Persverklaring: Skrywersverblyf wink vir opkomende skrywers van fiksie en niefiksie in 2024
Die Jakes Gerwel Stigting (JGS) en NB-Uitgewers kondig met trots die opkomende skrywers van fiksie en niefiksie aan wat gekies is om in 2024 deel te neem aan hul Bosberg-boekskryf-mentorskapprogram. Die skrywers is Hakkiesdraad Hartman, Theolla Langenhoven, Adele Ross en Alfred T.M. (Thato) Rossouw.
Theolla en Thato was albei voorheen by Paulet Huis toe hulle onderskeidelik in 2020 en 2023 deelnemers aan JGF, LitNet en Huisgenoot se Kommadagga-slypskool vir kortverhaalskrywers was. Hierdie keer is hulle deur Kwela (’n druknaam van NB-Uitgewers) gekies om hul manuskripte te ontwikkel onder leiding van gesoute redakteurs/mentors Suzette Myburgh (Afrikaans) en Angela Briggs (Engels).
Die Bosberg-deelnemers sal vier keer (in Maart en einde Mei, Augustus en November) na KwaNojoli reis om saam met hul mentors te werk. Hulle manuskripte sal aan die einde van die jaar teruggaan na NB-Uitgewers, wat dit vir publikasie sal oorweeg.
Vir die uitvoerende kunstenaar Hakkiesdraad Hartman, wat reeds naam gemaak het in poësie- en kletsrymkringe, bied die Bosberg-program ’n geleentheid om sy manuskrip te voltooi. “Ek geniet dit om te skryf en wil graag ’n boek/manuskrip voltooi. Ek het iemand nodig wat my werk kan proeflees en vir my raad en leiding kan bied soos ek vorder met die skryf van die manuskrip.”
Met kreatiwiteit sonder perke werk Hartman ook tans aan ’n TV-draaiboek, ’n digbundel en ’n stand-up-komedie-draaiboek.
Theola is werksaam by die Departement Maatskaplike Werk aan die Universiteit van Wes-Kaapland. Sy is ook ’n nagraadse student en ’n bekroonde digter en kortverhaalskrywer. Dit voel nog vir haar onwerklik dat sy eersdaags na Paulet Huis sal terugkeer.
“Dit voel steeds asof ek droom, alhoewel ek die nuus ’n paar dae gelede gekry het. Ek probeer nog werk deur my gevoelens, want dis ’n once-in-a-lifetime-geleentheid en ek, die meisie van Belhar, is gekies! Wow! Wow! Wow!”
Theolla gaan skaaf aan haar manuskrip Hou jou man dop, ’n versameling kortverhale wat sy op Kwela se aanbeveling as ’n roman gaan herskryf. “Ek erken dat ek mentorskap nodig het tydens die skryf- en proefleesfases. Ek is gretig om te leer, veral omdat ek ’n opkomende skrywer is met geen akademiese agtergrond in kreatiewe skryfkunde nie. Dit laat my soms voel asof ek tekort skiet,” sê sy.
Adele Ross is ’n kopieskrywer vir Britse maatskappye, ’n reklameteks-skrywer vir boeke op Amazon en ’n blogger vir Cape Town Insider, Beauty SA en Women24. Sy glo haar liefde vir Engels en skryfwerk sal vlerke kry wanneer sy eersdaags Oos-Kaap toe vlieg.
Haar reis na hierdie mentorskapprogram het vier jaar gelede begin toe sy haar manuskrip by Kwela ingedien het in die hoop dat dit vir publikasie aanvaar sou word. Sy het onlangs verdere veranderinge aan haar manuskrip gemaak en sê: “Ek hoop dat my manuskrip in boekvorm gepubliseer sal word en uiteindelik verwerk sal word as ’n minireeks vir televisie.”
Vryskutredigeerder en skrywer Alfred T.M. (Thato) Rossouw keer vier maande ná sy vorige verblyf terug na Paulet Huis. “Om eerlik te wees is dit die beste nuus wat ek tot dusver vanjaar ontvang het. Ek het nie gedink dat enigiemand in my werk sou belangstel nie, wat nog te sê dat my manuskrip beskou sou word as iets met publikasiepotensiaal waarin ’n redakteur en uitgewer sou belangstel. Soos ek ná die Kommadagga-slypskool gesê het, het die Jakes Gerwel Stigting my gehelp om ’n beter skrywer te word. Die wete dat ek op die meriete van my skryfwerk teruggaan Oos-Kaap toe gee my meer selfvertroue ten opsigte van my skryfwerk.
“Ek sukkel om die regte woorde te kry om te beskryf hoe dit voel wanneer iemand dink jou skryfwerk is goed genoeg. Ek bewe nog steeds terwyl ek probeer neerskryf hoe dit my laat voel,” sê Thato.
Skrywersbiografieë
Hakkiesdraad Hartman
Hakkiesdraad Hartman (1975) kom van George op die Tuinroete, maar woon tans in Mosselbaai.
Hy het sy ma op die ouderdom van 16 aan die dood afgestaan en sy visuele en uitvoerende kuns is beïnvloed deur sy swerftog deur die Oos- en Wes-Kaap. Skryf en optree is vir hom terapeuties en dit help hom om die trauma van sy verlede te verwerk. Hy wil ’n suksesvolle skrywer word en sodoende van armoede ontsnap en vir sy seun ’n beter lewe bied.
Theolla Langenhoven
Theolla Langenhoven (1982) werk tans by die Universiteit van Wes-Kaapland na jare in die staatsdiens.
Sy wil haar skryfwerk gebruik om haar gemeenskapswerk, haar liefde vir administrasie en haar kennis van sielkunde en kriminologie te kombineer en lig te werp op die maatskaplike kwessies wat gemeenskappe in die gesig staar. Van haar kortverhale en artikels is in Kuier gepubliseer. Haar gedigte het in die Lekka Poems-bloemlesing verskyn en in 2023 het sy ’n gebedsboek vir tieners, Die Here kom sterk deur, gepubliseer. Sy beskou dit as ’n voorreg om in 2020 te kon deelneem aan die Kommadagga-slypskool vir kortverhaalskrywers. In 2023 het sy ’n AfriCAN Honoree Authors’ Award ontvang.
Adele Ross
Adele Ross (1984) het as kind haar skryfvaardighede begin ontwikkel toe sy vir haar ma, wat as nagverpleegster gewerk het, briewe geskryf het om te vertel hoe haar dag was en haar op hoogte te hou van alles wat sy mis.
Haar passie vir vertelkuns het posgevat terwyl sy nog op skool was en gedigte en kortverhale geskryf het om die trauma van afknouery by die skool te verwerk. Dit het aanleiding gegee tot haar eerste ongepubliseerde boek. Sy het aanhou skryf en werk tans as blogskrywer vir Cape Town Insider, Beauty SA en Women24. Sy skryf ook kopie vir Britse maatskappye en reklameteks vir selfhelpboeke op Amazon.
Alfred T.M. Rossouw
Alfred T.M. Rossouw (1991) is ’n Suid-Afrikaanse skrywer en redigeerder met meer as vyf jaar se ondervinding as skrywer, redigeerder, blogger en boekresensent.
Hy het al in verskeie industrieë in beide die openbare en privaat sektor gewerk, insluitend in die kunste. Hy werk tans as ’n vryskutredigeerder en -skrywer vir onder andere FunDza Literacy Trust en Geko Publishing. Hy het onder die pennaam Thato Rossouw artikels vir publikasies soos News24, Mail & Guardian, Africanah Magazine, Art State, Huffington Post en Sunday Times geskryf.
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Press release: Congratulations to emerging writers of fiction and non-fiction 2024
The Jakes Gerwel Foundation (JGF) and NB Publishers are proud to announce the emerging writers of fiction and non-fiction selected to be part of their Bosberg book writing mentorship programme in 2024. They are Hakkiesdraad Hartman, Theolla Langenhoven, Adel Ross and Alfred T.M. (Thato) Rossouw.
Theolla and Thato are returnees to Paulet House, as they were both participants in JGF, LitNet and Huisgenoot’s Kommadagga workshop for short story writers in 2020 and 2023 respectively. This time they were selected by Kwela Books (an imprint of NB Publishers) to work on refining their manuscripts under the guidance of seasoned editors/mentors Suzette Myburgh for the Afrikaans writers and Angela Briggs for the English writers.
The Bosberg mentees will travel to KwaNojoli four times (in March and at the end of May, August, and November) to work with their mentors. Their completed manuscripts will be handed back to NB Publishers at the end of the year where it will be considered for publication.
For performance artist Hakkiesdraad Hartman, who has carved a niche for himself in poetry and rap, being accepted into the Bosberg programme is an opportunity to complete his manuscript. “I enjoy writing and would like to complete a book/manuscript. I also need someone to proofread my stuff and give me advice and guidance as I progress in writing the manuscript.”
With all creative cylinders firing, Hartman is also currently working on a TV screenplay, a book of poetry and a stand-up comedy script.
University of the Western Cape Department of Social Work staffer, postgraduate student and award-winning poet and short story writer Theolla is returning to Paulet House still very much in a dream state.
“It still feels like a dream, even though I received the news a few days ago. I am still trying to work through my feelings because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I, the girl from Belhar, was chosen! Wow! Wow! Wow!”
Theolla will be working on her manuscript Hou jou man dop, an anthology of short stories which Kwela recommends that she rewrite as a novel. “I am the first to acknowledge I need mentorship to guide me with the writing and proofreading phases. I am eager to learn, mainly because I am an emerging writer with no academic creative writing background, which at times feels as if I am ‘lacking’,” she says.
Adele Ross, a copywriter for UK companies, blurb writer on Amazon and blogger for Cape Town Insider, Beauty SA and Women24, will take her love of English and writing to another level when she flies off to the Eastern Cape in a few days’ time.
Her road to mentorship began four years ago when she submitted her manuscript to Kwela in the hope of it being accepted for publishing. Just having completed changes to her manuscript, Adele says: “I'm hoping to have my manuscript published as a hard copy and have it submitted to become a miniseries for television.”
Freelance editor and writer Alfred T.M. (Thato) Rossouw is returning to Paulet House just four months after his last stay there. “Well, this, to be honest, is the best news I’ve gotten this year. I never knew that the work I did could get anyone interested, let alone have them choose my manuscript as worthy enough to have a respected editor and publisher interested in getting it to a point where it can be published. Like I said after the Kommadagga mentorship programme, I am a better writer because of the Jakes Gerwel Foundation. So, knowing that I’m going back because of my writing, this makes me believe in my writing even more.
“It’s difficult to find words that can explain what it feels like to have people see your writing as worthy. I’m still shaking while trying to write down how this makes me feel,” says Thato.
Author bios
Hakkiesdraad Hartman
Hakkiesdraad Hartman (1975) comes from George on the Garden Route but currently lives in Mossel Bay.
Having lost his mom at age 16, a life of drifting through the Eastern and Western Cape fuelled both his visual and performance art, notably in poetry and rap. He finds writing and performing to be therapeutic as it helps him heal from traumas experienced in his lifetime. He hopes to evolve into a writer of note so he can live a life outside of poverty and ensure that he can provide a good life for his son.
Theolla Langenhoven
Theolla Langenhoven (1982) currently works at the University of the Western Cape after years of being a government employee.
Through her writing, she hopes to link her years of community work, her love for administration, and her knowledge of psychology and criminology to shed light on the social ills experienced within communities. Her short stories and articles have been published in Kuier. Her poems have appeared in the Lekka Poems anthology and in 2023 she published a prayer book for teenagers, Die Here kom sterk deur. She considers it a privilege to have been a participant in the Kommadagga workshop for short story writers in 2020. In 2023 she received an AfriCAN Honoree Authors’ Award.
Adele Ross
Adele Ross (1984) has been steadily improving her writing skills since childhood, when she wrote letters to her mom who worked as a night nurse, telling of how her day went and keeping her updated about all the happenings she missed.
From there, her love of English and writing poetry and short stories while still in school led her to a lifetime of storytelling that helped her overcome the trauma of school bullying. This in turn led to her first unpublished book. Unfazed, she kept on writing, leading to a career in blogging for Cape Town Insider, Beauty SA and Women24. Adele currently does copywriting for few UK companies and writes blurbs for self-help books on Amazon.
Alfred T.M. Rossouw
Alfred T.M. Rossouw (1991) is a South African writer and editor with over five years of writing, editing, blogging and book reviewing experience.
He has worked across many industries in both the public and private sectors, including in the arts. He currently works as a freelance editor and writer, most notably as a freelance editor for FunDza Literacy Trust and Geko Publishing. Under the penname Thato Rossouw, he has authored articles for publications such as News24, Mail & Guardian, Africanah Magazine, Art State, Huffington Post and Sunday Times.