Litnet

"Narrated in a style initially resembling that of the typical adventure tale or the traditional “rollicking yarn” (but with several intriguing twists), Witch Girl is a novel that darkens as it moves along into the sinister aspects of a modernising African society."

"I say start a literary festival in one of the most famous places on the planet - Soweto. And I believe all races will come to Soweto for such a literary festival."

"The publishers have made sure that they give pride of place to Burchell’s life and travels in a highly accessible tome that is as attractive as it is readable. They have ensured that a life of extraordinary experience, in art and science, is appropriately commemorated."

"Most importantly, Omotoso shows that life and love are rarely black and white. They are full of nuances and contradictions. We can be simultaneously kind and cruel, open and closed, warm and cold."

"Sunday, 22 May, one of those glorious winter days in Cape Town: all light and revelation. It wasn’t even 9 am, but the queue in front of the Gardens Community Centre in Hatfield Street looked overwhelming."

"I’d like to think that people would be able to identify with all the universal human aspects of my story – starting from humble beginnings, trying to succeed as a musician, deciding what to do with my career, getting married, divorced, starting businesses, nearly going bankrupt, learning to fly aircraft, making a name for myself in the legal profession, and so on. There’s something for everyone in the story ..."

"Jennifer Platt, the Sunday Times Books Editor, says the 2016 shortlist finalists represent 'books of quality, that take the temperature and pulse of the nation'."

"We understand completely the points made about decolonisation, and believe that creating, building and enhancing book festivals is key to reaching and growing the South African book-reading base."

The third Spier Poetry Festival: dancing in other words took place on Saturday, 7 May.

The dancing in other words / dansende digtersfees is an annual international poetry event, curated by Breyten Breytenbach, Dominique Botha and composer Neo Muyanga. This year's participating poets were introduced at a special Poets’ Welcome Dinner at Spier on Sunday, 1 May.

"The translator should be patient and persevering: endurance is the solution to difficult problems which may have left the translator in despair for quite some time." – Hans C ten Berge

"This fine and moving text by an author originally from elsewhere is a rich contribution to the African library ..."

Six award-winning Johannesburg novelists, Fred Khumalo, Harry Kalmer, Ivan Vladislavic, James Whyle, Kleinboer and Yewande Omotoso will be reading new and published work at David Krut Books.

"Poetry celebrates life through the aesthetic ordering of language comparable to the way music does through its aesthetic ordering of sound."

The Franschhoek Literary Festival will take place on 13, 14 and 15 May 2016.

"Luc Panhuysen has written a marvellous book on a period of Cape and South African history that truly enriches South African historiography. The painstaking task of rendering the original Dutch into Afrikaans, thus making it accessible to readers in this country, was undertaken by Wium Van Zyl."

There is an abiding legacy of Jews and words and the Jewish Literary Festival will explore the rich tradition of disputation, debate and dialogue with over 45 events that span Sunday May 22 in the many venues at the Gardens Community Centre in Cape Town.

"If you want to take the pulse of present-day South Africa, you can turn to his [Mhlongo's] work for insight."

"There is nothing quite as satisfying as an excellent personal essay, and William Dicey’s Mongrel contains six gems of the genre."

"Lagos is simultaneously the topic and setting of this text, and was also the title the author originally gave this fascinating modern fantasy novel."