SAWC MEETING

The South African Writers' Circle will hold its next meeting on June 19 at 11h00 in the Main Westville Library (behind the Civic Centre).

Guest speaker will be Elana Bregin on the title Writing in the year 2010. This Durban-based author is well known for her award-winning young adult titles which include The Kayaboeties, The Boy from the Other Side and The Red-haired Khumalo, which all deal with the social realities of a changing South Africa. Apart from having her work released in the United States and Germany, she has also had several children’s stories published in the UK, including The Magical Bicycle, A School for Amos and Now We Are Free, which forms part of the prestigious Amnesty International Dare to Be Different collection published by Bloomsbury.

Bregin’s hard-hitting magic-realist novel, The Slayer of Shadows, was awarded The English Academy’s Percy Fitzpatrick 2000 Award for Youth Literature and her short story They won the Science Fiction South Africa competition in 2006. She holds an MA in English cum laude from the University of Natal, where her thesis examined colonial and other representations of the Bushmen.

Her research led to the writing of Kalahari RainSong (2004), co-authored with Belinda Kruiper. Based on Kruiper’s life story, the book explores the cultural, spiritual and survival challenges of the Northern Cape Khomani San community. Her most recent novel, Shiva’s Dance, is set in Durban, and deals with the pain of dysfunctional families, reflecting the author’s interest in Buddhist and Hindu spiritual principles.

She currently works as an editor for UKZN Press and has a particular interest in developing new voices and new writing.

A workshop will be held after the lunch break. Entrance fee R15 (R5 members). Further information on 031 564 7660.