Dear Books on the Bay attendees,
Very sadly, Mark Gevisser has had to withdraw from the festival following the passing away of his mother. Our sincere condolences to Mark and his family. The session on ‘Character in Biography’ involving Mark and Elleke Boehmer, in which they were to have discussed their respective biographies of Thabo Mbeki and Nelson Mandela, has been cancelled.
However, Books on the Bay is announcing a new session on ‘Adventures in Life Writing,’ in which David Attwell will be in conversation with Elleke Boehmer. David is well known for his work on J. M. Coetzee, including J. M. Coetzee and the Life of Writing, a finalist for the Alan Paton Prize. Based at Oxford, Elleke is an award-winning novelist (The Shouting in the Dark), a writer of short fiction (To the Volcano), and a pre-eminent scholar of postcolonial writing worldwide. The conversation will explore the interfaces between biography, memoir, autobiography, and autofiction.
Webtickets is offering a ‘refund and reschedule’ option, which enables attendees either to receive a refund on ‘Character in Biography’, or to re-book for the alternative session, ‘Adventures in Life Writing.’ The new session will be in the same slot in the programme: Friday 10 March, 14h00, in the Dockyard Chapel.
With thanks from Books on the Bay.