Franschhoek Literary Festival 2013 Liveblog: Sunday 19 May, 10am - 11am
It’s Franschhoek Literary Festival time: follow all the action from day three of the 2013 fest on our FLF Liveblog!
15.37
#flf13 and that’s a wrap and the end of my day as I go off to prep for the ST lit awards shortlist announcement later
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
15.36
Lauren Beukes wraps up the proceedings at “Social Issues in Fiction”:
.@laurenbeukes says its tricky to seperate work from life in her creative household. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
The advantage of being friends with other writers is the free books says @laurenbeukes.
#flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
And thats it from the @larenbeukes event!
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
15.35
“What Do Publishers Want” ends with a quote from Ron Irwin:
.@ronirwin: publishers are like lovers, the best ones are the ones that like you! #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
Fascinating, entertaining session wraps up #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
15.33
“Prodigal Daughters” now discuss adjusting upon their return to South Africa:
#flf13 Carneson – difficult thing about return from exile is one builds up a life and problems of identity continue into next generation
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Bell – 20 years since I came back and would never leave and I will do what I can to contribute to the future of the country
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Wolpe’s daughter speaks about feeling rootless as a child in exile
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Ngcobo return for us was wonderful but my pain concerns our children because they weren’t accepted by their SA peers
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Ngcobo young SAfricans haven’t accepted exile children who grew up elsewhere without the choice to decide.
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
15.29
Self-publishing scrutinised at “What Do Publishers Want?”:
.@ronirwin self-publishing is a tricky thing, non-fiction tends to be the success stories in self-publishing #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@ronirwin says if you self-publish you need to think about how people will find your books. #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@ronirwin mentions Consuelo Roland as a writer who has successfully self-published, she’s part of online writing community #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
DP mentioning all the things publishers do- editing, typesetting, design etc which you would need to do yourself if self-publishing #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@melindasmacked also points out distribution of hard copy books is an issue when self-publishing #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
Audience member points out that Amazon takes 30% to 70% plus American tax when self-publishing on Kindle #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@melindasmacked says that as a writer she has never felt that she was paid what she deserved for her books #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
15.25
Beukes shares various details of writing The Shining Girls:
Used chart to visualise the book says @laurenbeukes #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
.@laurenbeukes says that she loves doing research. “It’s much easier than writing!” #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
Davis asks why she let one character live in 1993 rather than current. @laurenbeukes says it would have been solved 2 quickly now. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
Packaging is significant to @laurenbeukes because books are becoming more valuable objects. Have to become mre beautiful.n#flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
15.20
Should you publish with a local or international publisher? Ron Irwin shares his opinion:
.@ronirwin suggests signing with SA publisher but reserving international rights unless they have solid international plan #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@ronirwin continues that being able to take a copy of book with reviews to international publishers will help #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@ronirwin says if you’re in SA and selling to SA publishers not a massive advantage to have an agent #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@ronirwin but if you want to publish overseas then it’s helpful. helps to get manuscript read though locally #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@ronirwin SA is on a par with Norway, in terms of active buying readers, which isn’t bad #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
15.18
Debra Primo recommends finding the right publisher for your book:
DP highlighting importance of finding the publisher that best fits your manuscript. #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
DP saying UKZN Press encourages writers to use Facebook and blog but they are reluctant, it demands a certain commitment #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
15.16
The discussion at “Prodigal Daughters” turns to the mistreatment of women in exile and disregard for their role in the struggle:
#flf13 Bell tells story of MK women in Tanzania who were punished for drinking by flogging
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Ngcobo in spite of everything I see today re. Rape we were treated with deference and respect by young men in exile
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Ngcobo but I know that a lot of women in exile were maltreated by the people who were supposed to protect them
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Wolpe – it was more difficult for women in the struggle because we were not considered equal partners at all
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Ngcobo men thought it was there business to protect the nation but women had no role in their thinking
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Ngcobo women’s struggle was seen by men as separate but they were ahead in terms of organisation and non-racialism
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
15.12
“Prodigal Daughters” discuss dealing with stress and hostility:
#flf13 Ngcobo women bore such a lot of stress during the struggle and she wanted to write the book to acknowledge their role
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Wolpe – as a white woman I used to get calls – someone called and asked how her baby was and then said they hoped he’d die.
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Wolpe – it was a difficult period and there was much hostility towards her
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
15.09
Lauren Beukes discusses writing with a social conscience:
“You cant write as a South African without realising your social concience” – @laurenbeukes #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
She thinks it is a responsibility to adress social issues as a writer. “Its just where we are.” #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
Level of injustice in SA angers her, says @laurenbeukes. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
Had to demonstrate in book that serial killers get more violent as they progress. Tried to keep goryness down with 1 description. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
15.03
Ron Irwin emphasises the importance of the emotional experience a book offers:
.@ronirwin book business will be around forever because people buy books for better emotional experiences than they get in real life #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@ronirwin saying to look at manuscript and think about what emotional experience it could offer readers #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@ronirwin saying drawback of UCT writing course is pressure students feel to write academically “JM Coetzee walked these halls!” #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
15.00
Lauretta Ngcobo relates the difficulty of having to be separated from her children and other family members during exile:
#flf13 Ngcobo describes the pain of leaving young children with no idea of whether she would ever see them again
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Ngcobo in those days it was difficult to correspond with SA from the African states such as Zambia
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Ngcobo gave birth to her daughter in exile far away from her husband
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Ngcobo wanted to follow her husband to Zambia but only way was through Mozambique and Portuguese would not let her through
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
14.57
Gonda Perez compares her experience of exile to refugees who are now living in South Africa:
#flf13 Perez – wonders how difficult it is for a Somalian or Rwandan to find themselves in CT
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Perez describing her experiences as a black women in a Muslim country during exile in Algeria
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Perez describing difficulties of practical day to day survival in a foreign country
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
14.54
Lauren Beukes on reviews and being boxed into a specific genre:
.@laurenbeukes reads reviews about her book, but realise that they are subjective. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
Some of the most interesting reviews come from local publications says @laurenbeukes #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
Finds box thing irritating. Doesnt want to be a SA writer, just a writer. Same with genre. @laurenbeukes #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
She says Shining Girls probably is a high concept thriller. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
14.52
Ron Irwin expounds on what publishers want and shares some tips for submitting a manuscript:
.@ronirwin saying he’s read 100s of manuscripts and been lucky enough to help 30 people get published #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@ronirwin first thing is spell stuff correctly! I will judge you on your grammar #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@ronirwin saying he’s dyslexic and can’t spell but he got an editor (and married her!) #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@ronirwin says if you write a bad manuscript and edit it you’ll still be ahead. #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@ronirwin emphasising how NB first pages of manuscript are – probably only part that will be read #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
14.49
Ruth Carneson shares her experience of exile:
#flf13 Carneson -went to london as child of political activists age 14. Going to into exile everything that is familiar is severed brutally
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Carneson speaks of experience in Tanzania and oppression of women at the ANC school. Young, pregnant women treated badly
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
14.47
White women in exile is now being discussed at “Prodigal Daughters”:
#flf13 Wolpe – being white and middle class made leaving the country easier for her
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Barbara Bell – we had a better education as white people under apartheid. Black women were at the bottom of the pile
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
14.45
Lauren Beukes on signing her book deal:
Davis asks about the bidding war over Shining Girls. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
.@laurenbeukes‘s agent wanted to sell the book on 30 000 words, but she managed 16 000. Book still sold. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
At one stage @laurenbeukes and husband thought theyd be out of work. Book deal helped them immensely. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
14.43
Melinda Ferguson of imprint MF Books describes what she’s looking for in a manuscript:
.@melindasmacked saying if she doesn’t want to keep reading a manuscript after the first page then she’ll chuck it #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@melindasmacked saying she’s a recovering addict so wants to reads books she’s addicted to #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
.@melindasmacked saying she misjudged The Kelly Khumalo book, asks mostly white audience how many have heard of her, most haven’t #flf13
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
14.41
Lauren Beukes describes her writing process:
.@laurenbeukes says she finds writing very hard and she’ll sometimes avoid it. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
.@laurenbeukes doesnt really have a writing routine. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
Beukes loves Twitter. A great tool for research and connecting she says. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
14.39
“Prodigal Daughters” share their experiences of exile:
#flf13 Ruth Carneson, Barbara Bell, Gonda Perez, Annemarie Wolpe, Lauretta Ngcobo =some of the prodigal daughters in the book
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Ngcobo – when I left the country I didn’t know where I was going and on my own and didn’t know how many people were in exile
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
#flf13 Ngcobo and Wolpe had similar experience of having political husbands in prison but have never met until now
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
14.34
At the What Do Publishers Want session with @sabookman @melindasmacked @ronirwin and Debra Primo #flf13 twitter.com/LindsayCal/sta…
— Lindsay(@LindsayCal) May 18, 2013
14.32
.@laurenbeukes and @becsplanb at @franlitfest #flf13 twitter.com/BookishMaggie/…
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
14.31
Here’s where our livetweeters will be this hour:
Next up is @laurenbeukes and Rebecca Davis chatting about social issues in fiction. #flf13
— Maggie Marx (@BookishMaggie) May 18, 2013
#flf13 There are many people on the Prodigal Daughters Panel hosted by Palesa Morudu img.ly/uQoO
— Tymon Smith (@tymonsmith) May 18, 2013
…and Lindsay Callaghan will be covering What do Publishers Want in the Church Hall.
14.29
…we’re back LIVE at the 2013 Franschhoek Literary Festival!
The Books LIVE team covering the fourth session of the FLF today comprises these stellar tweeters -
Lindsaya Callaghan, tweeting via @lindsaycal
Maggie Marx, tweeting via @BookishMaggie
Tymon Smith, tweeting via @TymonSmith
The Books LIVE Twitter account will also be active today, as we cover various events via @BooksLIVESA. Check out @benrwms, Ben Williams’ personal Twitter account, too.
Follow #flf13 and #flf2013 to watch the festival unfold across all venues, or track each tweeter individually if you have a particular interest in their event.
Download this eBook at LittleWhiteBakkie.com
Download this eBook at LittleWhiteBakkie.com
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