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The Franschhoek Literary Festival — a gathering of minds, mischief and magic

The Franschhoek Literary Festival — a gathering of minds, mischief and magic
The 2024 Franschhoek Literary Festival (Photograph: www.flf.co.za/)
Joy Watson
By Joy Watson
8 Apr 2025
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Franschhoek isn’t just a literary festival. It’s a collision of minds, a playground for ideas and a space where the boundaries between fiction and reality dissolve over books, catch-ups and the space to question everything.

In the current global context where we see a surge in right-wing political agendas, the rise of fascism and a pushback against human rights – the festival offers the space to both think through our sociopolitical context and, importantly, offers an opportunity to escape, to immerse in the world of fiction and imagination. 

Programme director Jennifer Blane explains the vision for the festival this year: “We very deliberately brought in many new faces to the festival. We always want to stack the line-up with celebrated and established authors, and also introduce our audience to new voices on the local literary scene.”  

Exciting debut authors joining the festival this year include: Nicky Greenwall (A Short Life), Andile Cele (Braids & Migraines), Andrea Shaw (Unsolicited), Jon Keevy (The Unwoven Warrior), Juliette Mnqeta (If the Dead Could Talk), PJO Jonker (Die Onsigbare) Lindsay Norman (Khaki Fever), Sam Wilson (The First Murder on Mars), and Libyan poet Sarah Uheida with her debut collection Not This Tender.

African literature has been centred in the programme because the boundary-pushing stories are being written right where we live. 

The programme seeks to celebrate the voices that are shaping how we write and think – and there is so much to celebrate in the 2025 edition. 

We can anticipate the likes of Alma-Nalisha Cele and Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu (The Creation of Half-Broken People) discussing the dark literary trove of collective memory and epigenetic inherited trauma. Why do people forget about their ancestors, and how do those ancestors intervene?  

Also of interest is the session featuring Ashraf Jamal (The ARAK Collection) who joins David Mann (Once Removed) to explore one of Africa’s most significant private art collections. In a conversation spanning canonical legacies to contemporary visionaries, they define the power of curation and the evolving story of African art.

The 2024 Franschhoek Literary Festival. (Photo: www.flf.co.za)



Franschhoek Literary Festival Festival-goers in 2024. (Photo: Franshhoek Literary Festival)


Politics at the festival 


The FLF doesn’t just invite you to listen, it dares you to engage, interrogate and reimagine literature’s role in a world that feels increasingly unhinged. 

This year’s festival is dialling up the stakes. 

In a global context that feels like it’s teetering on the edge, literature has become both escape hatch and battleground. Whether it’s dissecting South Africa’s political landscape or diving into the speculative worlds of dystopian fiction, the festival is embracing the push-and-pull of our times. 

Blane explains: “The sessions that examine politics were in huge demand last year, they usually are. The festival offers an opportunity to engage with some of South Africa’s greatest political minds to help think through the big issues of the day.” 

A highlight this year is a session focusing on the government of national unity, which is almost a year old. 

Has this grumpy baby merely replaced strong parliamentary opposition with internal discord? Ann Bernstein examines this question in conversation with Oyama Mabandla (Soul of a Nation), Tony Leon (Being There) and Pieter du Toit (The Super Cadres). 

Zoning in on identity politics, a session focusing on what it means to be Jewish in 2025 will feature Dennis Davis exploring the turbulence of diasporic Jewish identity with Steven Friedman (Good Jew, Bad Jew) and Milton Shain, a historian, on antiSemitism. 

The session will take a deep dive into the question of whether the casualties of the Gaza atrocities have been in conflict with the Jewish intellectual traditions of dissidence, tolerance, humanism and universalism? Can Jewish Zionists and anti-Zionists hear each other at all? 

The 2024 Franschhoek Literary Festival. (Photo: www.flf.co.za)


AI highlights 


Another growing interest (unsurprisingly) is that of artificial intelligence (AI). 

AI has shifted from science fiction to everyday reality, and people can’t look away. We are caught between fascination and fear and there is a need for collective spaces for thinking through the opportunities and possible harm of AI. 

Candice Bailey, the author of We Were Always Here: Stories of Black Inventors Across the African Diaspora, will be joining the FLF this year. Her book sheds light on how African American inventors struggled to have their inventions recognised at the turn of the century. The book also explores modern-era inventors from the African continent who have found innovative solutions to everyday challenges.  

For those of you who are deep in the ether of thinking through the future of AI and how it will affect our lives, look out for the session facilitated by Simon Dingle in conversation with Dion Chang (The Future) and Mark Nasila, FNB’s chief data and analytics officer and author of African Artificial Intelligence. The session will be on forecasting the future of AI, what we might gain from it and what policies are needed to interact with its ethics.

Let’s not forget about love… and sex…


Since the arrival of Bridgerton, we know that romance rocks. But romance has often been dismissed in literary spaces. 

Blane explains: “Romance is what so many young people are reading right now, and we have a number of talented South African writers who are coming up in that space.” 

The inclusion of the genre reflects a broader shift in the literary world – one that challenges elitist notions of what is deemed “worthy” of literary attention. 

Romance has long been popular and has the ability to offer rich, complex narratives that engage deeply with themes of love, identity and societal expectations. By making space for these narratives, FLF is acknowledging the changing landscape of readership and the diverse ways in which people engage with literature. 

For those wanting to write steamy hot scenes, treat yourself to a romance writing workshop. Writing coach Sarah Bullen will teach you the must-know rules of romance writing: how to structure your plot and craft your love leads.

And, of course, the crowd-favourite Writing About Sex session (In The Thirst Person) returns to the festival this year – because, let’s be honest, there’s something deliciously awkward about watching serious literary minds squirm through that discussion. This, too, speaks to the festival’s willingness to dismantle outdated ideas about what literature should or shouldn’t explore.

Interactive workshops and writing masterclasses


For those in need of joining something a bit more interactive, FLF’s workshops aren’t just sessions, they’re spaces where stories are built, voices are sharpened and ideas take shape. 

Whether you’re refining your craft or finding your narrative for the first time, these are rooms where writing is pushed beyond the page. 

Melinda Ferguson will be running her usual memoir workshop at the festival; for the first time, Margie Orford will run a masterclass on memoir. For those who believe the best stories come from the world itself, Justin Fox will lead a travel writing workshop that transforms experience into narrative, turning movement into meaning. 

Mike Nicol will offer a deep dive into crime writing and Nicole Engelbrecht will guide you through the ethics of writing crime. Malika Ndlovu will bring an exploration of processing grief through creative expression – showing that writing isn’t just about telling stories, it’s about making sense of life itself.

Literature as connection 


Ultimately, FLF is not just about books, it’s about what happens when people who care about words, stories and ideas get together in a place that makes them feel like anything is possible. 

Whether you come for the intellectual jousting, the discovery of a new favourite author, or just an excuse to browse through the crowds while talking about books, this year’s festival is not to be missed.

As we move into another year of global uncertainty, FLF stands as a reminder of literature’s enduring power to comfort, challenge and transform. 

It is a celebration not just of books, but of the conversations they ignite and the communities they bring together. And in a world that often feels fragmented, perhaps that is the kind of magic we need most. I know where I will be from 16 to 18 May. Will I see you there? DM

Joy Watson has worked as a researcher and policy advisor to national states as well as in the global policy arena. Currently, she works for the Institute for Security Studies and the Sexual Violence Research Initiative. Her debut novel, The Other Me, was a finalist for the UJ Prize in 2023.

General ticket sales went live on 28 March 2025 via Webtickets.

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