WEALTH OF TALENT AT TIME OF THE WRITER FESTIVAL

Literature lovers wallowed in the wealth of talent presented at the 12th Time of the Writer Festival organised by the Centre for Creative Arts at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre on the Howard College campus from March 9 -14.

Centre Director Mr Peter Rovick described the event as a literary festival celebrating writers and the power and beauty of words.

The six-day program provided a platform for new and established contemporary writers, intellectual thinkers and cartoonists to interact, launch their books, visit schools, conduct workshops and seminars and engage in critical debate.

The audience enjoyed a feast of words from 20 writers from all over Africa with book readings featuring issues affecting South Africa, such as crime. The action-packed crime themes of Margie Orford’s best seller Like Clockwork, Angela Makholwa’s first novel Red Ink and Deon Meyer’s Devil’s Peak thrilled the audience.

“Time of the Writer is an important forum where issues can be discussed and confronted with honesty and integrity. It is not just a time for reading and writing, but also for talking and listening - a time to open our minds and be inspired,” said Mr Rovick.

South African scriptwriter and journalist Mandla Langa was the winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book with his novel: The Lost Colours of the Chameleon. Langa said: “Story telling is about imparting something that is indestructible.”

The last session facilitated by well-known publisher Andy Mason featured a thought provoking debate between cartoonist Zapiro (Jonathan Shapiro) and respected journalist Max du Preez. The session titled ‘I Write and Draw What I Like’ (inspired by Steve Biko’s I Write What I Like) focused on journalists’ freedom of expression in South Africa.