Franschhoek Literary Festival

 One of my favourite painters- the King of Kitsch.



All that's missing is a good cup of coffee!



While visiting my dad in Franschhoek this past weekend, I was lucky enough to attend the Franschhoek Literary Festival. Relaxed yet buzzing with all sorts of creativity and colour, this festival has become a must-attend event for all literature lovers. The Franschhoek Literary Festival is a gathering of over 90 authors, poets, illustrators and chairpeople who come together to exhibit and enjoy a wide variety of writing and illustrations touching on many themes from politics to quirky local tales to biographies to sexuality. Now in its fourth year, the FLF has become a popular literary event with its attendance increasing rapidly each year. When it was first started, the main aim was to raise enough money for a community library. With the influx of money from literature lovers in the form of visitors and sponsors, talks are now being held with the municipality to build the library. The FLF was mainly sponsored this year by Porcupine Ridge wines and the Sunday Times. The main information centre and bookshop sponsored by Exclusive Books was in the Town Hall situated, like most of the venues, on the main road into Franschhoek, nestled next to the town’s famed restaurants, cafes, galleries, wine farms and shops. Other venues such as the historical Franschhoek NG Kerk were used for talks, poetry readings and literary discussions from esteemed writers such as Zakes Mda and Peter Godwin.

I managed to pop in on its last day. People milled about reading, talking and buying against the backdrop of mountains and French colonial architecture. Unfortunately I did not have time to attend any of the seminars and readings but thankfully had the opportunity to find out more about the illustration side of the festival (more to come in my next post). Here are some pictures from the Town Hall book and coffee shop with some amazing books on offer. Damn my empty purse!