Dominique Botha grew up on a farm in the Free State and now lives on a farm outside Stellenbosch. She is the author of the novel False River, which won the University of Johannesburg Debut Prize, the Eugène Marais Prize and the Jan Rabie-Rapport Prize, and the poetry collection Donkerberg/Bloodwood, winner of the Ingrid Jonker Prize. Her latest publication The Crying Bride and other Hallucinations is a mosaic of lyrical and comical auto-fictional essays that traverse across p

Archie Swanson is an awarded South African poet who has published seven collections of poetry: the stretching of my sky (2018), the shores of years (2019), beyond a distant edge (2021), of clay (2022), at the estuary (2024), winnowings (2025), and seventy (2026). Archie and esteemed South African poet and publisher Douglas Reid Skinner will be in conversation on the process of building a body of work, using winnowings — Archie's recent collection of 250 selected poems — as a

Jacques Coetzee is a poet, musician and freelance translator. Since 2007 he has been the singer and one of the main songwriters in the band Red Earth & Rust, which released its fifth album of original material in 2022. In January 2018 he and Barbara Fairhead launched their joint anthology of poems, The Love Sheet, which was published by Hands On Books, an imprint of Modjaji. His debut solo collection, An Illuminated Darkness (uHlanga Press, 2020) was the winner of the Ingrid

Thando Fuze is a poet, performer, curator and cultural activist from Durban, South Africa, whose work explores identity, sexuality, gender justice and the complexities of contemporary Black womanhood. A compelling voice in spoken-word performance, she founded the SHEfted Minds project in 2016 to amplify the work of female artists, and has worked with schools as a peer educator. She has featured at festivals including the Göteborg Book Fair and Queer Art Festival (Sweden), the

Petros Isaakidis was born in Greece and trained as a physician and epidemiologist, work that has taken him to Kenya, Gaza and the West Bank, Cambodia, India, Thailand, South Africa, and elsewhere. Alongside his scientific work, he holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing (with distinction) from the University of Cape Town, and his poetry and prose, in English and Greek, have appeared in a variety of magazines. His bilingual poetry collection, volcanoed / ηφαιστειωθείς, was

Join us for the Launch of Blood Skin Bones — the new collection from Phelelani Makhanya. Phelelani Makhanya is a writer and poet from Kwa-Maphumulo, KZN. His work has been published in major South African literary journals including New Contrast, Botsotso, Stanzas, New Coin and the AVBOB Poetry Project. He has three published poetry collections — 'This Time I Shall Not Cry', 'My Father's Blazer', and the recently published 'Blood Skin Bones' — with a fourth, 'The Village Watc

Alvené Appollis-Siebritz is a South African poet, educator, and former journalist. She holds a BA in Languages, a PGCE, and an Honours degree in Afrikaans Sociolinguistics from Nelson Mandela University. A member of the Ecca Poets collective, she has published widely in English and Afrikaans anthologies since 2001. Her work has received recognition from the International Society of Poets, and she is the author of One Community, Many Communities, a heritage history project. Or

Alexis is a storyteller at heart whose work spans theatre, education, and creative arts. Drawn to stories that celebrate curiosity, resilience, and human connection, she enjoys exploring characters and ideas that linger long after the final page or curtain call. Through her work as an educator and artist, she encourages others to find their voice and embrace the transformative power of storytelling. Time: 19.30, 29 June Zoom Room: https://us05web.zoom.us/j/89955065083?pwd=1sZ

Kirsten Deane is the lead editor of English Alive, South Africa’s oldest publication for high school students. She has been published in journals nationally and internationally. Her debut collection, ‘Disabled,But’ will be released in April 2026 by uHlanga Press. Kirsten holds a Masters in Creative Writing degree from the University of the Western Cape. Kirsten is passionate about volunteerism and conducts creative writing workshops at children’s homes. She is also a disabili

Elizabeth Trew was born and grew up in Cape Town. She spent 27 years in exile in England until 1991. She has a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Linguistics from the University of East Anglia, UK, and a Wits MA in English Education. A former librarian and adult education teacher in England and Johannesburg, her poems have appeared in journals and anthologies here and abroad. Her debut collection is My Mother the Seal (Hands-On Books, 2023). Her second collection, Star Salte