Big names at book fair

A GROUP of self-published authors will join some big names at this weekend’s Midlands Literary Festival.

Talks cover topics from politics to poetry and farm animals to the domestic kind.

Retired judge Christopher Nicholson will talk about Permanent Removal, his 21-year-old Paton Prize finalist book on who killed the Cradock Four. Activist Hennie van Vuuren will talk on his book, Apartheid, Guns and Money, which lifts the lid on the darkest economic crimes of the apartheid regime.

Also fitting the politics theme is Ashwin Desai, whose book, Reverse Sweep, looks at cricket post-apartheid. Organiser Darryl David said he discovered many of the self-published authors when they entered the Booktown Richmond South African Independent Publishers’ Awards.

“That’s how I got to know their books. They were really good and it’s why I invited them to Howick,” he said.

Among the self-published authors and lesser-known local authors who will speak at the festival are people who have written detective fiction or put together photographic books.

The festival also features Underberg poet Kyle Allan who will present his poetry anthology, House Without Walls.

The event will be at the Fern Hill Hotel, near the entrance to Midmar Dam. Entrance costs R100 for today’s events, R50 for tomorrow and R150 for the whole weekend.