Actvities on World Book Day 2004

On the day itself numerous events around the country are planned. These include public readings by South African authors at various places around the country, book promotions at bookselling stores, storytelling presentations, creative writing workshops, panel discussions and book exhibitions.

In the Western Cape:

A creative writing workshop programme is offered to teachers and librarians. By attending one of the three workshops during the course of February each year, both teachers and librarians will be taught to facilitate creative writing workshops in their classes and at their libraries. They will also be expected to encourage their learners to submit short stories and/or poems to a youth writing competition which the Centre for the Book organises for World Book Day, when the best entries submitted will be read to a large audience of fellow learners by the young authors. This competition culminates in a special publication that is produced by the Centre for the Book before the end of the academic year.

World Book Day at the Centre for the Book:

A mid-morning discussion related to the teaching of Richard Rive's novel, "Buckingham Palace: District Six" with responses from Shaun Viljoen of the University of Stellenbosch, Geraldine Goldblatt of the Western Cape Education Department and Audrey Simpson of Glendale High School.
We will have a lunch-time panel discussion on the pro's and cons of "romance" fiction. The panellists will put forward their arguments for or against the value of the "cheap romantic read."
A special ceremony to mark the end of a youth writing competition will be held in the afternoon. Special guests include radio and television personality, Natalie Becker and Junior Mayor of Cape Town, Robyn Roodt.
During the early evening we will host a talk by Dr Helen Moffett of the African Gender Institute based at the University of Cape Town. Her talk is entitled, "Miss Austen meets Ms Jones" and focuses on the relationship between Jane Austen's "Emma" and the recent book and film, "Bridget Jones' Diary." The talk is presented in support of the Friends of the Observatory Public Library.
The final event of the day will be 'The Impossible Book Quiz'. You are invited to come and enjoy books and celebrate southern African writers. And, of course, indulge in the particular pleasure that only a quiz can provide: keeping your own personal score! Two teams of book-ish celebrities face up to one another in this team event between The Book-Marks and The Dog-Ears, each trying like mad to keep their place. Included in the two teams are: author and independent publisher Dianne Case, playwright and TV presenter Fiona Coyne, bookseller Michael Crouch, poet and publisher Gus Ferguson, author Pamela Jooste, novelist Henrietta Rose-Innes, author and drama professor Kole Omotoso, and publisher Brian Wafawarowa. Quiz questioner is Robin Malan, writer and compiler of books of mainly southern African work, and series editor of the Siyagruva Series of novels for South African teens. Drinks and snacks will be served at 6.30 p.m. before The Impossible Book Quiz begins at 7 p.m. There will still be time to take your favourite book-borrower out for a late supper afterwards. What was the grass doing in Doris Lessing's first novel? What did Ellen Kuzwayo want people to call her? What was J M Coetzee waiting for in 1980? If you know the answers, you'll feel a nice warm glow. If you don't, coming to The Impossible Book Quiz won't help you, because none of those is an Impossible Book Quiz question. But you get the idea. A nominal entry fee will be required to attend this event.

For further information please contact:

Mark Espin
mark.espin@nlsa.ac.za
Projects Co-ordinator at the Centre for the Book