Lots to read into at Franschhoek Literary Festival

THE programme for the Franschhoek Literary Festival has been released. There will be more than 100 events, talks, discussions, workshops and musical interludes over the course of the festival, which runs from May 19 to 21.

Topics include food, writing, reading, travel, history, humour and politics.

One of the items is a conversation between Rustum Kozain and Antjie Krog titled A Colonial Legacy.

The focus of the conversation will be on Krog’s recently re-released 1989 work Lady Anne – a chronicle in verse, in which Krog compares her own life in a time of apartheid to that of Lady Anne Barnard in the Cape in the late 1700s.

Columnist, writer and photographer Victor Dlamini will deliver the third annual André Brink Memorial Lecture, introduced by Brink’s wife, Karina Szczurek.

One of the more lively events will probably be a conversation among Albie Sachs, Chumani Maxwele of #RhodesMustFall fame, Bonita Bennett and Wandile Kasibe about the effect of forced removals, repatriation, human remains and colonial statues.

Publishers Phehello Mofokeng, of Geko Publishing, Thabiso Mahlape of Blackbird Books, and writer Lidudumalingani Mqombothi, winner of the 2016 Caine Prize, will ponder whether there is a shortage of black fiction writers.

Recent South African spies will be the topic of a chat between Jonathan Ancer, author of Spy: Uncovering Craig Williamson and Bridget Hilton-Barber, who wrote Student Comrade Prisoner Spy. Jolyn Phillips will talk to Harry Kalmer, Ken Barris and Marita van der Vyver about why they write short stories and Sean Christie, author of Under Nelson Mandela Boulevard and Sylvia Vollenhoven, author of The Keeper of the Kumm, will talk about how they wrote their own stories.

How do writers survive on what they earn? Mostly they don’t. Mario Cesare, a game ranger, Andrew Brown, writer, lawyer and police reservist, advertising boss Mark Winkler and banker Tuelo Gabonewe talk about why they keep on writing.

Workshops include travel writing with Sunday Times travel editor Paul Ash and on writing family history with David Hilton-Barber.