Elitha van der Sandt, director of the Franschhoek Literary Festival (FLF), says she is excited to have been a part of a great team that has put together what is set to be three days of stimulating, inspirational and insightful sessions and connecting with South African and international authors.
We spoke to her on the eve of the festival which takes place this weekend.
For more information or to book your tickets go to www.flf.co.za
How did you come to be at the FLF?
I was on a one-year sabbatical after 19 years at the helm of the South African Book Development Council (SABDC) when the opportunity to join the FLF arose. At the time I was being approached for other industry leadership positions, but I had turned those down. I think I was asked at the right time and Franschhoek is such a beautiful town, it was difficult to say no.
What perception did you have of the festival before coming to work on it?
Before coming onboard I had a perception of the festival as one that was highly successful, but that it was also intimidating, especially for black people.
What do you think you have brought from your previous role to your position at FLF?
One of the big programmes of the SABDC was the South African Book Fair (SABF) and I believe that experience is proving invaluable in my new role. I am known to be visionary and having researched and studied the book industry for many years, I am well versed with the challenges.
Though I worked at a macro level before, the FLF faces the same growth and diversity challenges, albeit at a local level. The book industry still services a very small part of our population and needs to grow its market to remain commercially viable and relevant. Market growth is therefore a key challenge to the festival too, and I hope to use the skills acquired to chart a growth trajectory for the festival. As an independent festival, it is critical that The Franschhoek Literary Festival becomes sustainable. We have already started this process with the 2023 instalment, and I have set the indicators to collect key baseline data.
What was your goal with this year's event?
I consider myself fortunate to have joined a festival that has been absolutely amazing since its inception. A few maverick women have managed to put together a festival that is loved and well-supported. The festival managed to attract a devoted and loyal audience and I remain in awe of what was achieved. Arising out of this, the goal for FLF 2023 is a collective one — and it is one that was started by a group of volunteers, all festival goers, who successfully revived the festival in 2022 after it ran out of funds, and was further impacted by Covid-19 and the lockdown. The revival board and festival director, Ingeborg Pelser, managed to put together a stellar festival in 2022, with diverse content and speakers. In 2023, Ingeborg continued that quest, and she has been instrumental as the 2023 programme director, putting together a meticulously curated programme of more than 80 sessions featuring 100 authors and facilitators.
Do you and the team have a vision for FLF?
Our vision is a sustainable, independent festival that captures the zeitgeist, stimulating intellectual curiosity through a showcase of literary excellence, within the broader context of South Africa. It really is the wonderful coming together of reader and writer.
Before I left the SABF, I championed an initiative to bring greater collaboration among African literary festivals. The growth potential on the continent is enormous and there is still so much to be discovered and written about. pan-African writing is therefore on my radar, and will take its place alongside international, mainly European-based, and of course local writing.
On the eve of the festival, what stands out most in the build-up?
One thing I have noticed since joining FLF is that Franschhoek has a devoted book loving audience. It was amazing to see how excited festival goers were keen to buy their tickets, with many waiting for midnight on March 17 to go online as soon as we opened bookings. We saw record sales on the day and it’s unlike anything I have experienced before. What a treasure we have in our audience. They have embraced this year’s programme, which stands out due to the diversity of our offering. Add in the fact that FLF is a destination event — an autumn weekend in the wine lands with great authors to keep you company — and you have a wonderful offering for book lovers.
Was there anything that served as your personal “North Star” or inspiration going in?
I believe in books. They are tools for social cohesion and nation building. They are the vessel that holds stories of the other, and the more we know about the other, the less afraid we are of each other. What we find in books about each other helps us transcend this otherness. Our country is in trouble. We need to overcome the things that divide us, be it race, gender or class, to collectively champion South Africa to safer and prosperous ground.
Have you had time to read during the run-up to the festival? If so, what?
The foundation of everything that we do is books and I have wished for more reading time in the run-up to the festival. I am a self-help junkie and primarily read non-fiction, but I have recently read Aiwanose Odafen’s Tomorrow I Become a Woman and Ann Cleeves’ The Rising Tide. My interest has also been piqued by Junx by Tsidiso Moletsane and Africa Is Not a Country by Dipo Faloyin. All of these authors and their books are part of this year’s festival and I am excited to see what their sessions bring to our audience.
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