Litnet

Darryl David is the organiser of numerous book festivals in South Africa. This year he delivered the keynote address at the biannual conference for the International Organisation of Book Towns of New Zealand at the national Book Town in Featherston, which is an hour’s drive from Wellington. He shares some of his photos of the visit to New Zealand with LitNet’s readers.

"Lank lewe die saliges, dié wat lees, die Bookbedonnerd-familie, want aan hulle behoort die biblioteeksaal op Richmond en die verbeelde Melkweg besaai met verse en stories."

"This is a deeply religious book, but it is so much more than that. Khoza reflects on a wide range of topics, such as the Atlantic slave trade, missionaries in Africa, the 1976 Soweto riots, Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement, the South African transition to democracy, and leaders such as King Moshoeshoe, Thabo Mbeki and Nelson Mandela."

The winners of the annual Sunday Times Literary Awards were announced last night in Johannesburg, where author Johnny Steinberg was the recipient of the Sunday Times Non-Fiction Award for his work, Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a marriage (Jonathan Ball Publishers). Andrew Brown received the Sunday Times Fiction Award for The bitterness of olives (Karavan Press).

"Book Town Richmond is like the Cheers bar in Boston. It's a place where everybody knows your name."

"By visiting New Zealand, I realised that despite all the challenges we face in South Africa, Book Town Richmond is a shining light among Book Towns of the world. And I feel ashamed that I even contemplated closing the book on possibly the greatest fairytale in the history of book culture in South Africa."

Simon Strachan calls himself "an advocate for the most vulnerable little people in our society" and says he is "passionate about the access to quality care for everyone". But if this is true, why, then, does he, like many other doctors, oppose the government’s National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme when the politicians say it is a "strategy to achieve universal health coverage"?

"Welz is a zoologist, a biologist, a nature conservationist, but perhaps most tellingly – by his own admission – an old-fashioned naturalist. His stories are woven with a sense of wonder for the world he loves, something that sets him apart from other scientists in his field."

"Antigone’s speech is always a sad moment, and King Creon’s cruelty a stark reminder that rulers need to have limits to their powers."

Adriaan Basson will be in conversation with Karyn Maughan for the book launch of I will not be silenced on Wednesday, 13 November at 18:00 at Exclusive Books, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town.

Muzukidz is happy to announce that 2024 has been another wonderful year for our budding young violinists! And to celebrate this, we invite you to save the date for our annual year-end concert taking place on 27 October 2024 at the beautiful Hugo Lambrechts Auditorium in Parow.

"I can’t thank the leaders of the NATi programme enough for this opportunity they have presented to us."

"I had the option of trans-creation, while also making sure that the Shona voice remained Tambu’s, and not that of a village elder, which is my favourite when it comes to my Shona writings." Philani Nyoni interviews Tanaka Chidora about his experience translating Tsitsi Dangarembga’s The book of not (Ayebia Clarke Publishing, 2006).

Gayton McKenzie, the South African minister of sport, arts, and culture, will deliver the 12th International African Writers’ Day Lecture at the Africa Century International African Writers’ Conference. The theme of this year’s conference is: "Artificial Intelligence (AI), social justice and social change: The future of literature in Africa. Quo Vadis?"

"What part of the book did I like most? The knowledge that you can still win, even if you sometimes lose. Losing isn’t always losing; sometimes it is merely something not working out now, and you need to move on to the next step."

A coalition of South African healthcare professionals, activists, and international leaders announced the official endorsement of a position statement advocating for the rights of transgender and gender-diverse young people to access evidence-based care. This statement, originally written on 18 August 2024, has now gathered signatures from more than a hundred leading professionals, scholars, and community leaders, as well as an endorsement by thirty organisations.

Songs of praise will be held on Sunday 27 October at 16:00 in the Endler Hall, Stellenbosch. Well-known conductor Richard Cock’s 75th birthday will also be celebrated with wonderful sacred music during this concert. Two choirs, the RCME Winelands Choir and the Tygerberg City Choir, will be leading the audience participation as well as singing different styles of music in several languages.

"In Your ultimate personal finance guide, the key, as in much else in life, seems to be self-exploration and self-knowledge. Defining your own ideals, vision and boundaries, identifying strengths and addressing weaknesses can set one on a path of success. Having a plan, even if it is not a good plan, is always preferable to having no plan, particularly when it comes to personal finances."

The 19th South African Literary Awards will celebrate a literary milestone when more than 30 authors are honoured for their contributions to South African literature at a gala dinner at the Ditsong National Museum of Cultural History in Tshwane on 7 November 2024.

"Sitting at the fireplace of Victorian Manor Hotel on one of those rather bitterly cold Karoo nights, I flattered my imagination with the idea that Schreiner once sat before the same fire or on the stoep of the hotel, where, according to Fox, the farmers used to come for gossip and a sip of brandy; this made things come alive in a special way for me."