SABA

Don’t miss out on this weekend’s Mail and Guardian Literary Festival in Johannesburg.
The entrance fee for all events will be R20 (R10 for students and pensioners) and Boekehuis will be on hand to sell books. The venue for most events is 44 Stanley Avenue.

Programme:

Friday – 3 Sept
7 pm – Keynote address: Speaker M&G Editor Nic Dawes.

Saturday – 4 Sept
Coffee and ticket sales from 8:00

9:00 – 10:30
Session 1: Word-count: The State of Fiction in South Africa
Chair: Craig MacKenzie (Professor of English, UJ)
Panellists: Leon de Kock, David Medalie, Jane Rosenthal and Thabo Tsheloane

10:30 – 11:30
Book signing/mini launch: David Attwell and Chabani Manganyi on their Mphaphlele book, Bury Me at the Marketplace.

11.30 – 13.00
Session 2: Reality Hunger or Escapist Pudding? The Lines Between Fiction and Creative Nonfiction (Parallel with Session 3)
Chair: Leon de Kock (Professor of English, Stellenbosch)
Panellists: Deon Maas (Witboy in Africa), Chris van Wyk (Eggs to Lay, Chickens to Hatch), Zukiswa Wanner (Men of the South), Thando Mgqolozana (A Man Who is Not a Man)

11.30 – 13.00
Session 3: After the Fall: The Postcolonial Hereafter (Parallel with Session 2)
Chair: David Attwell (Chair of Postcolonial Studies, University of York)
Panellists: Imraan Coovadia (High Low In-between), Moeletsi Mbeki (Architects of Poverty) and Roger Southall (A New Scramble for Africa?)

13.00 – 14:30
Break for lunch (Launch: Judith Mason book at Art on Paper)

14:30 – 16:00
Session 4: The ABCs of RSA: So where to, education?
Chair: David Macfarlane (M&G)
Panellists to include Cynthia Kros, Salim Vally and Sipho Seepe

15:00 – 16:30
Session 5: Difficult Writing: Writers respond to Murambi: The Book of Remains
Chair: Pamela Nichols (Wits Writing Centre)
Panellists: Veronique Tadjo (Ivorian novelist and Head of French Studies at Wits) and Boris Boubacar Diop (Senegalese author of Murambi: The Book of Remains; currently a WISER Fellow at Wits)
This session comprises a brief discussion between Tadjo and Diop, moderated by Nichols, followed by a reading of writings from a workshop of eight young writers run before and during the festival by Nichols and Diop.

16.00 – 16:30
Break for refreshments

16.30 – 18:00
Session 6: Mail & Guardian at 25
Chair: Shaun de Waal (M&G)
Panellists: Anton Harber, Nic Dawes, Ferial Haffajee

19.00 for 19.30
Penguin Prize for African Writing: announcement of winners in non-fiction and fiction.

Sunday – 5 Sept

9:30 – 11.00
Session 7: Being Here: South Africans in 2010
Chair: Nic Dawes (M&G)
Panellists to include Max du Preez (Pale Native) and Kevin Bloom (Ways of Staing)

11.00 – 11.45
Refreshments break (author event?)

11.45 – 13.00
Session 8: Scene of the Crime: Writing crime in South African fiction and non-fiction
Chair: Anthony Egan
Panellists will include Andrew Brown (Cold Sleep Lullaby, Refuge, Street Blues) and Sifiso Mzobe (Young Blood), Antony Altbeker (Fruit of a Poisoned Tree), Margie Orford (Daddy’s Girl)

13.00
Festival concludes

Visit www.mg.co.za/litfest for bookings and more information.

The education specialist Graeme Bloch says “the teachers’ strike has stunned us with its extent, the depth of support across all teacher unions, and the devastating effect on our children. At the same time, there have been threats of violence to fellow teachers, principals and even pupils - this may be the hardest aspect to fix. The strike points to the need to improve the conditions under which teachers must teach even as we provide realistic, effective, pedagogical support”.

A former education specialist at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, Graeme Bloch heads up a distinguished list of experts for the annual Education WeekConvention and Learning Expo in Johannesburg from 28-30 September.  The Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, will open the country’s largest education event, while the Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Derek Hanekom, will share his vision of how technology can change the face of education.  Some 1000 education professionals are expected to attend.

According to Graeme Bloch:  “Education Week comes at a crucial time, as we strive to rebuild relations and create stability after the devastating impact of the teachers’ strike. How will teachers, departments, pupils and parents find each other, as we seek to focus on what needs to be done to fix our schools and create conditions wher we all feel happy to buckle down to the hard task of effective and quality learning and teaching?”

Education Conversations
During Education Week, Graeme will lead the Education Conversationspanel discussion, during which high-level speakers will speak candidly about some of the critical issues facing our education system. Access to this session is free to anyone interested in the state of education. Panelists include:

* Barbara Creecy, Gauteng MEC for Education
* Juanita Kloppers-Lourens, Democratic Alliance Shadow Minister of Basic Education
* Marius Fransman, Chairperson, Parliamentary Committee on Higher Education and Training
* John Samuels, Special Advisor, 1GOAL Campaign
* Michael Stevenson, Vice President of Global Education, Cisco

The conference programme is divided into three streams:  the Education Technology Indaba as well as two sector-specific streams:  Basic Education and Higher Education and Training. These two streams will highlight recent policy and curriculum changes, look at overcoming specific challenges to the education system, and showcase some of the solutions and successes that have been achieved.

Education Week Expo!
In addition to the three conference streams, Education Week also offers a visitors’ programme as part of the exhibition. Entry to the exhibition is free to everyone involved in education, and includes:

• Access to workshops geared specifically towards teachers, which will focus on classroom management, stress management, time management and other techniques to enhance teaching
• Opportunity to experience the latest learning materials and technologies
• Prize giveaways, including a netbook, training courses, dinner, holiday, spa and cinema vouchers

Event website:  www.educationweek.co.za

Event dates and location:  28-30 September 2010 – Emperors Palace, Johannesburg

As part of a national effort to embrace the value of reading and the important role it plays in a nation’s development, the South African Book Development Council, in association with the Department of Arts & Culture, proudly launches the inaugural National Book Week, taking place from 6 - 13 September this year. National Book Week is dedicated to promoting reading and encouraging everyone to explore the magic of books.

Books support every aspect of a child’s development, but are also important for adults, especially because of our skewed development in South Africa.

Reading exposes people to a variety of life situations, enabling them to deal with different aspects of life. This in turn means that we are able to function more effectively in society, enabling us to make better decisions and participate actively and contribute in all aspects of life, e.g. in our economy, at work, in our family. It therefore also empowers us to be critical of life around us and change it for our improvement.

National Book Week will focus its activities this year at Museum Africa in Newtown, Johannesburg and the programme will include Reading Tents for children, youth, the visually impaired and adults, and will provide a fun and appealing environment to encourage reading, as well as celebrate books as part of what we do in everyday life.

National Book Week aims to celebrate the book and the love of reading, while showcasing South African and African writers, publishers, booksellers and related businesses.

Elitha van der Sandt, CEO of SABDC says National Book Week is something new and different, and offers innovative ways to introduce South Africans to the magic of books. We all have a role to play in promoting reading and increasing access to books. There are different organisations and initiatives that already exist to promote and encourage reading, and National Book Week hopes to provide a platform to expose these organisations to a wider audience.

Entrance to National Book Week programmes will be free, encouraging schools, family and the general public to attend. Industry stakeholders will be provided an opportunity to participate in exhibitions, seminars and training activities which will form part of the interesting programme designed to appeal to the public, as well as key players and investors in the publishing industry.

Don’t miss this important discussion on our national education policy looking at the legacy of Bantu Education and OBE @ BOEKEHUIS
SATURDAY 28 August 2010, 12:00 for 12:30

Please join us for a discussion between Cynthia Kros,  historian and a professor in Wits University’s school of arts & Hilary Janks, professor in Applied English Language Studies at Wits around their books,
The Seeds of Separate Development: Origins of Bantu Education (Kros) & Literacy and Power (Janks).

The discussion will be facilitated by Brahm Fleisch, professor in the School of Education at Wits.

Bantu education was a conscious attempt to forge a new social order. Fearing that anarchy would follow the burgeoning black urbanisation, apartheid ideologues designed Bantu education to limit and control black aspirations and achievement.

Many students have been battling to overcome its treacherous legacy. They have been deprived of essential language skills: their reading and writing abilities have been almost irredeemably stunted by the time they come to the university (Kros). They have been so conditioned to rote learning and authoritarian styles of teaching that, at first, they can make no sense of a question that asks for critical evaluation or an argued response.  And this continues to be the case for many students, despite the advent of Outcomes-Based Education (OBE).

Now OBE as a teaching method has been made redundant too. Wasn’t OBE just an ideological solution to apartheid education? And what are we left with? What is “linguistic capital” and who has it? How are language skills affecting relations of power and questions of identity in our daily lives? What does going back to basics mean?

RSVP by Thursday 26/08 at 011 482 3609 or Boekehuis@boekehuis.co.za

The Publishers’ Association of South Africa, or PASA, is a voluntary body founded in 1994 by and on behalf of South African publishers in recognition of their particular role and responsibility in protecting and promoting the Bill of Rights which forms part of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa with particular reference to the fundamental rights provisions which have reference to the freedom of expression, including the specific freedoms referred to therein, namely:

Freedom of the press and other media
Freedom to receive and impart information and ideas
Freedom of artistic creativity
Academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.

PASA as well as the South African Booksellers’ Association (SABA) concluded their annual meetings in Johannesburg today. Both bodies unreservedly endorse this founding principle of our respective organisations. The elected, executive boards of both PASA and SABA agreed at combined meeting this morning to highlight and reiterate their unequivocal support of freedom of expression in light of the current and crucial debate around the Protection of Information Bill and mindful of the discourse around the possible introduction of a Media Tribunal.

The Booksellers’ Choice Award, sponsored by Nielson Bookdata was awarded to John Van Der Ruit for Spud - Learning to Fly published by Penguin Books on Tuesday 17th August. Announced at a cozy gala dinner where all the big names in the publishing and bookselling industries mingled like old friends, the Booksellers’ Choice Award is one of great prestige.

Open only to books written by South African authors who are published in South Africa – it is a celebration of South African writing. The awards have been running for over 10 years in South Africa and this is the second time that John Van der Ruit has won. Previous winners include Antjie Krog (2004), John Van de Ruit (2006) and Peter Harris (2009).

What makes this award special is that the judges are the booksellers. The very people on the ground who work with books daily, who read avariciously, who recommend books to others, who discuss books as a part of their daily work, who literally have their fingers on the pulse. The Booksellers’ Choice award is therefore a highly regarded award and one that is coveted by authors and publishers alike as it is the booksellers that are the key players in getting their titles to market.

In his acceptance speech, John Van der Ruit spoke of the amazing journey the Spud series has taken him on and gave all kudos to the booksellers, who promote books to readers and are often the beginning of the word of mouth phenomenon that really makes the difference between and ordinary book and a best seller.

The Bookseller’s Choice Award is chosen and presented by the South African book trade in recognition of outstanding contribution to the industry. It is awarded to the book that booksellers across South Africa have most enjoyed reading, selling or promoting over the past year and is only open to South African authors who are published in South Africa. It celebrates the excellence and high standard of South African writing.

Nielsen Book sponsors Booksellers’ Choice Awards in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The global information and media company supports awards of this type as they believe there is a direct benefit for the industry as a whole – writers, publishers, booksellers and libraries all benefit from the promotion and sale of high quality books.

The Sefika Awards were also bestowed upon the winning publishers and booksellers at the insider event. These are professional awards organized by both the South African Booksellers’ Association (SABA) and the Publishers Association of South Africa (PASA). The awards applaud publishers and booksellers who have excelled in doing business throughout the year and are voted for by members of SABA and PASA respectively.

Oxford University Press took both the Best Academic and Best Education Publisher of the year, while Penguin Books took the Trade Publisher Award to add to their already full trophy case.

On the booksellers’ side, Adams and Co took the Best Academic Bookseller, Spectra Upfront took the Best Education Bookseller, Exclusive Books Hyde Park took Trade Bookseller of the Year and Hargraves Library Suppliers took the Best Library Supplier of the Year for the third time in a row.

Evita Bezuidenhout entertained the guests with her wit and charm, Leopards Leap supplied the wine with which to toast the winners and much fun was had by all.

Wednesday 11th August, 5.30 for 6pm - Ronnie Kasrils: An Unlikely Secret Agent
The Unlikely Secret Agent is the remarkable tale of a young woman’s courage and daring at a time of increasing repression in apartheid South Africa. Eleanor’s story is told here for the first time with great verve and élan by Eleanor’s husband, Ronnie Kasrils, who eventually became South Africa’s Minister of Intelligence Services in 2004. To quote John Le Carre, ‘This is a wonderful book about a courageous and extrarodinary woman who was highly principled, yet endowed by nature with all the clandestine skills.’
Ronnie Kasrils will be in conversation with former Minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan.

This is a Jacana Media, Book Lounge, Cape Times and Equal Education initiative.
If you have high quality children’s and young adults books, please bring them to donate to the Equal Education book drive for school libraries. For more information please visit www.equaleducation.org.za.
10% of all Jacana books sold on the night will also go to Equal Education’s book drive.

Thursday 12th August, 5.30 for 6pm: Max du Preez - Lauch of the new edition of Pale Native
The entire political landscape has changed since Max du Preez first published his acclaimed book, Pale Native: Memories of a Renegade Reporter, in 2003.
This revised, updated edition has new chapters on the ‘bloodless coup’ of Polokwane, the demise (and an updated assessment) of Thabo Mbeki, the Zuma and Malema Show, the rise of COPE and the 2009 election, the country’s slide into systemic corruption and the spectacular crash of the SABC, as well as the controversies in Afrikaner culture and politics (the Free State University racist video, the De la Rey song and the language debate at Stellenbosch University).
Max will be in conversation with Mervyn Sloman, owner and founder of The Book Lounge. Expect an entertaining evening!
Published by Zebra, an imprint of Random House Struik.

Friday 13th August, 5.30 for 6pm – John Peffer: Art & the End of Apartheid
In Art and the End of Apartheid, John Peffer considers in depth the work of black South African artists in the decades leading up to the end of apartheid in 1994. Peffer examines painting and graphic art, photography, avant-garde and performance art, and popular and protest art through artist collectives (such as the Thupelo Art Project and the Medu Art Ensemble) and individuals such as Durant Sihlali and Santu Mofokeng. He shows how South African artists imagined what “postapartheid” could mean during the time of apartheid, even as they struggled with immediate issues of censorship, militancy, street violence and torture, and, more broadly, the problem of self-representation and the social role of art. The evening represents a fantastic opportunity to talk art with the American-based author who will be in discussion with Mario Pissarra, founder of the Africa South Art Initiative.

Please RSVP for any Book Lounge events to booklounge@gmail.com, or phone on 021 462 2425.

Cape Town Book Fair organisers pronounced the Cape Town Book Fair a great success on the closing day of the fair on Monday. 33 488 people visited the fair and there were 273 exhibitors. More than 200 journalists attended.

“On the Saturday we sold more books than on any previous day at the fair in the past - the visitors seemed very serious about books,” said Claudia Regnart, corporate office director of the giant Pearson group, which owns companies including Maskew Miller Longman. “Then, on Sunday, we outsold even the Saturday. And people turned out in droves at our awards ceremony, even though it was at 5:30 on the Sunday evening.”

Business was “very good” for Wits University Press, too, said publisher Veronica Klipp. “There were lots of sales and all of our author events were very well attended,” she said.

“It’s been fantastic,” said Zimbabwe-based Tainie Mundondo, of the African Publishers Network. Twelve Africa publishers brought to the fair by the CTBF and the Goethe-Institut in a drive to develop the fair as a gateway to African publishing. “Trade Day was extremely beneficial, for the networking and what we learnt. The session on digital publishing, for example, was very helpful.”

Mohamed al Shehhi, head of publishing at the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage, said the fair had been “quite an exciting event for us”.

“We’ve bought African books for our national library and are looking for agents to sell our books too,” he said. “We’re now negotiating rights to have books translated into Arabic - we’ve signed a deal with a Korean publisher to have 120 of their titles translated. We’ll be here again next year.”

Naveen Kishore of India-based Seagull Books said he liked the “intimate” setting, which gave sellers direct contact with buyers. “It’s good to get a sense of what buyers think of your books,” he said. “We are starting an Africa list, and we ended up doing nice business. I like the size of the fair, and it’s really well organised.”

This was the fifth anniversary of the fair, which was supported by the Department of Arts and Culture and Mappp-Seta check. The latter facilitated the participation of small publishing houses from South Africa.

CTBF director Claudia Kaiser said the book fair organisers had gone all out to organise events that would benefit as many groups as possible. “There was a special Trade Day for those in the industry, sessions for children, and a literacy campaign reaching out to those who could not attend. It was a huge, and wonderful effort. We’re delighted at how it all turned out. Thanks to all those who worked day and night, for weeks before the fair, to take care of every little detail.”

With more than 240 events, the fair offered serious debates as well as literary and light-hearted discussions. For the first time, the fair reached out to underprivileged areas by setting up Reading and Learning Rooms with its partner organisations.

www.capetownbookfair.com

Tuesday 3rd August, 5.30 for 6pm - Aniel Botha: ‘n Dans met die Dood (Zebra Press)
‘n Dans met die Dood is Aniel se eie aangrypende beskrywing van die ses weke wat sy in die eetsteurnisafdeling van dié hospitaal deurgebring het, en van die ander pasiënte wat sy daar ontmoet het. Aniel Botha sal in gesprek wees met Joan Hambidge, outeur van Kladboek en Palindroom.

Wednesday 4th August, 5.30 for 6pm - Jane Katyavivi: Undisciplined Heart (Modjaji Publishers)
Jane Katjavivi lives in Windhoek, so the Book Lounge is thrilled to be able to launch her wonderful memoir in Cape Town. Jane has had a rich and interesting life, she was born and raised in England and met her Namibian husband before Namibian independence, while working with him for SWAPO. She has since become a naturalised Namibian and writes of her life in Windhoek, her close women friends and her experiences in the Namibian and African Book World. She also had her own independent book shop in Windhoek and a publishing company. Her memoir is a beautifully written careful account of her life.
Jane will be in conversation with Margie Orford, superb thriller writer and author of, most recently, Daddy’s Girl.

Thursday 5th August 2010, 5.30 for 6pm - Sarah Lotz: Tooth and Nailed (Penguin)
Sarah Lotz returns with the follow-up to her hit detective novel, Exhibit A – get ready for Tooth and Nailed!
Georgie Allen – Cape Town’s most down-at-heel lawyer – is back, and this time he’s…Well, actually, he’s doing just fine. That is if fine can be classified as taking on a case for a promiscuous professor who may or may not have murdered one of his students, dealing with South Africa’s first gay divorce, and coping with feelings of inadequacy thanks to the hotshot attorney he’s hired to pick up the slack at his office.
Sarah will be in conversation with Quinton Martins, co-founder and Project Manager of the Cape Leopard Trust.

And now something for the little ones - Storytimes in August

Saturday, 7th August at 11am
Eight little monkeys jumping on the bed, one fell off and the Mother said, “No more silly monkeys jumping on my bed!” Some of the best stories are about little monkeys and the mischief they get up to. They don’t mean to be naughty, they are just curious! Come along and listen to monkey stories and make your own monkey bookmark.

Saturday, 14th August at 11am
Biedie-biedie-biedie-biedie. Image we actually got little robots to walk around and be our friends and do stuff for us? … Like the movies always make us believe. Today we are going to read some great robotic tales and make our own foil robots (well, as best we can without the electrics!)

Saturday, 21st August at 11am
South Africa is rich with story tellers, and one of our favourite story ladies, have to be the beautiful Sindiwe Magona. She came to visit recently and loved it so much, she wants to do it again! She has promised to come and tell us some more stories we have not heard before. This is a real treat and not to be missed.

Saturday, 28th August at 11am
Tiny little men and women who we read about in tiny books have been around for ages. We will be reading some of the best Mr Men and Little Miss stories. Who are you? Are you Mr Grumpy or Mr Tickle? Little Miss Chatterbox or Little Miss Nosy? Come along and find out who is who in the Mr Men Zoo.

RSVP: 021 462 2425

SATURDAY VOICES / SATERDAGSTEMME with historians Charles van Onselen & Jon Hyslop in conversation about a neglected aspect of South Africa’s social history, that of bank robberies, shipwrecks, highwaymen, treasure hunts and fugitives in the time between the discovery of gold at the Witwatersrand and the outbreak of the war, as portrayed in Van Onselen’s new book,Masked Raiders, Irish Banditry in Southern Africa, 1880–1899

“Masked Raiders is an indispensable social history. Not only does it reveal a neglected aspect of South Africa’s past and develop a cracked, distant mirror of our present, it also takes its place among those studies that demonstrate that individuals and societies emerge along lines of movement that respect neither the convenience of states nor the normative logic of nationalism.” Michael Titlestad in the Sunday Independent, 11/07/2010

Where: BOEKEHUIS Bookshop, Cnr. Lothbury and Fawley Streets, Auckland Park (parking available)
When: Saturday 31 July 2010 at 12:00 for 12:30
RSVP: by Thursday 29 July 2010 on
011 482 3609 | boekehuis@boekehuis.co.za