Jeremy Boraine. Sunday, 18 May, 10h00-11h00.
Family Affair (Hospice Hall)
Love them or loathe them we all have them, but what influence do relatives have on the work of an author? Novelists Maxine Case, All I have Left Unsaid, Imraan Coovadia, Green-Eyed Thieves, and Kgebetli Moele, Room 207, reveal all. Chaired by John Maytham. Sunday, 18 May, 11h30-12h30.
The Rowing Lesson (Municipal Chambers)
Anne Landsman, author of The Devils’s Chimney, talks to Helen Naudé about her life, her work and her new novel, The Rowing Lesson. Sunday, 18 May, 11h30-12h30.
Found in Translation (Hospice Hall)
Translation is a fundamental issue in a country with eleven official languages. Four authors, Etienne van Heerden, Asbesmiddag, Mhlobo Jadezwini, uTshepo Mde, Ingrid Winterbach, Die Boek van Toeval en Toeverlaat, and Thembelani Ngenelwa, The Day I Died/Ukuvuka Kwam Ekufeni come together to talk about the necessity, and process of, translation. Chaired by Victor Dlamini. Sunday, 18 May, 13h00-14h00.
All the above-mentioned authors’ titles will be on sale at the festival.
The Style Council (Municipal Chambers)
You can’t buy style. It has to be hewn out of the language with the sweat of your brow. But what is it and how do writers come by theirs? Damon Galgut, The Good Doctor, Ingrid Winterbach, To Hell with Cronje, and Kgebetli Moele, Room 207, attempt to describe their style and that of others they admire. Chaired by Jeremy Boraine. Friday, 16 May, 13h00-14h00.
I Write What I Like (Hospice Hall)
Poet laureate, Keorapetse Kgositsile, This way I Salute You, and novelists Anne Landsman, The Rowing Lesson, Richard Ford, The Lay of the Land, and Siphiwo Mahala, When a Man Cries, discuss what they like to write and why they like to write what they write. Chaired by Victor Dlamini. Friday, 16 May, 14h30-15h30.
The Art of Review (Hospice Hall)
Poet Gabeba Baderoon, A Hundred Silences, novelist Etienne van Heerden, Asbesmiddag, playwright Mike van Graan and novelist Zukiswa Wanner, Behind Every Successful Man (out in June), talk to Jenny Hobbs about the state of reviewing in SA today. Friday, 16 May, 16h00-17h00.
A Writer’s Writer (Municipal Chambers)
Writers are often the most discriminating readers. Shaun Johnson, The Native Commissioner, Kopano Matlwa, Coconut, and Maxine Case, All I Have Left Unsaid, explain why certain authors make them warm with admiration while others make them burn with envy. Chaired by John Maytham. Friday, 16 May, 16h00-17h00.
Writing Home (Hospice Hall)
Christopher Hope, My Mother’s Lovers, Rayda Jacobs, Confessions of a Gambler, and Anne Landsman, The Devil’s Chimney, talk about the complexities of writing about SA from abroad. Chaired by Jeremy Boraine. Saturday, 17 May, 13h00-14h00.
Chic Lit vs Chick Lit (Hospice Hall)
Novelists Maxine Case, All I Have Left Unsaid, Zukiswa Wanner, Behind Every Successful Man (out in June), Kopano Matlwa, Coconut, and Bridget McNulty, Strange Nervous Laughter, chat to Jenny Crwys-Williams about the dividing line between chic and chick. Saturday, 17 May, 14h30-15h30.
Stranger than Fiction (Church Hall)
Strip away the veneer of fiction and you’ll find the true story. Kgebetli Moele, Room 207, Deon Meyer, Devil’s Peak, and Richard Ford, The Lay of the Land, reveal how they have altered the facts to fit the fiction. Chaired by Victor Dlamini. Saturday, 17 May, 16h00-17h00.
Confessions of a Gambler (Screening Room)
Rayda Jacobs presents the movie of her prize-winning novel, Confessions of a Gambler. Saturday, 17 May, 10h30.
Heartland (Municipal Chambers)
Three very different authors, the poet Gabeba Baderoon, A Hundred Silences, and novelists Zukiswa Wanner, Behind Every Successful Man (out in June), and Damon Galgut, The Good Doctor, talk about the place they call their heartland. Chaired by Jeremy Boraine. Sunday, 18 May, 10h00-11h00.
Family Affair (Hospice Hall)
Love them or loathe them we all have them, but what influence do relatives have on the work of an author? Novelists Maxine Case, All I have Left Unsaid, Imraan Coovadia, Green-Eyed Thieves, and Kgebetli Moele, Room 207, reveal all. Chaired by John Maytham. Sunday, 18 May, 11h30-12h30.
The Rowing Lesson (Municipal Chambers)
Anne Landsman, author of The Devils’s Chimney, talks to Helen Naudé about her life, her work and her new novel, The Rowing Lesson. Sunday, 18 May, 11h30-12h30.
Found in Translation (Hospice Hall)
Translation is a fundamental issue in a country with eleven official languages. Four authors, Etienne van Heerden, Asbesmiddag, Mhlobo Jadezwini, uTshepo Mde, Ingrid Winterbach, Die Boek van Toeval en Toeverlaat, and Thembelani Ngenelwa, The Day I Died/Ukuvuka Kwam Ekufeni come together to talk about the necessity, and process of, translation. Chaired by Victor Dlamini. Sunday, 18 May, 13h00-14h00.
All the above-mentioned authors’ titles will be on sale at the festival.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Friday, May 09, 2008
Creative writing courses & workshops
Creative Writing Courses & Workshops - Call Wiida 079 875-3719 for queries
Writers Write 1(4 weeks):
Saturday Mornings: 08.30 - 12.30 17 May 2008
Tuesday & Thursday Mornings: 09:00 - 11:00 3 June 2008
Tuesday & Thursday Evenings: 17:30 - 20:00 13 May 2008
Writers Write 2 (4 weeks)
Tuesday Mornings: 09:00 13 May 2008
Write a screenplay (5 weeks)
Sunday mornings: 09:00 - 12:00 from 18th May 2008
Creative Writing One-day Workshops
How to write for Mills & Boon: Romancing the Dollar 24th May 2008
Plot LUCK: Learn how to plot a novel on Saturday 10th May 2008
How to write lyrics: Music & Lyrics on Saturday 31st May 2008
Writers Write 1(4 weeks):
Saturday Mornings: 08.30 - 12.30 17 May 2008
Tuesday & Thursday Mornings: 09:00 - 11:00 3 June 2008
Tuesday & Thursday Evenings: 17:30 - 20:00 13 May 2008
Writers Write 2 (4 weeks)
Tuesday Mornings: 09:00 13 May 2008
Write a screenplay (5 weeks)
Sunday mornings: 09:00 - 12:00 from 18th May 2008
Creative Writing One-day Workshops
How to write for Mills & Boon: Romancing the Dollar 24th May 2008
Plot LUCK: Learn how to plot a novel on Saturday 10th May 2008
How to write lyrics: Music & Lyrics on Saturday 31st May 2008
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Meet the Commonwealth Writers' Prize finalists
Bookshop for South African & World Literature and the Commonwealth Foundation invite you to meet the finalists of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2008 at a coffee morning reading on Tuesday 13 May 2008, 10:00 for 10:30.
This is your chance to meet the finalists of this year's prize at BOEKEHUIS and listen to them read from their novels.
The Best Book and Best First Book winners of the 22nd Commonwealth Writers' Prize will be announced, this year in South Africa, on 18 May 2008.
In a unique aspect of the Prize, the regional winners are taking part in a week-long country-wide programme of readings, community activities and other public events alongside the final pan-Commonwealth judging. The eight finalists, a mix of established and new voices, come from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, India and Nigeria. The week's programme will culminate in the announcement of the overall Best Book and Best First Book winners in a special ceremony as part of the 2008 Franschhoek Literary Festival, on Sunday 18 May.
For further information about the Franschhoek Literary Festival visit http://www.flf.co.za/
Meet the authors @ BOEKEHUIS,
Cnr. Lothbury and Fawley streets, Auckland Park
When: Tuesday 13 May 2008 at 10:00 for 10:30am
Plenty of safe parking at Campus Square, from where it is a lovely and short walk to BOEKEHUIS
RSVP: by Friday 9/05/08 on
011 482 3609 or boekehuis@boekehuis.co.za
The 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize regional winners are:
AFRICA
Best Book: Karen King-Aribisala (Nigeria) The Hangman's Game Peepal Tree Press
A young Guyanese woman sets out to write an historical novel based on the 1823 Demerara Slave Rebellion and the fate of an English missionary who is condemned to hang for his alleged part in the uprising, but who dies in prison before his execution. She has wanted to document historical fact through fiction, but the characters she invents make an altogether messier intrusion into her life with their conflicting interests and ambivalent motivations. As an African-Guyanese in a country where a Black ruling elite oppresses the population, she begins to wonder what lay behind her 'ancestral enslavement', why fellow Africans had 'exchanged silver for the likes of me'. As a committed Christian she also wonders why God has allowed slavery to happen. Beset by her unruly characters and these questions, the novel is stymied. In an attempt to unblock it she decides that she should take up a family contact to spend some time in Nigeria, to experience her African origins at first hand...
Best First Book: Sade Adeniran (Nigeria ) Imagine This SW Books
Imagine This is the story of a young girl's journey from childhood to adulthood. Lola Ogunwole leaves all that is familiar behind in London and is sent to live in a village in Nigeria. Dogged by events she has no control over Lola's journal is a compelling story about one girl's resilience against the odds, which culminates in the bittersweet fulfilment of a long held desire.
CANADA AND CARIBBEAN
Best Book: Lawrence Hill (Canada) The Book of Negroes HarperCollins Publishers
Abducted as an 11-year-old child from her village in West Africa and forced to walk for months to the sea in a coffle-a string of slaves- Aminata Diallo is sent to live as a slave in South Carolina. But years later, she forges her way to freedom, serving the British in the Revolutionary War and registering her name in the historic "Book of Negroes." This book, an actual document, provides a short but immensely revealing record of freed Loyalist slaves who requested permission to leave the US for resettlement in Nova Scotia, only to find that the haven they sought was steeped in an oppression all of its own. Aminata's eventual return to Sierra Leone-passing ships carrying thousands of slaves bound for America-is an engrossing account of an obscure but important chapter in history that saw 1,200 former slaves embark on a harrowing back-to-Africa odyssey.
Best First Book: C.S. Richardson (Canada) The End of the Alphabet Doubleday Canada
Meet Ambrose Zephyr: thought of by friends as better than some; by his wife Zipper as in need of no adjustment. On or about his fiftieth birthday, Ambrose discovers that he has one month to live. And so he and Zipper embark on a whirlwind expedition to the places he has most loved or longed to see, A through Z, Amsterdam to Zanzibar. But after Istanbul, their journey takes an unplanned turn when Ambrose seeks out the destination most fittingly called home.
EUROPE AND SOUTH ASIA
Best Book: Indra Sinha (India) Animal's People Simon and Schuster
Ever since That Night, the residents of Khaufpur have lived a perilous existence. The water they drink, the ground they walk on and the atmosphere they breathe is poisoned. Nobody has received compensation or help for the chemical leak, least of all Animal, as he is known, whose spine twisted at a young age, leaving him to walk on all fours. His mind is full of foul, insidious thoughts, but the bitterness is mixed with a longing to know human affection and, more urgently, sex. He inhabits a dark kind of half-life.
Best First Book: Tahmima Anam (Bangladesh) A Golden Age John Murray
It is spring 1971 in East Pakistan and the country is on the brink of a revolution. Rehana Haque is throwing a party for her children, Sohail and Maya, in the rose-filled garden of the house she has built, while beyond her doorstep the city is buzzing with excitement after recent elections. None of the guests at Rehana's party can foresee what will happen in the days and months that follow, and her family's life is about to change forever.
SOUTH EAST ASIA AND SOUTH PACIFIC
Best Book: Steven Carroll (Australia) The Time We Have Taken HarperCollins
'That exotic tribe was us. And the time we have taken, our moment.'
One summer morning in 1970, Peter van Rijn, proprietor of the television and wireless shop, pronounces his Melbourne suburb one hundred years old.
That same morning, Rita is awakened by a dream of her husband's snores, yet it is years since Vic moved north. Their son, Michael, has left for the city, and is entering the awkward terrain of first love.
As the suburb prepares to celebrate progress, Michael's friend Mulligan is commissioned to paint a mural of the area's history. But what vision of the past will his painting reveal?
Meanwhile, Rita's sometime friend Mrs Webster confronts the mystery of her husband's death. And Michael discovers that innocence can only be sustained for so long.
Best First Book: Karen Foxlee (Australia) The Anatomy of Wings University of Queensland Press
Jennifer Day tells the story in The Anatomy of Wings. She's a ten year old obsessed with birds, facts and great world catastrophes. And she is struggling to make sense of her teenage sister sudden death. In The Anatomy of Wings Jennifer recounts the final months of Beth's life, unravelling them like a mystery, while on her own journey to regain her singing voice. Through Jennifer's eyes we see one girl's failure to cross the threshold into adulthood and a family slowly falling apart.
What is the Commonwealth Writers' Prize?
The CWP, an increasingly valued and sought-after award for fiction, is presented annually by the Commonwealth Foundation. Now in its 22nd year, it aims to reward the best of Commonwealth fiction written in English, by both established and new writers, and to take their works to a global audience.
The outstanding literary talent exists in many parts of the Commonwealth is making a significant contribution to contemporary writing in English. To encourage and reward the upsurge of new Commonwealth fiction and ensure that works of merit reach a wider audience outside their country of origin, the Commonwealth Foundation established the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 1987.
Who is rewarded?
Every year, prizes are given for the Best Book and Best First Book, valued at £1,000, in each of the four Commonwealth Regions: Africa, Canada and the Caribbean, Europe and South Asia, South East Asia and the South Pacific. From these regions, the overall winner for the Best Book and Best First Book prizes are chosen.
How can you enter this competition?
Publishers are invited to make entries online or by completing an entry form and sending it with three copies of each book to the appropriate regional chairperson and one copy to the Commonwealth Foundation Awarded annually, this major prize for fiction is fully international in its character, administration and judging. The Prize covers the Commonwealth regions of Africa, the Caribbean and Canada, Europe and South Asia and South East Asia and the South Pacific.
The £10,000 Best Book Prize 2007 was awarded to New Zealand writer Lloyd Jones for Mister Pip. The Best First Book Prize 2007 of £5,000 went to Canadian writer D. Y. Béchard for Vandal Love.
This is your chance to meet the finalists of this year's prize at BOEKEHUIS and listen to them read from their novels.
The Best Book and Best First Book winners of the 22nd Commonwealth Writers' Prize will be announced, this year in South Africa, on 18 May 2008.
In a unique aspect of the Prize, the regional winners are taking part in a week-long country-wide programme of readings, community activities and other public events alongside the final pan-Commonwealth judging. The eight finalists, a mix of established and new voices, come from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, India and Nigeria. The week's programme will culminate in the announcement of the overall Best Book and Best First Book winners in a special ceremony as part of the 2008 Franschhoek Literary Festival, on Sunday 18 May.
For further information about the Franschhoek Literary Festival visit http://www.flf.co.za/
Meet the authors @ BOEKEHUIS,
Cnr. Lothbury and Fawley streets, Auckland Park
When: Tuesday 13 May 2008 at 10:00 for 10:30am
Plenty of safe parking at Campus Square, from where it is a lovely and short walk to BOEKEHUIS
RSVP: by Friday 9/05/08 on
011 482 3609 or boekehuis@boekehuis.co.za
The 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize regional winners are:
AFRICA
Best Book: Karen King-Aribisala (Nigeria) The Hangman's Game Peepal Tree Press
A young Guyanese woman sets out to write an historical novel based on the 1823 Demerara Slave Rebellion and the fate of an English missionary who is condemned to hang for his alleged part in the uprising, but who dies in prison before his execution. She has wanted to document historical fact through fiction, but the characters she invents make an altogether messier intrusion into her life with their conflicting interests and ambivalent motivations. As an African-Guyanese in a country where a Black ruling elite oppresses the population, she begins to wonder what lay behind her 'ancestral enslavement', why fellow Africans had 'exchanged silver for the likes of me'. As a committed Christian she also wonders why God has allowed slavery to happen. Beset by her unruly characters and these questions, the novel is stymied. In an attempt to unblock it she decides that she should take up a family contact to spend some time in Nigeria, to experience her African origins at first hand...
Best First Book: Sade Adeniran (Nigeria ) Imagine This SW Books
Imagine This is the story of a young girl's journey from childhood to adulthood. Lola Ogunwole leaves all that is familiar behind in London and is sent to live in a village in Nigeria. Dogged by events she has no control over Lola's journal is a compelling story about one girl's resilience against the odds, which culminates in the bittersweet fulfilment of a long held desire.
CANADA AND CARIBBEAN
Best Book: Lawrence Hill (Canada) The Book of Negroes HarperCollins Publishers
Abducted as an 11-year-old child from her village in West Africa and forced to walk for months to the sea in a coffle-a string of slaves- Aminata Diallo is sent to live as a slave in South Carolina. But years later, she forges her way to freedom, serving the British in the Revolutionary War and registering her name in the historic "Book of Negroes." This book, an actual document, provides a short but immensely revealing record of freed Loyalist slaves who requested permission to leave the US for resettlement in Nova Scotia, only to find that the haven they sought was steeped in an oppression all of its own. Aminata's eventual return to Sierra Leone-passing ships carrying thousands of slaves bound for America-is an engrossing account of an obscure but important chapter in history that saw 1,200 former slaves embark on a harrowing back-to-Africa odyssey.
Best First Book: C.S. Richardson (Canada) The End of the Alphabet Doubleday Canada
Meet Ambrose Zephyr: thought of by friends as better than some; by his wife Zipper as in need of no adjustment. On or about his fiftieth birthday, Ambrose discovers that he has one month to live. And so he and Zipper embark on a whirlwind expedition to the places he has most loved or longed to see, A through Z, Amsterdam to Zanzibar. But after Istanbul, their journey takes an unplanned turn when Ambrose seeks out the destination most fittingly called home.
EUROPE AND SOUTH ASIA
Best Book: Indra Sinha (India) Animal's People Simon and Schuster
Ever since That Night, the residents of Khaufpur have lived a perilous existence. The water they drink, the ground they walk on and the atmosphere they breathe is poisoned. Nobody has received compensation or help for the chemical leak, least of all Animal, as he is known, whose spine twisted at a young age, leaving him to walk on all fours. His mind is full of foul, insidious thoughts, but the bitterness is mixed with a longing to know human affection and, more urgently, sex. He inhabits a dark kind of half-life.
Best First Book: Tahmima Anam (Bangladesh) A Golden Age John Murray
It is spring 1971 in East Pakistan and the country is on the brink of a revolution. Rehana Haque is throwing a party for her children, Sohail and Maya, in the rose-filled garden of the house she has built, while beyond her doorstep the city is buzzing with excitement after recent elections. None of the guests at Rehana's party can foresee what will happen in the days and months that follow, and her family's life is about to change forever.
SOUTH EAST ASIA AND SOUTH PACIFIC
Best Book: Steven Carroll (Australia) The Time We Have Taken HarperCollins
'That exotic tribe was us. And the time we have taken, our moment.'
One summer morning in 1970, Peter van Rijn, proprietor of the television and wireless shop, pronounces his Melbourne suburb one hundred years old.
That same morning, Rita is awakened by a dream of her husband's snores, yet it is years since Vic moved north. Their son, Michael, has left for the city, and is entering the awkward terrain of first love.
As the suburb prepares to celebrate progress, Michael's friend Mulligan is commissioned to paint a mural of the area's history. But what vision of the past will his painting reveal?
Meanwhile, Rita's sometime friend Mrs Webster confronts the mystery of her husband's death. And Michael discovers that innocence can only be sustained for so long.
Best First Book: Karen Foxlee (Australia) The Anatomy of Wings University of Queensland Press
Jennifer Day tells the story in The Anatomy of Wings. She's a ten year old obsessed with birds, facts and great world catastrophes. And she is struggling to make sense of her teenage sister sudden death. In The Anatomy of Wings Jennifer recounts the final months of Beth's life, unravelling them like a mystery, while on her own journey to regain her singing voice. Through Jennifer's eyes we see one girl's failure to cross the threshold into adulthood and a family slowly falling apart.
What is the Commonwealth Writers' Prize?
The CWP, an increasingly valued and sought-after award for fiction, is presented annually by the Commonwealth Foundation. Now in its 22nd year, it aims to reward the best of Commonwealth fiction written in English, by both established and new writers, and to take their works to a global audience.
The outstanding literary talent exists in many parts of the Commonwealth is making a significant contribution to contemporary writing in English. To encourage and reward the upsurge of new Commonwealth fiction and ensure that works of merit reach a wider audience outside their country of origin, the Commonwealth Foundation established the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in 1987.
Who is rewarded?
Every year, prizes are given for the Best Book and Best First Book, valued at £1,000, in each of the four Commonwealth Regions: Africa, Canada and the Caribbean, Europe and South Asia, South East Asia and the South Pacific. From these regions, the overall winner for the Best Book and Best First Book prizes are chosen.
How can you enter this competition?
Publishers are invited to make entries online or by completing an entry form and sending it with three copies of each book to the appropriate regional chairperson and one copy to the Commonwealth Foundation Awarded annually, this major prize for fiction is fully international in its character, administration and judging. The Prize covers the Commonwealth regions of Africa, the Caribbean and Canada, Europe and South Asia and South East Asia and the South Pacific.
The £10,000 Best Book Prize 2007 was awarded to New Zealand writer Lloyd Jones for Mister Pip. The Best First Book Prize 2007 of £5,000 went to Canadian writer D. Y. Béchard for Vandal Love.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Modjaji Books is proud to invite you to a poetry reading
Modjaji Books is proud to invite you to a poetry reading featuring
Megan Hall (Fourth Child)
and
Azila Talit Reisenberger (Life in Translation)
at the Franschoek Lit Fest
Saturday 17th May
10h30 am
Essence Coffee Shop, Franschoek - in the Main Road.
Unlike many of the events at the FLF this is a free event.
See you there!
PS...
Later on in the day Rustum Kozain, Gabeba Baderoon, Barbara Farihead and Jacques Coetzee will also be featured.
Megan Hall (Fourth Child)
and
Azila Talit Reisenberger (Life in Translation)
at the Franschoek Lit Fest
Saturday 17th May
10h30 am
Essence Coffee Shop, Franschoek - in the Main Road.
Unlike many of the events at the FLF this is a free event.
See you there!
PS...
Later on in the day Rustum Kozain, Gabeba Baderoon, Barbara Farihead and Jacques Coetzee will also be featured.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Porcupine by Jane Bennett launches at Kalk Bay Books
Kalk Bay Books would love to see you at the launch of
Porcupine by Jane Bennett
Our first delivery of Jane Bennett's collection of short stories, Porcupine, sold out in its first week. Published by Kwela, Porcupine is a collection of 12 short stories exploring maverick, impossible, and incredulous moments in South Africa and elsewhere. They are unpredictable, both in style and approach.
Join us at the Kalk Bay launch and find out more...
When: Friday 9 May 2008
Where: Kalk Bay Books, 124 Main Road, Kalk Bay
Time: 6.30 for 7pm (please note starting time)
RSVP: books@kalkbaybooks.co.za or 021 788 2266 by Thursday 8 May
(Please indicate numbers for catering purposes)
To find out more about what's happening at Kalk Bay Books, visit our website at www.kalkbaybooks.co.za
Porcupine by Jane Bennett
Our first delivery of Jane Bennett's collection of short stories, Porcupine, sold out in its first week. Published by Kwela, Porcupine is a collection of 12 short stories exploring maverick, impossible, and incredulous moments in South Africa and elsewhere. They are unpredictable, both in style and approach.
Join us at the Kalk Bay launch and find out more...
When: Friday 9 May 2008
Where: Kalk Bay Books, 124 Main Road, Kalk Bay
Time: 6.30 for 7pm (please note starting time)
RSVP: books@kalkbaybooks.co.za or 021 788 2266 by Thursday 8 May
(Please indicate numbers for catering purposes)
To find out more about what's happening at Kalk Bay Books, visit our website at www.kalkbaybooks.co.za
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Wall Street Journal takes another look at eBooks
You can enjoy a book on a mere cellphone
The book business is no longer booming.
Lee Gomes, Wall Street Journal
Wed Apr 16 04:40:43 GMT+02:00 2008
If life can be described as the process of making peace with things once considered unpleasant, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that one day I looked down at my BlackBerry only to find Ian McEwan...
See: http://www.moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page94?oid=203544&sn=Detail
The book business is no longer booming.
Lee Gomes, Wall Street Journal
Wed Apr 16 04:40:43 GMT+02:00 2008
If life can be described as the process of making peace with things once considered unpleasant, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that one day I looked down at my BlackBerry only to find Ian McEwan...
See: http://www.moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page94?oid=203544&sn=Detail
Think tank accepting submissions for annual Bastiat Prize for Journalism
For the seventh year, International Policy Network (IPN), a London-based think tank, is accepting submissions for its annual Bastiat Prize for Journalism.
The $15,000 prize fund will be divided among First, Second and Third placed authors. The Prize is open to writers anywhere in the world whose published articles eloquently and wittily explain, promote and defend the principles of the free society, including property rights, free markets, sound science, limited government and the rule of law.
Since 2002, the Prize has been inspired by the 19th-century French philosopher Frédéric Bastiat and his compelling defence of liberty. Bastiat's brilliant use of satire and allegory enabled him to relate complex economic issues to a general audience. In keeping with his legacy, Bastiat Prize entries are judged on intellectual content, the persuasiveness of the language used and the type of publication in which they appear.
Last year, the competition attracted over 280 entrants from more than 60 different countries.
Previous judges have included Lady Thatcher, James Buchanan and Milton Friedman. This year's panel includes the former British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Lawson of Blaby, and Amity Shlaes, syndicated Bloomberg columnist, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a previous Bastiat Prize winner.
Submissions – in English – will be accepted from 1 April until 30 June 2008. (Postal entries must be postmarked 30 June or before). Submissions must be in the form of up to three articles totalling no more than 4,500 words, published between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008 in recognized news publications. Finalists will be invited to a ceremony in New York in October 2008, where winners will be announced.
Last year’s Bastiat Prize winner was Amit Varma, an editorial columnist for Mint (a joint venture between the Wall Street Journal and India’s Hindustan Times). Second and third prizes went to Clive Crook, senior editor of the Atlantic Monthly, and Jonah Goldberg, Contributing Editor to National Review and a syndicated columnist. Previous winners include Robert Guest of The Economist, Brian Carney of The Wall Street Journal and Sauvik Chakraverti of the Economic Times (India).
An online submission form, rules, judging criteria, and articles written by previous winners can be found at IPN's Bastiat Prize website: www.bastiatprize.org/.
Queries to Marc Sidwell, Bastiat Prize Administrator
The $15,000 prize fund will be divided among First, Second and Third placed authors. The Prize is open to writers anywhere in the world whose published articles eloquently and wittily explain, promote and defend the principles of the free society, including property rights, free markets, sound science, limited government and the rule of law.
Since 2002, the Prize has been inspired by the 19th-century French philosopher Frédéric Bastiat and his compelling defence of liberty. Bastiat's brilliant use of satire and allegory enabled him to relate complex economic issues to a general audience. In keeping with his legacy, Bastiat Prize entries are judged on intellectual content, the persuasiveness of the language used and the type of publication in which they appear.
Last year, the competition attracted over 280 entrants from more than 60 different countries.
Previous judges have included Lady Thatcher, James Buchanan and Milton Friedman. This year's panel includes the former British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Lawson of Blaby, and Amity Shlaes, syndicated Bloomberg columnist, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a previous Bastiat Prize winner.
Submissions – in English – will be accepted from 1 April until 30 June 2008. (Postal entries must be postmarked 30 June or before). Submissions must be in the form of up to three articles totalling no more than 4,500 words, published between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008 in recognized news publications. Finalists will be invited to a ceremony in New York in October 2008, where winners will be announced.
Last year’s Bastiat Prize winner was Amit Varma, an editorial columnist for Mint (a joint venture between the Wall Street Journal and India’s Hindustan Times). Second and third prizes went to Clive Crook, senior editor of the Atlantic Monthly, and Jonah Goldberg, Contributing Editor to National Review and a syndicated columnist. Previous winners include Robert Guest of The Economist, Brian Carney of The Wall Street Journal and Sauvik Chakraverti of the Economic Times (India).
An online submission form, rules, judging criteria, and articles written by previous winners can be found at IPN's Bastiat Prize website: www.bastiatprize.org/.
Queries to Marc Sidwell, Bastiat Prize Administrator
Friday, April 11, 2008
Invitation: Launch of Mike Nicol's Payback
Kalk Bay Books and Umuzi look forward to a thrilling evening to which you are invited:
the launch of a new novel by renowned Cape Town author Mike Nicol
Payback
Payback is about crime in the true sense - a fictive world where the pervading social order is criminal. The protagonists are streetwise, fast talkers who, in contrast to the heroes of other local crime writers, are not there to solve crimes so much as to provide a thin shield against a violent world.
When: Saturday, 19 April 2008 Where: Kalk Bay Books, 124 Main Road, Kalk Bay Time: 6.30 for 7pm (please note new starting time)
RSVP: books@kalkbaybooks.co.za or 021 788 2266 by Friday 18 April (Please indicate numbers for catering purposes)
the launch of a new novel by renowned Cape Town author Mike Nicol
Payback
Payback is about crime in the true sense - a fictive world where the pervading social order is criminal. The protagonists are streetwise, fast talkers who, in contrast to the heroes of other local crime writers, are not there to solve crimes so much as to provide a thin shield against a violent world.
When: Saturday, 19 April 2008 Where: Kalk Bay Books, 124 Main Road, Kalk Bay Time: 6.30 for 7pm (please note new starting time)
RSVP: books@kalkbaybooks.co.za or 021 788 2266 by Friday 18 April (Please indicate numbers for catering purposes)
International PEN Poem Relay arrives in South Africa on Sunday 13th April
The Poem Relay seeks to raise awareness about freedom of expression in China in a uniquely PEN way – through poetry and translation.
PEN Centres have been invited to translate and record a short poem, June (Liuyue) by the Chinese poet, journalist and PEN member, Shi Tao, into as many languages as possible. Shi Tao is serving ten years in prison on the charge of "revealing state secrets abroad".
Via a website with a map of the world and a relay itinerary (similar to the Olympic Torch Relay itinerary), the poem will virtually “travel” around the world, from centre to centre, language to language, adding new translations as it goes, and ending in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Visitors to the website will be able to track the poem’s progress and read and hear new translations of the poem as it arrives at each new centre. As there are more PEN centres than there are destinations for the Olympic Torch, the Poem Relay Itinerary will be different from that for the Olympic Torch, but it is hoped it will intersect with it (unofficially) when it can.
The Poem Relay draws together several aspects of PEN -- freedom of expression, translation and linguistic diversity -- to send the world a message that only PEN can send:
• It supports Freedom of Expression. The poem is by an imprisoned writer, a main case of PEN, and is itself about a forbidden, censored topic.
• It celebrates Poetry and Linguistic Diversity. The translation and "relay" demonstrate the diversity of languages, literatures, and writers in the world, while at the same time demonstrating International PEN's diversity and global reach.
The Poem Relay is one of a number of actions organised as part of International PEN’s 2008 China Campaign in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics. The Relay will be managed by a Relay Team on behalf of International PEN and its China Campaign. The team consists of: PEN Sydney (Chip Rolley), Independent Chinese PEN Centre (Zhang Yu) and Swiss German PEN Centre (Kristin T. Schnider).
The following SA PEN members kindly agreed to participate in the project and have submitted their translations:
Dr. Azila Reisenberger – Hebrew
Stanley Onjezani Kenani – Chichewa
D.M. Bin Ngulu Kabemba - French, Lingala and Swahili
June "arrived" at the PEN Club Hellenique in Athens, Greece, on the 30th March. On the 31st March the poem “arrived” at the Austrian, German-speaking Writers Abroad and Polish PEN Centres. June will arrive in South Africa on the 13th April so diarise to visit www.penpoemrelay.org on this date! Click on the yellow flag on South Africa on the map of the world. You will be able to see and hear Azila, Stanley and Kabemba’s translations.
PEN Centres have been invited to translate and record a short poem, June (Liuyue) by the Chinese poet, journalist and PEN member, Shi Tao, into as many languages as possible. Shi Tao is serving ten years in prison on the charge of "revealing state secrets abroad".
Via a website with a map of the world and a relay itinerary (similar to the Olympic Torch Relay itinerary), the poem will virtually “travel” around the world, from centre to centre, language to language, adding new translations as it goes, and ending in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Visitors to the website will be able to track the poem’s progress and read and hear new translations of the poem as it arrives at each new centre. As there are more PEN centres than there are destinations for the Olympic Torch, the Poem Relay Itinerary will be different from that for the Olympic Torch, but it is hoped it will intersect with it (unofficially) when it can.
The Poem Relay draws together several aspects of PEN -- freedom of expression, translation and linguistic diversity -- to send the world a message that only PEN can send:
• It supports Freedom of Expression. The poem is by an imprisoned writer, a main case of PEN, and is itself about a forbidden, censored topic.
• It celebrates Poetry and Linguistic Diversity. The translation and "relay" demonstrate the diversity of languages, literatures, and writers in the world, while at the same time demonstrating International PEN's diversity and global reach.
The Poem Relay is one of a number of actions organised as part of International PEN’s 2008 China Campaign in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics. The Relay will be managed by a Relay Team on behalf of International PEN and its China Campaign. The team consists of: PEN Sydney (Chip Rolley), Independent Chinese PEN Centre (Zhang Yu) and Swiss German PEN Centre (Kristin T. Schnider).
The following SA PEN members kindly agreed to participate in the project and have submitted their translations:
Dr. Azila Reisenberger – Hebrew
Stanley Onjezani Kenani – Chichewa
D.M. Bin Ngulu Kabemba - French, Lingala and Swahili
June "arrived" at the PEN Club Hellenique in Athens, Greece, on the 30th March. On the 31st March the poem “arrived” at the Austrian, German-speaking Writers Abroad and Polish PEN Centres. June will arrive in South Africa on the 13th April so diarise to visit www.penpoemrelay.org on this date! Click on the yellow flag on South Africa on the map of the world. You will be able to see and hear Azila, Stanley and Kabemba’s translations.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Modjaji Books calls for short story submissions by women
Modjaji Books, the exciting new publisher for women in Southern Africa, is inviting submissions for its upcoming short story anthology. We want innovative stories that define the world from a woman’s perspective.
The topic for the anthology is “BED”. What does it mean to you? Memories of cosy bedtime stories, sterile beds in hospitals, or that sexy bed where a lover waits…
You tell us! We’re waiting to hear from you!
Send us your best, unpublished story before 31st July, 2008 to modjaj@gmail.com
For more information about Modjaji Books check out http://modjaji.book.co.za
RULES
1. Stories should be between 3000 and 5000 words.
2. Stories should be unpublished.
3. The story should somehow involve the theme of BED.
4. All entrants must be women and citizens of a Southern African country (countries include: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Moçambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe)
5. Entries should be sent by email only to modjaj@gmail.com.
6. The entry should have page numbers and the title of the story on each page.
7. The following details should be at the end of the story:
Full name of writer
Postal address
Email address
Telephone number
Short biography of not more than 300 words
8. Writers of selected stories will receive royalties and five author copies of the book.
9. Confirmation of receipt of story will be sent to all entrants.
The topic for the anthology is “BED”. What does it mean to you? Memories of cosy bedtime stories, sterile beds in hospitals, or that sexy bed where a lover waits…
You tell us! We’re waiting to hear from you!
Send us your best, unpublished story before 31st July, 2008 to modjaj@gmail.com
For more information about Modjaji Books check out http://modjaji.book.co.za
RULES
1. Stories should be between 3000 and 5000 words.
2. Stories should be unpublished.
3. The story should somehow involve the theme of BED.
4. All entrants must be women and citizens of a Southern African country (countries include: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Moçambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe)
5. Entries should be sent by email only to modjaj@gmail.com.
6. The entry should have page numbers and the title of the story on each page.
7. The following details should be at the end of the story:
Full name of writer
Postal address
Email address
Telephone number
Short biography of not more than 300 words
8. Writers of selected stories will receive royalties and five author copies of the book.
9. Confirmation of receipt of story will be sent to all entrants.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Photo competition: literature and Africa
The eighth international literature festival berlin (24.9. – 4.10.2008), with the focus on “Africa”, is organizing the photo competition 'Literature in Africa. All submissions of analogue or digital photos (300dpi) in black / white or colour are welcome: photos of book shops with their owners, libraries, children reading, youth and adults, or other motifs that are associated with the theme.
These photos, as far as possible, will be displayed in an exhibition that will take place during the festival. The 'best' photo to be selected by the jury as the main motif for the festival, which among other things will grace the festival poster and website, will be awarded with US$500. The final submission date is 30.5.2008. Additional information required: name of the photographer, contact details, place where and date when the picture was taken.
Address: international literature festival berlin, Photo Competition, Chausseestr. 5, 10115 Berlin, Germany; or:
foto_competition@literaturfestival.com. Our website: www.literaturfestival.com
The international literature festival berlin
Experiencing literary diversity in times of globalisation: it’s possible here.
Arab poets will meet with American short-story writers, South Korean poets with their Russian colleagues and South African novelists with young, budding Albanian authors.
The most interesting, newly discovered authors still stand equally beside literature’s most established and respected talents. During the twelve days and approximately 300 events of the festival, 100 authors will introduce both new and more traditional developments to the world of contemporary literature; differences will appear and similarities become noticeable.
Prose, lyric poetry, conversations with authors and political discussions, literature for children and young people, film versions of literary works – the ilb is a lively, polyglot forum by and for literature enthusiasts, as well as for those who wish to become one.
These photos, as far as possible, will be displayed in an exhibition that will take place during the festival. The 'best' photo to be selected by the jury as the main motif for the festival, which among other things will grace the festival poster and website, will be awarded with US$500. The final submission date is 30.5.2008. Additional information required: name of the photographer, contact details, place where and date when the picture was taken.
Address: international literature festival berlin, Photo Competition, Chausseestr. 5, 10115 Berlin, Germany; or:
foto_competition@literaturfestival.com. Our website: www.literaturfestival.com
The international literature festival berlin
Experiencing literary diversity in times of globalisation: it’s possible here.
Arab poets will meet with American short-story writers, South Korean poets with their Russian colleagues and South African novelists with young, budding Albanian authors.
The most interesting, newly discovered authors still stand equally beside literature’s most established and respected talents. During the twelve days and approximately 300 events of the festival, 100 authors will introduce both new and more traditional developments to the world of contemporary literature; differences will appear and similarities become noticeable.
Prose, lyric poetry, conversations with authors and political discussions, literature for children and young people, film versions of literary works – the ilb is a lively, polyglot forum by and for literature enthusiasts, as well as for those who wish to become one.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Finnish/Nordic & African writers
----- Original Message -----
From: dahl@mappi.helsinki.fi Subject: Fwd: finnish/nordic & african writers
dear recipients,
I am vice-president of Finnish PEN, and I write to you because I look for couple of (young) African authors for a co-project between Finnish/nordic & african authors. I would like to hear from you as soon as possible.
What would it be concretely?
It would be written dialogue through e-mail on certain theme/topic as an aim a common text - the correspondence would be released partially at a blog also so that the public can follow its' proceeding.
the translator would translate finnish authors'answers into english. in the end of the project this "correspondence" would be published a printed anthology. this would be in year 2009.
Possibly there will be a workshop in the end of the whole project, where African and Finnish authors meet, but this realizes only if I manage to find the funding. Blog and anthology are however already sure & combined things:
they will be realized.
First we make the selection of Africans included:
1. Could you please suggest me somebody suitable for this project and send his/her contact details so that I can contact him/her asking their willingness to participate. Note, that I only look for about 4-5 people.
They should have already released something, proved their "professionality", and they have to live in Africa still. We also prefer them being younger authors.
2. i would like to know also what themes do you consider important in this cultural exchange kind of project? what themes would you like to discuss with finnish authors?
finns have proposed following themes:
-black and white reality - black and white signify different things in different cultures, also
-black and white north and south
-childhood
-gods
-my africa - presentations of africa that affect in my mind, the reality, possible changing of these (re)presentations
-death in our cultures
yours sincerely,
Rita Dahl
From: dahl@mappi.helsinki.fi Subject: Fwd: finnish/nordic & african writers
dear recipients,
I am vice-president of Finnish PEN, and I write to you because I look for couple of (young) African authors for a co-project between Finnish/nordic & african authors. I would like to hear from you as soon as possible.
What would it be concretely?
It would be written dialogue through e-mail on certain theme/topic as an aim a common text - the correspondence would be released partially at a blog also so that the public can follow its' proceeding.
the translator would translate finnish authors'answers into english. in the end of the project this "correspondence" would be published a printed anthology. this would be in year 2009.
Possibly there will be a workshop in the end of the whole project, where African and Finnish authors meet, but this realizes only if I manage to find the funding. Blog and anthology are however already sure & combined things:
they will be realized.
First we make the selection of Africans included:
1. Could you please suggest me somebody suitable for this project and send his/her contact details so that I can contact him/her asking their willingness to participate. Note, that I only look for about 4-5 people.
They should have already released something, proved their "professionality", and they have to live in Africa still. We also prefer them being younger authors.
2. i would like to know also what themes do you consider important in this cultural exchange kind of project? what themes would you like to discuss with finnish authors?
finns have proposed following themes:
-black and white reality - black and white signify different things in different cultures, also
-black and white north and south
-childhood
-gods
-my africa - presentations of africa that affect in my mind, the reality, possible changing of these (re)presentations
-death in our cultures
yours sincerely,
Rita Dahl
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