‘An extraordinary few days': Franschhoek Literary Festival kicks off with Town Hall ceremony
The festival features panels, interviews and other presentations from well-known authors and other noteworthy figures.
This year's participants include Antjie Krog, Bibi Slippers, Caryn Dolley, Africa Melane, Deon Meyer, Jonathan Jansen, Zapiro, and many more.
Book lovers from far and wide are descending upon Franschhoek for the annual literary festival from 16 to 18 May.
The Franschhoek Literary Festival (FLF) had its opening ceremony on Thursday night at the Town Hall, hosting authors, festival organisers, local school representatives and Stellenbosch municipality officials.
'It's so exciting to be back here, and we have an extraordinary few days to look forward to of open dialogue, rigorous debates, illuminating conversations about boundary pushing South African literature, connection through stories and ideas, and of course, the big difficult conversations that matter,' said programme director Jennifer Blane.
'The FLF is a space where writers from country, continent, and the wider world share the stage, bringing fresh perspectives on the most urgent, relevant and thought-provoking topics of the day,' she said.
'None of it would be possible without our remarkable South African writers. Your courage, your talents, your hours of hard work are what make it accessible, vibrant, relevant, and timely and full of life.'
'Thank you for your fabulous books. They have been such a joy in this programme.'
READ | Coming to FLF: Love, death and Tupperware in Salt Water Pool Boy – read the first chapter
FLF board chair Anika Ebrahim said at the ceremony: 'As we start this festival in a world of hard things, this literary festival provides the stillness that we need to open our minds and our hearts so that we can better make sense of it all.'
'In my experience, these three days have always helped me to consider new perspectives, to be more tolerant, to expand and deepen my own understanding,' she said.
'Books, writers, readers, thinkers and discourse do that. It facilitates that. It's essential to the life of a community, to the life of a country, to a people. It's essential for harmony.'
Grattan Kirk, CEO of Exclusive Books, also spoke about the role of literary events like FLF in the local book industry.
'These types of events are really important for us and our brand,' Kirk said.
Festival director Candice Kerchoff also spoke about the FLF's schools programme. The festival works with four schools in the area.
Grattan Kirk, CEO of Exclusive Books, at the opening of the Franschhoek Literary Festival.Joel Ontong/News24
'The festival supports the employment of four facilitators at those schools. So, that means the libraries are not a white elephant. Kids are visiting the library there regularly, and it's part of the curriculum.'
They also challenged the facilitators to introduce book reviews to the schools. The students' reviews, which were in the form of words and colourful drawings, were displayed in the hall.
The festival, which marks its 18th year, features panels, interviews and other presentations from well-known authors and other noteworthy figures.
This year's participants include Antjie Krog, Bibi Slippers, Caryn Dolley, Africa Melane, Deon Meyer, Jonathan Jansen, Zapiro, and many more.
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