Bookworms in the Lowveld look forward to August
The 2018 Lowveld Book Festival will again reach out to surrounding rural schools to expose children to the joy of stories and reading.
It is almost time for this year’s Lowveld Book Festival that will take place at the Casterbridge Lifestyle Centre in White River on August 18 and 19.
It will be preceded by a business breakfast and outreach activities on Friday August 17.
A balanced programme is on the cards.
It includes poetry, workshops, kids’ corner and story time for youngsters, panel discussions, historical Lowveld literature, nature lovers’ presentations, interviews with authors, youth literature, a book-club segment, a cooking demonstration, and a locally written and produced movie.
A music show will be offered by the Casterbridge Music Development Academy. This will include well-known songs by some well-loved local musicians.
This year visitors can look forward to a host of interesting authors, including two of the youngest authors Stacey Fru (11) and Michelle Nkamankeng (10).
Others include Tony Park, Dudu BusaniDube, Mercy Dube, Tracy Going, Amy Heydenrych, Nozizwe Cynthia Jele, Mike Mills, Gus Mills, Maruping Phepheng, James Styan, Richard Steyn, Fred Khumalo, Rehana Rossouw, Steven Sidley, Kate Sidley, Ronnie Kasrils, Dr Gerrit Haarhoff, Prof Peter Delius, Peter Harris, Menzi Mkhonza, Sandy and Tony Ferrar, Sahm Venter, Vimla Naidoo, Dr Salomon Joubert, Walter Thornhill, Adam Cruise and even Archbishop Thabo Makgoba.
Adam Cruise will be one of the facilitators and will be joined by Lowveld Living’s Nicky Manson and renowned local author Jayne Bauling as well as Bobo Lukhele, news editor at the SABC in Mpumalanga and Alison Lowry, the ex-CEO of Penguin Publishers and an independent editor.
South African authors will sell and autograph their latest publications and authors will be slotted into events to ensure interesting discussions that grapple with the issues confronting South African literature and reading.
The 2018 Lowveld Book Festival will again reach out to surrounding rural schools to expose children to the joy of stories and reading; encourage teenagers to read more, whether electronic or printed books; and to support local writers and illustrators through workshops hosted by published authors.
The full programme and information about ticket sales are available at www. lowveldbookfestival.co.za.
For more information, follow it on Facebook and Twitter or email lowveldbookfestival@gmail.com.
