Franschhoek Literary Festival 2023 to host local and international authors

The Franschhoek Literary Festival (FLF) will be held from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 May in Franschhoek and will have a notable selection of international and Pan-African authors taking part in the programme’s 80 plus sessions. The FLF was established in 2007 by a group of literary enthusiasts and volunteers as a non-profit organisation. The three-day festival provides a space for a cross-section of South African and international authors to gather, inspire, delight, inform and challenge audiences.

Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu

Sue Nyathi

Pie-Pacifique Kabalira-Uwase

Aiwanose Odafen

Dipo Faloyin

Rachel Joyce

Marina Cantacuzino

Maddie Mortimer

Ruby Wax

Sarah Bullen

Heather Clark

Jonathan Freedland

Ann Cleeves

Authors from across the continent who will be at the FLF

• Award-winning Zimbabwean author Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu will be in conversation on 21 May in the session The Practice of Flight and in Pens of Power on 20 May.

• Zimbabwean author Sue Nyathi will partake in Why Fiction on 19 May.

• Rwandan author Pie-Pacifique Kabalira-Uwase will be in the session Unstoppable on 21 May.

• Two Pan-African authors join the festival via Zoom on 20 May. Nigerian writer Aiwanose Odafen in the session Trap of the Past and Dipo Faloyin in the session Continental Draught.

• Booker-longlisted Rachel Joyce is part of an impressive contingent of international writers. Festivalgoers can get to know Joyce in a trio of sessions at the FLF 2023 – Time Travel 101, Read it and Weep and Why Fiction?

• One of this year’s most powerful sessions is likely to be The Release with Marina Cantacuzino. She will also participate in two other sessions, Sorry Beyond Words and Letting it Go.

• Via Zoom Maddie Mortimer (UK) will partake in a thought-provoking session titled Unheard Of. Also joining the festival from London via Zoom is celebrated comedian Ruby Wax who talks to Sarah Bullen in Ja Well, Not Fine.

• Heather Clark will join via Zoom for the session Plath, Beyond the Myth. 

• In the session Hidden Hero on 20 May via Zoom, Jonathan Freedland will be interviewed. Rounding off the list of international authors is Ann Cleeves via Zoom in the session Adaptability.

Antjie Krog

Nataniël

Chase Rhys

Welcome Mandla Lishivha

Herman Lategan

Melinda Ferguson

Etienne van Heerden

Michiel Heyns

Grant Jefthas

Malika Ndlovu

Khadija Tracey Heeger

Afrikaans books, authors and sessions at the FLF

Afrikaans sessions

• On 19 May the session Bloedhonde takes place between 16:00 and 17:00 at the Old School Hall. A lively discussion in Afrikaans with seasoned crime writers Rudie van Rensburg (Doolhof) and Irma Venter (Die verkeerde vrou).

• Another session in Afrikaans is Sheila Cussons 100 on 20 May from 13:00 to 14:00 at Hospice Hall. Adriaan Potgieter will also talk about his book In die klipknoets van haar vuis.

Afrikaans authors, books and performances

• Poet Antjie Krog makes several appearances at this year’s festival. She will be in conversation in the session  Verses & Reverses on 20 May between 10:00 and 11:00 at the Congregational Church about Pillage, the English translation of her first collection of poetry in eight years. Krog will be performing in Afrikaans in Words Fly Under Night Skies on 20 May between 18:30 and 20:00 at Church Hall.

• Another not-to-be-missed performance comes from singer, songwriter and storyteller Nataniël in his production of Nataniël in Concert with Steinway pianist Charl du Plessis. The event takes place on 19 May from 19:00 to 20:30 at the NG Church. Diane de Beer talks to Nataniël in the session Speak to your Spark on 19 May.

• The list of Afrikaans authors taking part in this year’s festival also includes Chase Rhys who will discuss Misfit: Stories vannie anne kant. Lester Kiewit facilitates the session Seen & Heard on 20 May from 13:00 to 14:00 at the Congregational Church that also includes Welcome Mandla Lishivha who wrote Boy on the Run.

• Authors Herman Lategan (Hoerkind) and Melinda Ferguson (Bamboozled) will be in conversation in the session Full Disclosure on 19 May.

• Etienne van Heerden takes part in the session Welcome To Babel on 19 May between 16:00 and 17:00 at the Congregational Church. Van Heerden will be in conversation with Michiel Heyns about his audacious novel A Library to Flee. Well-known son of Franschhoek Grant Jefthas joins the session Incantations on 19 May from 13:00 to 14:00 at the Council Chambers where Malika Ndlovu will be in conversation with Jefthas about his new collection Afvlerkmens, as well as actor, playwright and activist Khadija Tracey Heeger about her collection Thicker Than Sorrow.

Click here for the full programme. 

Stay in Touch with the FLF

• Website: www.flf.co.za

• Twitter: @FranLitFest 

• Facebook: franlitfest

• Instagram: @franlitfest