Kingsmead Book Fair

• The Book Fair was excellent fun! It was wonderful to meet two young ladies who have already set up an eco-club at their school and have been doing great work to raise money for rhinos. It's so exciting so see the ecoo-warriors who will be taking great care of our planet in the future!

  
  
• It was also fabulous (FABULOUS!) to see so many people, especially young people, so enthusiastic about reading and writing - wow! I hope this festival grows every year and becomes a premier literary event in Johannesburg. I enjoyed sitting in on some other panels, too, and loved the wonderfully creative Joan Rankin, and the lively chat between the incisive Mike Nicol, Edyth Bulbring and Jenny Hobbs.

Kingsmead RMB Book Fair

The fabulous Kingsmead Book Fair runs this Saturday, 2 June 2012, at Kingsmead College in Rosebank (next to Gautrain station), Johannesburg.

I will be chatting about Turtle Walk - the inspiration and writing process, plus I'll be showing some of the originally-considered covers at 14:45.

A host of other fabulous authors will be there (Mandy Weiner, Riaan Malan, Jeremy Gordin, Time Noakes, Mike Nicol, Edith Bulbryng, Denis Beckett, Chris van Wyk and McIntosh Polela, to name but a few.) The divine Gcina Mhlope will be enchanting young readers with stories of Africa, and Joane Rankin and others who've written/illustrated for children will be strutting their stuff. 

Come along and enjoy Jozi's very own book fair! (And don't miss the fabulous Baobab tree made of books and lights - see a pic on my twitter account @TurtleWalkSA or click on the link on the twitter feed on the website.)

Franschhoek Literary Festival

I had such a great time at the festival this year. It was a priviledge to talk and tell stories to the pupils of Bridge House School and Groendale Primary.

Some of the schools that we authors visited were really underpriviledged and under-resourced. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, a person shouldn't be able to focus on higher order needs when they're cold or hungry or not physicallly safe, yet these children were transported beyond the dire challenges of their here-and-now by the stories they listened to. For a time, they had a glimpse into other lives, into fantasy and dreams and adventure and excitement.

Rich or poor, old or young, this is the magic of reading for all of us. We all need to escape, to learn and to hope.

Read to children, cultivate their love, and yours, of story.

Free (e)book promotion!

A 48-hour promotion starts on Amazon.com at 12:00 today, Friday 18 May. Get your Kindle copy of Jemima Jones and the Revolving Door of Doom for the 6-10 year-old in your life and enjoy reading about this fesist little girl.

Check out the "Books" page on the website for details about the book, and "Links" for quick links to the Amazon page.

If your enjoy your gift, please consider writing a review on Amazon - the best way to thank and encourage authors. :)

Franschhoek Literary Festival

This week is going to be super-exciting for South African writers as the annual (and fabulous!) Franschhoek Literary Festival runs from Friday to Sunday, with panel discussions, workshops, talks and all kinds of literary arty-fartyness. I adore the Festival - it's held in perhaps the most beautiful town in South Africa, between the mountains and the vineyards, and there's glorious food and wine in addition to the writerly battery recharge that results from listening to the great and talented discuss their craft and the state of writing and publishing in the world.

As part of their resolution to get children reading and involved in the festival (Yes!), the organisers have, for the first time, launched a Children's Festival. From Wednesday to Friday, a range of wriiters from the SA literary spectrum will be visiting schools in the valley, doing reading, workshops and presentations. I am so delighted to be one of them! I'll be presenting "Teens, tweens and Turtles" (Turtle Walk's eco plus psychological messages) to two groups of grade 6's at Bridge House School on Thursday, and on Friday, I'll be doing readings of Jemima Jones and the Revolving Door of Doom to the Grade Grade 2's at Groendale Primary - expecting much noise and hilarity... :)

This is such an important initiative. As a psychologist, I know just how vitally important it is to instill an ease and love of reading early on in childhood. Not only do readers fare way better on every academic measure throughout life, but their connection with books gives them a friend, support and resource for life. This is my kind of transformation!