Henrietta Rose-Innes's Blog, page 14
September 3, 2015
Nineveh goes to Mexico in Spanish edition
Mexican mesquite bugI am really, truly excited about this development: my novel Nineveh is coming out in Spanish translation soon with my fantastic Mexican publisher Almadia, and I’ll be launching it at the Oaxaca International Book Fair in October.
More details soon …
September 1, 2015
What I’m up to at Open Book, 9-13 Sept
Next week, alongside many exciting international and local writers, I’ll be taking part in several events at the always great Open Book literary festival in central Cape Town:
9th Sept, 6pm: 4 years on. Patrick Gale, Neel Mukherjee and Henrietta Rose-Innes were all at Open Book 1. Mervyn Sloman prods their memories and talks then and now.
9th Sept, 9.30pm: Stray readings. An evening of readings from the animal-themed anthology Stray. The line-up includes Finuala Dowling, Colleen Higgs, Sally Partridge and Henrietta Rose-Innes and special guest, Helen Macdonald. Hosted by Sindiwe Magona. All royalties from the sale of this book will go to TEARS Animal Rescue.
12th Sept, 10am: Flashback Fiction. Elleke Boehmer, Craig Higginson & Henrietta Rose-Innes discuss their jumps between past and present with Diane Awerbuck.
12th Sept, 8pm: Shades of Green. Jacqui L’Ange, Andrew Miller and Henrietta Rose-Innes talk ecological fiction with Justin Fox.
The extensive programme of events is here – get booking.
August 31, 2015
womenwriters readwomen: Green Lion edition
“Compelling, tightly written page-turner peopled by characters I believe in”. Kind words for Green Lion from writer Joanne Hichens. Read the whole post here, and have a look at the rest of August’s useful #readwomen #womenwriters posts on Books Live: women writers recommending books by women.
August 27, 2015
Writing South Africa Now
Books LIVE has done a nice write-up of the recent Cambridge conference Writing South Africa Now, where I had the privilege of reading alongside the esteemed biographer Lyndall Gordon.
Literary scholars, poets, performers and writers … created a critically-engaged and supportive atmosphere in which ideas could be tested and new ways of thinking about South African literature could emerge.
Read the full report here.
Photo: Books LIVE
August 18, 2015
Love the book you’re with: an interview with YOU Magazine.
“Older books [that you’ve written] are like past relationships; you need to commit to the one you’re with.”
I recently had a wide-ranging interview with You Magazine, discussing my novel Green Lion. Read the full interview and a short review here.
August 14, 2015
Green Lion review: “smell, hear and feel Table Mountain”
A short Green Lion review in You Magazine. There is also an interview with me in the magazine, but it seems to be locked for viewing for the moment …
This brilliant novel explores the animal instinct in human nature, the battle between chaos and order and the effects of the past on the present with writing so powerful it informs all your senses – you’ll smell, hear and feel Table Mountain. An intense, thought-provoking book you won’t be able to put down.
August 13, 2015
Don’t Turn Your Back on the Cage: a Green Lion Excerpt
Read an excerpt from my novel Green Lion, involving an erotic encounter in the zoo …
“The evening had taken on a velvet density. Together they walked down the pale path, past the sign of the golden lion. No guard at night, with the staff cuts. He closed his hand around the keys in his pocket, heavy and cold…”
Hear a Green Lion excerpt from the London Short Story Fest
Listen to a reading and discussion between myself, Segun Afolabi, Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Caine Prize Director Dr Lizzy Attree and editor Ellah Allfrey. Recorded at the recent London Short Story Festival. I read from my novel Green Lion.
The Caine Prize celebrates writers from anywhere in Africa for work published in English. Its focus is on the short story, reflecting the contemporary development of the African story-telling tradition and showcases the very best short stories written by African authors. Hear readings from Caine Prize shortlisted and winning writers Henrietta Rose-Innes and Segun Afolabi. Prize advocate and workshop leader Nii Ayikwei Parkes also reads from his highly acclaimed body of work. Readings are followed by a discussion on short stories, writing and editing with Prize Director Dr Lizzy Attree and editor Ellah Allfrey.
August 8, 2015
Some “barbs” from the Mail and Guardian Literary Festival
I was at the Mail and Guardian Literature Festival this last weekend. Here, Fest director and books editor Darryl Accone rounds up some of the soundbites:
Two days and eight sessions of fluency, knowledge, wit, barbs, bitterness, wisdom, anger, humour, theory, emotion, high academe, celebration, gloom, lived experience and words … on subjects ranging from decolonising culture and institutions, the economy and political economy to race, publishers’ problems, Jo’burg’s challenges, postapartheid fiction and our political present and memorialised past. So much to quote, so little space.
Read the full article here.
August 3, 2015
“The South African novel at 21”: a discussion
On stage in Johannesburg at the Mail and Guardian Literary Festival / Book Fair, discussing the state of the South African novel and literary awards with an all-star line-up of writers: Leon de Kock, Mandla Langa, Niq Mhlongo, Damon Galgut and Ivan Vladislavic.
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