Litnet

"While the theme of arts and money is critical – artists absolutely need funding to continue their work – my presentation was not just about finances. It was about the often overlooked but essential role of arts administrators in the creative and cultural industries. I spoke about how arts administrators are no longer just support personnel; we are visionaries, policy influencers, systems-builders and change agents."

"My presentation was a reflection on the role of one of the creative economy’s role-players, the young creatives. Where do they go from here with what is at their disposal?"

The Schreiner Karoo Writers Festival is an annual literary celebration held in Cradock, South Africa, featuring writers mainly from the Karoo. Evening gatherings often include dinner-theatre performances, fireside chats, and open mic sessions, complemented by hearty Karoo cuisine and warm hospitality.

"I can hear the choir sing
While I’m dressed in Sunday best.
To say my last goodbye"

Denise Zinn is an alumnus of Harvard University and plays an active role in university management in South Africa. She tells Freek Robinson about the liberating effect Harvard had on her own development, and also reflects on the importance of continued research, worldwide, and the contribution that foreign students make to any university.

"Nothing this inquiry can do can bring back these remarkable men, and to put a price on their deaths seems insulting in the extreme. But it was done previously."

"The interpreters is ’n versameling essays wat die tradisionele grense van joernalistiek en literêre skryfwerk uitdaag. Dit is ’n viering van stories wat nie net inlig nie, maar ook emosie, refleksie en kulturele diepte uitlok. Die boekresensent Jonathan Amid het in gesprek getree met die samestellers van die boek, Sean Christie en Hedley Twidle."

"The Great Cattle Killing incident is an extremely sensitive issue among the Xhosa. Nicholas dared to tread where most fear to tread. He handled the topic fairly and with deep empathy. But much of what still needs to be researched and said about the incident remains."

"The more we publish, the brighter it looks, so we are going to continue nurturing this wonderful genre."

"The first book to be launched was Winged words, a short collection of poetry on bird mythology, written by John Samuel and beautifully illustrated by Vulindlela Nyoni. The second was Tested by fire, a biography on Neville Alexander, written by Doreen Musson."

Alan Kirkaldy, recently retired from Rhodes University in Makhanda, was awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s Book Award at the 2025 graduation ceremony for his work Everyday communists in South Africa's liberation struggle. The lives of Ivan and Lesley Schermbrucker.

"Americans are much more old-fashioned than the chattering classes overseas realise. They are enormously hospitable and charming, and very courteous to one another in real life. In general, almost everyone I spoke to seemed pretty calm about Trump, and hardly ever mentioned his name, preferring instead to talk about 'the president' if it came up at all, in the context of where they stood as Republicans or Democrats."

"So, we sat in a random staff room at the CTICC and ate really bad food, the blandest curry on earth, which I had overheated in the microwave, with plastic forks and styrofoam cups of water while we made small talk for an hour."

The Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival boasts the largest collective of world-renowned classical musicians at any festival on the African continent. The festival will take place from 4 to 13 July at the US Konservatorium in Stellenbosch this year.

"Incorporating gender-responsive pedagogy into early childhood education is not about imposing ideologies or confusing children; it is about ensuring that all children are seen, valued and supported as they learn and grow."

South Africa faces severe femicide, and most murderers evade justice. Prisons fail by perpetuating crime; harsher sentences do not help. Edwin Cameron, after visiting prisons, advocates for reform. Along with colleagues, he suggests abolishing minimum sentences, cash bail, and decriminalising drug use to improve safety and justice.

"If there is hope, it lies not in technological salvation or ideological purity. It lies in ethical reawakening and in the recovery of moral clarity, spiritual humility and attentive presence. It lies in the courage to stay human."

Mannequin Pictures has optioned the screen rights to the political thriller Good Hope, the debut novel of South African author, political advisor and communications specialist, Nick Clelland, for adaptation into a series.  

Soutie Press is excited to launch The interpreters: South Africa’s new non-fiction edited by Sean Christie and Hedley Twidle. Hosted by Lou-Marié Kruger at the Welgevallen Community Clinic in Stellenbosch on 29 May 2025, Sean and Hedley will be in conversation with Jonathan Amid about rare and beloved forms of nonfiction writing emerging from the country over the last 30-plus years.

The theatre is giving away two tickets to one lucky LitNet reader. You and a companion will then be able to attend this event for free.