These authors have agreed to speak about their books at the Festival in 2019.

RALPH MATHEKGA

Ralph Mathekga

Nearly two decades after Ramaphosa was anointed as successor to Nelson Mandela, he has at last taken office as president of South Africa, but the party he leads is divided and the country and its institutions are battered and bruised.  Ralph Mathekga, author of the best-seller When Zuma goes, is one of South Africa’s leading political analysts, having taught politics at the UWC and worked as a senior political analyst at National Treasury. In his latest book Ramaphosa’s turn: Can Cyril save South Africa? Ralph Mathekga turns his attention to the pressing question of whether Ramaphosa can pull South Africa out of the quagmire of state capture, poverty and corruption.

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Ronnie 5x7

Ronnie
Kasrils

Catching tadpoles is the fourth memoir of the well-known activist and politician Ronnie Kasrils. A Yeoville-born boykie with Yiddish roots, Kasrils writes about his childhood and coming-of-age, during the years between the second World War to the onset of Apartheid. With a remarkable memory and flair for the written and spoken word, Kasrils revels in the social, sexual and political awakening of a roguish boy’s adventures with girls, rock music, bohemian culture and leaping across the colour barrier. The story climaxes with the Sharpeville Moment of March 1960.  In it, Kasrils holds up a mirror up for all South Africans to better understand themselves and their country.

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SIya Khumalo 5x7

Siya
Khumalo

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sonja 5x7

Sonya
Krause

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lazy makothi 5x7

Mogau
Seshoene

When a friend, about to be married, was afraid of being labeled ‘the lazy Makoti’ (the Lazy daughter-in-law), Magau Seshoene left the corporate world and started giving cooking lessons. She went on to host a TV series and became the food editor for Sunday World. Five years later her book The Lazy Makoti’s Guide to the Kitchen has proved a roaring success in South Africa, outselling Jamie Oliver and Ottolenghi. It is in its 5th print run, it has won major International awards. The recipes are packed with fresh ideas and tips on how to navigate the kitchen and produce wonderful food with a distinctly South African flavour.

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zanele njaphe

Zanele
Njapha

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MARTIN PROZESKY

Martin Prozesky

Local Hilton resident, retired Professor of Ethics, occasional Witness columnist and academic writer, Martin Prozesky brings us his first work of fiction Warring Souls. It is the story of conflict between Sarah Williams, the radical Professor of Christian Ethics at the fictitious St Mark’s College near George and Dr Gerald Meyer, the staunchly evangelical vice-chancellor. The novel explores what can happen when faith gets taken hostage by greed, power and politics and it carries a vital, ethical messages for believers.

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fiona snykers

Fiona
Snykers

Fiona Snyckers was educated at Rhodes University and the University of the Witwatersrand. She is the author of the Trinity series of novels, and the Sisterz series of mobile phone novels, which was commissioned by the Shuttleworth Foundation. Her most recent novel, Now Following You, is a thriller published by Modjaji Books. She has also published numerous short stories in magazines and collections.

Three of Fiona’s books were nominated for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize, most recently in 2016. She was a judge of the Twenty in 20 Short Story Competition. She was also a judge of the Bessie Head Short Story Award for 2015 and 2016. Fiona reviews books for the Times and the Sunday Times, and writes for the Mail and Guardian’s Thought Leader website. She has acted as an external examiner for UCT’s MA in Creative Writing programme.

Fiona lives in Johannesburg with her family.

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PETER STOREY

Peter
Storey

Join former Methodist Bishop Peter Storey on his inspiring journey from his life as a sailor to leading the South African Council of Churches in its darkest hour. His memoir I beg to differ tells the remarkable story of how he ministered to Robert Sobukwe and Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, founded Life Line SA as well as Gun Free SA, had a close shave with death with Desmond Tutu and witnessed the forced removals of District Six. In it he shares the conviction that inspired him to minister amidst the teargas and violence of the apartheid regime.

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elana 5x7

Elana
Bregin

Elana Bregin is a South African based author who lives in the coastal city of Durban. She works as an editor for publishers and writes in her spare time. Her published novels include Kalahari RainSong (2004), Slayer of Shadows (1995), and The Red-Haired Khumalo (1994), and some of her short stories can be found in the anthologies Memories of Sun (2002). Elana says that writing is her way of making sense of the world, and one of her most pressing concerns is how we as humans treat not just each other but the other species that we share the planet with.

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Hugh Book 5x7

Hugh
Bland

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Richard Hunt

Richard
Hunt

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Desiree-Anne Martin 5x7

Desiree-Ann
Martin

We don’t talk about it. Ever is the harrowing, but ultimately redemptive story of Desiree-Anne Martin who grew up in Cape Town in the 1980’s. Her debut memoir tackles the darkness of abuse, addiction, sex work and self-destruction as well as her recovery and self-acceptance. In this story Desiree-Anne finds her real voice which is candid, humorous and inspiring to bring out into the open those things that were previously left unspoken. 

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JOHN ROFF

John
Roff

Guide, retreat leader and teacher, John Roff, will build a bridge to nature, using simple words, natural music, and nature-based poetry from a range of authors, including Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry, David Whyte, Issa, and some of his own. Poetry is a way of bridging the perceived distance between us and nature. It gets us out of our minds (in the best possible sense), and into an intuitive space where we are open to wonder and experience., where we acknowledge connectedness with the entire earth community.

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Khaya Dlanga

Khaya
Dlanga

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lukemolver. 5x7

Luke
Molver

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CHRIS HOARE

Mike
Hoare

Most people described former Midlands resident 'Mad Mike' Hoare as an officer and a gentleman. His son, Chris Hoare, spent 12 years researching and writing this authoritative and referenced biography, revealing there was also some pirate thrown into the mix.  In 1965 Mike Hoare led 300 ‘Wild Geese’ across the Congo to crush a communist rebellion and become a legend. Things went wrong in the Seychelles in 1981 and Mike went to jail for hijacking a Boeing 707.  Of the book, Frederick Forsyth said: 'I found this book a cracking read and recommend it to those who want to miss a night's sleep.'

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Yellowbone 5x7

Ekow
Duker

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Steve Wimberly 5x7o

Steve
Wimbeley

Steve Wimberley tells a good tale. By day (and through some nights) he tends to small animals suffering from a host of ailments. Tales of Dr Grumble is a collection of twenty of stories which he’s told his friends around a camp fire over the years. They encompass the joy as well as the sadness of being a veterinarian.

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Talk of the Town 5x7

Fred
Khumalo

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