Franschhoek Literary Festival

This festival was started in 2007 on the suggestion of novelist Christopher Hope, to be run along the same lines as the Cheltenham and Hay-on Wye festivals, with two main aims: to bring a broad spectrum of good and accessible South African writers together for informal discussions, and in so doing to encourage a reading culture in our valley and the broader Western Cape community. The funds raised from the Festival are devoted to classroom libraries which supply new age-appropriate books to crèches and schools within the Franschhoek community. Hope became the first Director of the Festival and, with Jenny Hobbs, (author and journalist), James Woodhouse (freelance editor) and a voluntary committee of Franschhoek residents, the festival was up and running within 9 months. The Delta Trust (funds educational and community initiatives in the valley) was the founding sponsor. Theatre-related people who have appeared there include Barry Ronge, John Maytham, Gcina Mhlophe, Marlene van Niekerk, Mike van Graan, and many others. In 2008 the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize ceremony was held there.

Franschhoek Literary Festival: [Fourth Edition will hit the streets of this Winelands village starting on Friday 14 May 2010, with another gathering of writers, editors, publishers, readers and assorted book fans who will be deep in various conversations – sometimes to applause and laughter, occasionally escalating to hot argument – until sunset on Sunday 16 May]

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