Booktown Richmond Head Quarters Loop Street Richmond, Northern Cape

MEDIA RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Booktown Richmond Proudly Announces JM Coetzee and SA Nobel Laureates Festival II
The 2nd Annual JM Coetzee Festival takes place from the 25 to 26 May in Booktown Richmond in the Karoo. And by all accounts, the organisers of the iconic BookBedonnerd Literary Festival have another winner on their hands. The festival was created to celebrate our Literary Nobel Laureates, JM Coetzee and Nadine Gordimer. But given the list of SA Nobel Laureates, the organisers couldn't resist using the festival as a platform to celebrate Nelson Mandela, Albert Luthuli, FW de Klerk and Desmond Tutu, in addition to the South African born Laureates, Sydney Brenner, Allan M. Cormack, and Max Theiler who made their achievements in the sciences. This year we can boast 6 speakers who will deliver talks on JM Coetzee, covering a variety of his books ranging from Waiting for the Barbarians, Disgrace and The Master of St Petersburg. Well known academic Helize van Vuuren will present the inaugural John Kannemeyer Memorial Lecture. John Kannemeyer, SA's most prolic literary biographer and biographer of the upcoming JM Coetzee was a great supporter of Booktown Richmond. He was there when BookBedonnerd was still a swear word in the literary world and he opened the inaugural JM Coetzee Festival last year. Sadly he passed away on Christmas Day last year. Judge Chris Nicholson, buoyed that SA Cricket have listened to his every word, has also joined the fray and reckons he can convince us of the link Coetzee's work has with opera. It is a talk that promises to teach the academics a thing or two! We are also proud that two of the country's most revered media personalities, Allister Sparks and Anton Harber will be coming to Richmond. Harber will present the inaugural Nadine Gordimer Warrior for Freedom Lecture. It has not escaped my attention, says Darryl David, that Nadine Gordimer, although deep into her 80's, was the rst writer to publicly condemn the ANC's Info Bill and galvanise the country's writers against a sinister bill, as she did against apartheid. That is what one calls a principled stance, hence the honour. Well known journalist Maureen Isaacson and Unisa academic Andries Oliphant will also present talks on the lady Seamus Heaney called 'that guerrilla of the imagination'. Allister Sparks, writer editor and highly respected political commentator, will speak on his voluminous biography of Desmond Tutu.

Other well known authors attending the festival are Elza Miles, who will travel to Richmond to honour the man known as the Van Gogh of the Karoo, Jan Schoeman aka Outa Lappies, who passed away so tragically last July. Deborah Steinmair must be enjoying the rareed air of Rosendal and she will come to Richmond to talk on her last two books Marike se laaste dans and Poppekas; Antony Osler will nally make his way to Booktown Richmond to talk on his bestselling book Stoep Zen and Jonathan Deal will be whipping up support to oppose Fracking in the Karoo. As a preamble to the talk, Jonathan will talk on his book Timeless Karoo For more information contact please dont hesitate to contact Darryl David or Peter Baker on the contact details below.

Contact Information: Darryl David Tel:" 081 391 8689 email:" cowboys@sai.co.za Peter Baker Tel: " 011 447 2517 e-mail: pcbaker@mweb.co.za

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