KNYSNA NEWS - The highly successful 2025 Garden Route Festival of Books, which was held in an open space behind the Pam Golding offices on Thesen Island, drew a large number of attendees.
Nineteen authors were invited to participate in the three-day event, which ended on Saturday 8 March.
Among those who gave presentations on their books on the Saturday were authors Sally Andrews, Khanyiso Tshwaku, Justin Fox, Juliette Mnqeta from Knysna, and psychologist and crime writer Joanne Macgregor, just to name a few.
They shared their experiences of being authors, and explained the significance of the event.
Four novels
Andrews said she started enjoying writing at the age of seven. "I've written four novels and one cook book in the Tannie Maria series.
"There are some other books that I wrote before, but they have not all been published. I have also sold the rights of one of my books to a TV production.
"The TV series called Recipe for Love and Murder is on M-Net now and is aired in South Africa and internationally."
Andrews said public participation was key to the festival as attendance by the public gave authors an opportunity to share knowledge, stories and influence how people think about books.
Authors Joanne Macgregor and Sally Andrews, and Pam Golding Principal Gordon Shutte on the last day of the Garden Route Festival of Books. Photo: Supplied
"I think it also has a role in promoting books and literacy.
"For writers, it's a way of sharing our books and for people who live here it is about enjoying the cultural diversity of different opinions," she said.
'Want to write second book'
Mnqeta said the title of her first book was If the Dead Could Talk. She began writing it in 2018 after her mother passed away.
"This (death of her mother) pushed me to write and take book-writing seriously. I didn't expect that people would enjoy it (her book).
"When you are a new writer, you are so nervous, thinking if people will like the book.
"The festival has been great - meeting people and building my confidence, and I want to write a second book now."
World Cup inspiration
Tshwaku said his book, titled Twice the Glory: The Making of the Greatest Bok Team in History, was his first one.
"It was my first attempt at writing a book, even though it is something that had crossed my mind - but the 2023 World Cup that I attended sparked my interest.
"When I came back from the World Cup, the idea of the book was floated with my editor Lloyd Burnard, from where it became a reality.
"The painstaking process of getting the book together was started and it was realised."
Knysna Education Trust
The Knysna Education Trust (KET), the beneficiaries of the Festival of Books, had a stand at the festival, where they asked attendees to donate books.
Ciara Mayne, the KET's head of media and publishing, said they were grateful to be part of the event. The KET is transforming the Early Childhood Development sector in Knysna.
"We are grateful to have been part of this event, where we successfully raised funds for 275 books, with a further 125 sponsored by Pam Golding," said Mayne.
Gordon Shutte, Pam Golding Properties Knysna and Plett Principal, noted the significance of the festival, saying it enabled people to meet authors and ask them questions.
He was thankful that a large number of people attended the festival.
The first Garden Route Festival of Books was held in 2010, and authors that had recently completed books were invited to this year's event.
"These are brand new books that have just been published. Many of the authors have a big following and when people hear that their book authors are coming, they get excited."
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