The Woordfees started out as a festival for the spoken word and 24 years later words remain at the heart of the programme through the EasyEquities Writers’ Festival where you can listen to talks on fiction, non-fiction, politics, spirituality, biography, memoire and so much more. Exclusive Books have a fully stocked facility in the Book Tent where you can buy books in all languages every day for the nine days of the festival.
The Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees takes place this year from 28 September to 6 October and the theme is “play”. Get your tickets at Quicket.
For those who have some Afrikaans there are a variety of talks about books that cover everything from politics to travel, from memoire to fiction, from poetry to autobiography and a few more things in-between that are conducted in both English and Afrikaans. Be sure to grab a copy of the festival guide, absolutely free at most Exclusive Book Stores, so that you can plan your visit. The full festival programme is also available as a downloadable pdf – in both English and Afrikaans – on Woordfees.co.za.
For English-speakers there are 7 discussions that will take place entirely in English:
South Africa’s Soul in the Time of Super Cadres: Waldimar Pelser talks to authors Pieter du Toit and Oyama Mabandla about the state of South Africa’s political soul (political non-fiction).
A Tale of Two Cities: Anna Stroud and Nick Clelland talk to Jaco Adriaanse about their visions of the future based on their depictions of society and the city in their new books (fiction).
God’s Pocket: Sven Axelrad talks about his book, God’s Pocket, that is a celebration of the joys of youth, about the eccentricities of his narrative world and the role that his yorkie Zoë plays in his life as writer and accountant (magical realism).
Queer and Quotable: Alistair Mackay and Siya Khumalo are bright new lights in the publishing world of queer literature. They share their thoughts on the state of South African queer literature (fiction).
Bullsh!t: 50 Fibs that made SA: Jonathan Ancer’s book has a dazzling array of lies, myths, untruths and made up stories that tell the story of our country’s history. With his tongue firmly in his cheek and a commitment to make fun of everyone, Jonathan tries to make sense of fact and fiction (non-fiction).
How to (Un)F*ck a Country: How do we get our country out of the mess post State Capture? Dr Roy Havemann has a six-point plan (politics).
Ryan Sandes: Run. Risk. Reward: Legendary South African ultra-trail runner Ryan Sandes talks about his breathtaking adventures and the accidents, fears and triumphs that go with being the first competitor to have won all four of the world’s most extreme races – The 4 Desert Races which are run through The Atacama in Chile, The Gobi in China, The Sahara in Egypt and Antarctica (sport/adventure).
Get the full EasyEquities Writers’ Festival programme here, and the complete Woordfees programme here.
