A select group of 20 writers from South Africa and Africa
will gather at the Time of the Writer Festival from Monday until Saturday (March16
to 21).
Audiences can expect to hear the opinions of multiple
award-winning writers, from a wide variety of political and social contexts, on
the creative and technical processes and perspectives which shape their
writing. Evening readings and discussions will take place at the Elizabeth
Sneddon Theatre (Howard College Campus) beginning at 19h00 each evening.
Tuesday, March 17:
Female Narratives.
The first panel of the festival pairs two South African authors as they discuss
with the challenges and opportunities faced by female authors in the modern
landscape and unpack the female narratives in their writing. Z.P Dala (South
Africa) is a therapist and full-time writer. Dala has been included on the 2015
Goodreads Sunday Times list of Top Novelists to look out for in 2015. Kirsten
Miller (South Africa) has published short stories in six collections, a short
play, a children’s book, and was a finalist in the SA PEN literary award three
times. She held a dual career as a freelance writer and in early intervention
for Autism for many years. She also worked as a Drama lecturer, a Creativity
lecturer and a dolphin trainer early in her career. The panel will be
facilitated by UKZN research and PhD student Alan Muller.
Writing Without
Permission: In the face of growing censorship across the world, Time of the
Writer brings together two fearless authors with reputations for tapping into
hard truths no matter the consequences. Jacob Dlamini (South Africa) holds a
PhD from Yale University. Having previously worked as a journalist he was the
political editor of Business Day newspaper. He is the winner of the University
of Johannesburg’s Creative Writing Debut Prize for his book Native Nostalgia. Mzilikazi wa Afrika
(South Africa) is a multi-award winning journalist working for the Sunday Times
investigations unit in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Bushbuckridge born
scribe was awarded two international scholarships to study in the UK and USA
for the recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of journalism.
Scholar and activist Jackie Shandu will facilitate the
panel.
Wednesday, March 18:
Telling Stories,
Bridging Divides: This panel highlights the power of literature to
transcend borders and cultures, Telling
Stories, Bridging Divides highlights two authors who have reached audiences
beyond their regions through their stories being translated as well as the
telling of stories that transcend borders.
Born in Bassala, Ousmane Diarra (Mali) is a storyteller,
poet, novelist and author of many children’s books. M.J Mngadi (South Africa)
was the recipient of the SALA (S.A.) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009 for
lifelong dedication to African and World literary excellence. Whilst employed
at the Commissioner’s office as an Interpreter/Clerk Mngadi spent his spare
time reading books and learning Authorship and Freelance Journalism. Head of
the French Department of University of KwaZulu-Natal Bernard De Meyer will
facilitate the discussion.
Murder, She Wrote: With
the rise in popularity of crime novels coming out of South Africa, this panel
brings together two established female authors with the focus on this
burgeoning genre. Charlotte Otter (South Africa) is a writer living in Germany,
where she works as a corporate communicator in the IT industry. Otter’s first
novel, Balthasar’s Gift, which is
crime fiction set in her home town of Pietermaritzburg, was published to
critical acclaim. Books editor for the Witness Margaret von Klemperer (South
Africa) was arts editor of the newspaper for 16 years until she decided to give
up full time work and see whether she could write a publishable book. She was
born in Britain but has lived in Pietermaritzburg for more than 40 years. This
panel will be facilitated by PhD student Olivier Moreillon.
Thursday, March 19:
Letters From Zimbabwe:
The festival shifts its gaze north bringing together two of Zimbabwe’s new
generation of authors to provide insight and perspective on the stories of
Zimbabwe, often told from the diaspora. Multiple award winner, NoViolet
Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) shortlisted for the Man Booker prize for her novel entitled
We Need New Names. Sue Nyathi (Zimbabwe) began writing at the tender age of 10
and nurtured this passion through her teenage years. Holder of a Master’s
Degree in finance, Nyathi is a freelance writer, scriptwriter and a novelist. Poet,
author and activist Menzi Maseko will facilitate the panel.
Blurring the Lines-
Memoir and Fiction: This panel brings together two prolific authors who
sometimes channel real life experiences, to create honest pieces of work that
tread the fine line between reality and fiction. Nthikeng Mohlele (South
Africa) was listed by Bloomsbury Publishing, Hay Festival and Rainbow Book Club
among the 39 most promising authors under the age of 40 from sub-Saharan Africa
and the diaspora. Growing up in the streets of Makhado town, reformatory school
and maximum security prisons, Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho (South Africa)was
released from prison on November 11 2010, He went on to become a writer, poet,
freelance journalist and has also authored a novel, The Violent Gestures of Life.
This panel will be facilitated by Sunday Tribune senior
journalist Nathi Olifant.
Friday, March 20
Written in the Margin:
Highlights the untold stories of marginalised South Africans often forgotten in
classic and popular literature, taking an audience into worlds overlooked.
Author and journalist Carol Campbell (South Africa) has
worked in print media for 24 years and during that time covered South Africa’s
transition to democracy in 1994 going on to win a British Council award for
education reporting the following year. Futhi Ntshingila (South Africa) is a
former Sunday Times journalist and recipient of the 2004 Vodacom Journalist of
the Year Editor’s Choice Award, with a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism at
Rhodes University and Master’s Degree in Conflict Resolution at the University
of KwaZulu-Natal. Her work deals with women who are in the peripheries of
society whose stories have been historically ignored.
Senior Sunday Times journalist Matthew Savides will
facilitate the panel discussion.
Words Weaving Worlds:
This panel focuses on the power of words to create in-depth pieces of fiction
that mirror the complexities of real life experiences.
Ekow Duker (South Africa) is an oil field engineer turned
banker turned author with a heartfelt passion for writing. He is the author of
two novels White Wahala and Dying in New York which were published
simultaneously in July 2014. Thando Mgqolozana (South Africa) is a novelist and
screenwriter. His novel A Man Who Is Not
a Man was long-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award,
and was adapted for screen into Ibhokhwe
(The Goat), which won the Best Short Film and Best Director of a Short Film
awards at the Independent Mzansi Short Film Festival in 2014.
Publisher and photographer Russell Grant will facilitate the
panel.
Saturday, March 21
Shapeshifting- Form
and the Modern Writer: The festival brings two chameleon-like authors who
aren’t hampered by the boundaries of traditional mediums. Both panellists are
known for their ability to produce work across platforms and genres – theatre,
screen and novel - to bring their stories to the world.
Author and filmmaker Dilman Dila (Uganda) has been
shortlisted for the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Prize (2013), twice long
listed for the Short Story Day Africa prize, and nominated for the 2008 Million
Writers Awards. Internationally acclaimed author and playwright Craig Higginson
(South Africa) was born in Zimbabwe and has lived in London,
Stratford-upon-Avon, Paris and currently resides in Johannesburg. He is the
recipient of the Sony Gold Award for the Best Radio Drama in the UK, the UJ
Award for South African Literature in English and the Naledi Award for Best
South African play.
The panel discussion will be facilitated by writer and
critic Sihle Mthembu.
The Writer is the
Witness: The final panel of the festival brings together two respected
South African writers as they journey through our past, bringing a fresh
perspective on well-known realities told through fiction. Imraan Coovadia
(South Africa) is a writer and director of the creative writing programme at
the University of Cape Town. His novel The Institute for Taxi Poetry (2012) is
the winner of the M-Net Prize. Growing up in KwaMashu Township, Mandla Langa (South
Africa) received his BA at the University of Fort Hare. In 1991, he became the
first South African to be awarded an Arts Council of Great Britain Bursary for
Creative Writing. His diverse work includes penning an opera, Milestones, with
music composed by jazz musician Hugh Masekela.
The Writer is the
Witness will be facilitated by City Press KwaZulu-Natal Bureau Chief and
investigative journalist Paddy Harper.
Ticket prices R25 for the evening sessions and R10 for
students on presentation of a student card. Workshops, seminars and book
launches are free of charge. Book through Computicket Tel: 0861 915 8000 or 011
340 8000 or online at online.computicket.com or at the Elizabeth Sneddon
Theatre from 18h00.
Organised by the Centre for Creative Arts (University of
KwaZulu-Natal) the 18th Time of the Writer, festival is made possible by
support from our funders; the National Department of arts and Culture,
eThekwini Municipality's Parks, Recreation and Culture Unit, the
Goethe-Institut, the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) and Adams
Booksellers as well as support from our partners; Pan Macmillan, Daily News,
Computicket and the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre. The Centre for Creative Arts is
housed in the College of Humanities at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is a
special project of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Cheryl Potgieter.
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