The Festival in 2023 was another incredible literary experience, made special by you, our #FLF community. Thank you to all who made the 2023 Franschhoek Literary Festival possible – the authors and facilitators, the audiences and the many people behind the scenes. We are grateful for your passion, energy and time.
Help us build a better festival
We are committed to enhancing the Franschhoek Literary Festival experience even further in the future, and your feedback is invaluable in achieving this goal. We kindly request your participation in a brief survey of a few minutes that will allow us to gather insights into your audience experience at the Festival. As a token of our appreciation, one of the completed surveys will earn the chance to win a collection of FLF 2023 featured books.
Begin the survey now, and help to shape the future of the Franschhoek Literary Festival!
Thank you to our sponsors!
A big thank you goes out to our sponsors:
Founding sponsor: Porcupine Ridge
Platinum sponsor: News24
Gold sponsors: Exclusive Books, Yellowwoods Social Investments NPC, Jonathan Ball Publishers, Ninety One SA
Silver sponsors: Pan Macmillan South Africa, NB Publishers, Pam Golding Properties, Discovery
Accommodation sponsors: Le Quartier Français, Sterrekopje Farm.
And … the Franschhoek Wine Valley and its people!
Here’s what two of our participants had to say about their overall experience of the Festival:
Ferial Haffajee: ‘the Franschhoek Literary Festival is a peach on our reading tree and surely right up there with the best book fairs in the world’ (in her article ‘An insider look at “The Outsider”, “Truth to Power” and time spent with Ella Blumenthal’. https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-05-26-an-insider-look-at-the-outsider-truth-to-power-and-time-spent-with-ella-blumenthal/
Adriaan Basson, in ‘Notes from Franschhoek’, written after attending the Franschhoek Literary Festival: ‘It’s not all doom and gloom. If you are in need of hope for the future of South Africa, get out, listen, read and speak to your brilliant fellow compatriots’. https://www.news24.com/news24/opinions/columnists/adriaanbasson/adriaan-basson-notes-from-franschhoek-its-not-all-doom-and-gloom-20230521
Revisit FLF 2023!
You can revisit the festival through a selection of post-festival recordings:
- The full recording of Kyle Cowan’s explosive conversation with former Eskom CEO, André de Ruyter, is available for R50 via the FLF website.
Other recordings include the following:
- Jonathan Ball Publishing’s Pagecast podcast will feature six sessions from the FLF over the coming months. Sign up here to access them: https://jonathanball.co.za/384-articles/podcasts/
- Pippa Hudson’s conversation with Ann Cleeves during the session ‘Adaptability’ will be edited and broadcast on her show. You will be able to catch this on Cape Talk radio in July.
- News24 subscribers can watch Johnny Steinberg talking about his just-published work, Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage HERE. Also keep an eye out for other recordings via the News24 platform.
- Sign up here to listen to the podcast on Bruce Whitfield’s Genius: How to Thrive at the Edge of Chaos for insights into his FLF discussions with Whitey Basson, Michael Cardo, Michael Vlismas and T.J. Strydom.
Franschhoek Reading: An ongoing initiative that needs your support
Loads of fun was had at the Franschhoek Reading schools programme! This took place from 15 to 19 May – for over 400 learners at Wemmershoek Primary; more than 900 learners at Groendal Primary; some 550 learners at Wes Eind Primary; and 739 learners at Dalubuhle Primary. The book week ended with the Phendulani Quiz for Grade 7 learners on Friday 19 May. Over 300 Grade 7 learners from the four schools came to cheer for their classmates during the Quiz. Dalubuhle Primary won for the second year in a row. Congratulations!!
Please continue to support Franschhoek Reading here. Libraries are living entities, in continual need of change and updates to keep minds engaged and interested.
Through this initiative, Franschhoek Reading aims to create a positive and lasting impact on the reading culture in the Franschhoek community.
FLF 2023 in pictures
Here, through the lens of our talented photographer, is a collection of images that captures the Festival’s vibrant atmosphere, its insightful panel discussions and the profound connections forged between authors and their ardent readers. Join us on a visual journey through captivating moments in the course of the festival.
