It's time to secure your tickets for the Franschhoek Literary Festival 2023

The Franschhoek Literary Festival 2023 programme is now live, showcasing a compelling and content-rich programme that has been curated with a focus on books published in the past year.

Among the more than 100 authors who will be in Franschhoek is Jonny Steinberg, whose Winnie & Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage, is one of the most anticipated reads of 2023. Described as a “shattering, revelatory account of a relationship that shaped SA's journey to freedom”, it is to be published just weeks before the festival starts.

Successful American-British comedian, TV writer and performer Ruby Wax will join live via Zoom from her home in England to talk about her most revelatory book yet on mental health, I’m Not as Well as I Thought I Was.

Other local and international authors in attendance with recently published books include Zimbabwe’s critically acclaimed Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, with the final instalment of her trilogy, The Quality of Mercy; Pie-Pacifique Kabalira-Uwase, whose Witnessing tells his astonishing story of fleeing tragedy in Rwanda for SA; international award-winning author Rachel Joyce (The Unlikely Genius of Harold Fry series); Sihle Khumalo (Milk the Beloved Country); and “queen of South African crime fiction” Margie Orford (The Eye of the Beholder). 

Alongside these are writers who have won prizes over the past 12 months. They include Joanne Joseph, whose Children of Sugarcane won the Adult Fiction Prize at the South African Book Awards 2022, Mignonne Breier, who won the 2022 Sunday Times Literary Award for non-fiction for Bloody Sunday, Tshidiso Moletsane, whose Junx won the 2022 Sunday Times Fiction Award, and Maddie Mortimer, who won the Desmond Elliott Prize 2022 for Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies. 

Festival-goers can engage with thought-leaders, among them Adriaan Basson and Ferial Haffajee, who will explore the future of South Africa beyond the 2024 elections with Songezo Zibi (Manifesto), Prince Mashele (The Outsider) and Pieter du Toit (The ANC Billionaires). Lester Kiewit will meet two chroniclers of outsider life — Chase Rhys, whose book Misfit: Stories vannie anne kant is a collection of his acclaimed pieces in Kaaps, and Welcome Mandla Lishivha, whose Boy on the Run is a memoir of growing up queer in a township.

The festival welcomes Antjie Krog, who will be in conversation with Dominique Botha about Pillage, her first collection of poetry in eight years. In a session titled Extreme Conditions, Pippa Hudson explores inner and outer wilds with pioneering explorer Saray Khumalo (My Journey to the Top of the World) and Louisa Zondo (Dearest MaRiky), who climbed Mount Everest in the aftermath of the suicide of her son, rap star Riky Rick. 

Afrikaans readers will have two sessions in the language to choose from — Bloedhonde, with seasoned crime writers Rudie van Rensburg and Irma Venter, and Sheila Cussons 100, during which Amanda Botha will talk to Adriaan Potgieter about his book, In die Klipknoets van Haar Vuis, about this important Afrikaans poet.

Evening events include Nataniël and Charl du Plessis in concert, and a magical evening with poets and storytellers titled Words Fly Under Night Skies. 

These are just a handful of the sessions that help cement festival’s standing as one of South Africa's major literary events.

“The programme captures the times we are in,” says festival director Elitha van der Sandt. ‘It digs into the dark corners as strife and upheaval creatively found their way onto the pages. There is something to stimulate the intellectual curiosity of all book lovers, from traumatic and painful stories to ones that are lighthearted and fun. The state of our country also comes into sharp focus through sessions and books that shine a light and offer ways forward. There are stories set in the wild and for those wild at heart, sparking meaningful engagement between author and reader. Set in the beautiful Franschhoek, it’s an autumn event worth having in your calendar.”

As part of keeping the audience at the centre of the festival, two memberships are available: the 2023 Festival Membership and 2023 Patron Membership. Both give benefits to book lovers, while also supporting Franschhoek Reading, the FLF community literacy initiative which raises funds for local community school libraries, training and placing of assistant school librarians.

While the FLF is, without doubt, the star of the weekend of May 19 to 21, with key partner Franschhoek Wine Valley, festival organisers promise a getaway that is also about wine and culinary experiences, and stepping into nature in a beautiful place.

The FLF programme is available to view on the festival website, www.flf.co.za. Bookings now open.