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(Right: John van der Ruit.
Pic supplied)
John van der Ruit, author of SPUD -- THE REUNION, has been announced as the Featured Author for the 28th edition of the annual Time of the Writer festival presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
The festival will take place between March 18 to 23, 2025, under the broad theme of Imagination, Freedom & Accountability.
John Van De Ruit was born in Durban, South Africa, and educated at Michaelhouse and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he completed a Master’s degree in drama and performance studies.
His creative career
as an actor, playwright and author has spanned over 25 years.
In September 2005, John’s comedic novel, Spud, was released and became an immediate bestseller. Spud went on to be published in numerous countries and was adapted into a hit film starring John Cleese and Troye Sivan.
Spud inspired three sequels: The Madness Continues … (2007) Learning to Fly (2009) and Exit.
Ismail Mahomed, Director of the Centre for Creative Arts, says: “We are delighted to present John van der Ruit as the Featured Author next year with his newly-launched sequel, Spud --- The Reunion. We believe that van der Ruit has the gravitas to appeal to both young and more mature audiences.
“We are confident that both his creativity and entrepreneurial spirit will inspire a new generation of readers and writers”, he added. Talking to Time of the Writer festival curator, Shafinaaz Hassim, van der Ruit said that it was during the Covid-19 National Lockdowns, that the urgency to write the reunion came to him. Van der Ruit will be In Conversation with Shafinaaz Hassim at the festival. He will also facilitate a creative writing workshop for students. The 28th edition of the Time of the Writer festival will present between 50 – 70 writers across its live and online programmes.
The 28th edition of the Time of the Writer festival is funded by the University of KwaZulu-Natal, National Arts Council and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport, Arts & Culture. Full details of the Time of the Writer programme will be released in January 2025.
The Centre for Creative Arts is located in the School of the Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The Centre is renowned for its long-standing festivals --- Time of the Writer (27 years), Poetry Africa (28 years), JOMBA! Contemporary Dance festival (25 years), Durban International Film Festival (44 years) and Artfluence Human Rights festival (4 years). The Centre is committed to grow cultural leadership, promote artistic excellence and position the arts to be a dynamic advocate for social justice.
FOR ENQUIRIES: Owethu Dlamini Emerging Arts Manager, Time of the Writer festival: Communications Centre for Creative Arts University of KwaZulu-Natal. Email: dlaminiO@ukzn.ac.za
Tel: +27 (0)31 260 2506 / +27 (0)31 260 1816 | Fax: +27 (0)31 260 3074 | cca@ukzn.ac.za | www.cca.ukzn.ac.za
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