The Not the London Book Fair Rocks the Book Lounge
It was a spectacular event, a perfectly-tossed last-minute literary salad with readings, panel discussions, the filming of a special message for the London Book Fair, and much more.
While the Leopard’s Leap camera crew interviewed stranded writers and publishers in the basement of the Book Lounge, the Not the London Book Fair organising committee, Helen Moffett, Mervyn Sloman and myself, sprinted through a build-up like no other, creating a gigantic “stand” on the Lounge’s main floor, setting up liveblogging facilities, and putting the finishing touches on the evening’s programme.
We began with a special message from the London Book Fair – filmed that very day – which touched everyone who couldn’t make the big event very deeply:
Poet Antjie Krog opened the NTLBF with a deeply moving reading of a new, as-yet untitled poem, then joined Imraan Coovadia – who also read, from a new short story – and Victor Dlamini for a discussion, expertly guided by Dlamini, of the state of contemporary South African letters and its intertwinedness, or otherwise, with current SA politics.
Further readings by Liesl Jobson, Kopano Matlwa and Fiona Snyckers led to a panel on women’s writing featuring Matlwa, Snyckers and Colleen Higgs of Modjaji Books. Moffett chaired, and we learned much about the shape and direction of women’s fiction in South Africa – and heard heartbreaking tales of dashed LBF plans.
Finally, I took the microphone for a chat with two of the most inspiring people on the SA books scene, Phakama Mbonambi of Wordsetc magazine and Arthur Attwell of Electric Book Works. We talked print vs digital – keeping it short, although like other literary geeks we could have keep the audience there until well into the wee hours.
In the meantime, BOOK SA‘s Sophy Kohler frantically livetweeted the entire evening’s proceedings. Catch up with the Not the London Book Fair via Twitter search.
The audience was typical for the Book Lounge, spilling right out the doors into the chilly Cape night. An after party at the nearby Kimberly Hotel carried on, in true London Book Fair fashion, until the birds started chirping.
Special thanks to Victor Dlamini, Fiona Snyckers, Kopano Matlwa and Phakama Mbonambi for travelling down down from Johannesburg – and to Incwadi‘s Ingrid Andersen for making the even longer trek from KZN.
It wasn’t the London Book Fair, but it was a spectacular jol! Here are liveblogged video clips from the do.
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