The inaugural and historic Tshwane Young Writers Festival and Conference will take place at the West End Theatre (Old Pretoria Showgrounds), Pretoria West, from 21 to 22 December.
According to Basil Dube, festival director and CEO of the West End Theatre, the main objective of the festival is to create a vibrant and alternative platform for the development of young writers from all the regions of Tshwane and Gauteng.
“The festival serves as a perfect platform to showcase young authors, poets, writers, playwrights, storytellers and screenwriters who do not have access to mainstream cultural markets and also lack capacity development support,’ says Dube, who is the former general secretary of the South African Writers Union.
The festival and conference programme will feature a host of activities including readings, panel discussions, workshops, film screenings, performances and a book exhibition.
Events commence with a development conference on 21 December. The conference will offer aspirant writers the opportunity to interact with established and professional writers, directors and screenwriters. Some of the established artists who will feature in the conference include veteran playwright director, Selaelo Maredi and Karina Lemmer drama lecturer at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).
The Tshwane Young Writers Festival and Conference is organised by the West End Theatre in partnership with the Tshwane Performing Arts Centre.
The festival is free and open to all young people from the seven regions of Tshwane. If you would like to participate in the festival and conference, please contact the festival director on 012 327 8155 or 071 5020564 for registration.
