The latest author to be featured on the Art-Movie-Book website is Claire Robertson.

Robertson’s debut novel, The Spiral House, won the Sunday Times Fiction Prize and a South African Literary Award, and was shortlisted for the University of Johannesburg Debut Prize.

Robertson chatted to Art-Movie-Book about her new novel, The Magistrate of Gower, at the Winston Hotel in Johannesburg, before the launch event at Love Books in Melville, with Michele Magwood of the Sunday Times.

• More about The Magistrate of Gower

Art-Movie-Book notes Robertson’s consummate skill at the historical novel; an opinion that Magwood shared at the book’s launch:

Robertson insists that she is not a political writer and although her immaculate attention to historical detail cannot be denied, this is a timeless narrative that has in the past and is sure to repeat itself in the future. [...] On the evening of her book launch for the Magistrate of Gower, Michele Magwood of the Sunday Times gave her the most wonderful accolade, referring to her as a measure of excellence in South African literature.

• Complete article: Art-Movie-Book

Book details

• The Magistrate of Gower by Claire Robertson
  Book homepage
  EAN: 9781415207642
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

Earlier this year Ivan Vladislavić, Teju Cole and Helon Habila received the 2015 Windham Campbell Prizes for Fiction.

Karina Szczurek did an interview with the 101 Detectives author about his work and how the prestigious achievement has changed his writing life. “The prize money will come in useful,” Vladislavić told Szczurek.

On the subject of literary festivals, and the controversial debates that were sparked at this year’s Franschhoek Literary Festival, he said: “Festivals can serve all kinds of causes … But in my experience their primary function is to entertain readers.”

Szczurek also asked the author about the issues of writers as “corporate storytellers” as raised in 101 Detectives. Read the article:

Festivals as “marketing platforms” resonate with issues raised by several stories in 101 Detectives. When a CEO of a company has to defend his choice of painting hanging in the boardroom in “Mountain Landscape”, or a new car model is introduced to the public as part of a theatrical spectacle in “Industrial Theatre”, or a corporate storyteller aspires to rise above her level in “Exit Strategy”, creativity and corporate attitudes mingle. I asked Vladislavić whether he felt that in today’s world, where there is so much focus on productivity and financial gain, writers were becoming “corporate storytellers” like the character in “Exit Strategy”. His assessment of the situation is sober and practical: “Nearly all writers are involved in the marketing of their books and are caught up in the corporate machinery. Some clearly enjoy it more than others, and a few keep out of the fray and still manage to find readers.”

• Complete article: LitNet

Book details

• 101 Detectives by Ivan Vladislavić
  Book homepage
  EAN: 9781415206904
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

 
Lauren Beukes, author of Broken Monsters, postponed her commitment to The Pixel Project’s Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal, which was originally set to take place on 22 March, due to her experiencing a power outage in Haiti.

In order to raise funds and awareness to end gender-based violence, Beukes will read an excerpt from one of her books, take questions from her readers and give away exclusive goodies.

The event will be hosted on Google Hangouts on Saturday, 4 April from 4 to 5:30 PM.

Don’t miss it!

Event Details

• Date: Saturday, 4 April 2015
• Time: 4 PM to 5:30 PM
• Venue: The Pixel Project – online
• More information: Books LIVE

Book Details

• Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes
  Book Homepage
  EAN: 9781415202005
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

John Hunt chatted to Classic FM about his first novel, The Space Between the Space Between, and his writing process.

Hunt is a co-founder of agency network TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris and currently worldwide creative director of TBWA. His book The Art of the Idea was published by Zebra Press in 2009.

He explains how he juggles a full-time job and writing a novel:

“It took me a long time, five years,” Hunt says. “I wish I could be one of those who, sort of, have a glass of wine, and work as the sun goes down. But I’m the exact opposite. I have to go to a closed room, no noise, family calls me ‘grumpy’ if they interrupt and I’m working.

“I got into the habit of working every morning, early, before the rest of my day started. I’m not a keen runner but people say the same thing with running, you have to get up, you have to go. So I did all the writing before breakfast or before going into work and that seemed to work best.”

Listen to the podcast:

• Listen to the podcast: Classic FM

Book details

• The Space Between the Space Between by John Hunt
  Book homepage
  EAN: 9781415207390
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

Other Media Download

Update: Lauren Beukes’ Pixel Project Hangout has been postponed until Saturday, 4 April

Lauren Beukes, the author of Broken Monsters, will be taking part in The Pixel Project’s Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign, which aims to raise awareness and end gender-based violence.

Beukes will be hosting a talk on Google Hangouts. She will read a excerpt from one of her books, take questions from fans and explain why she is supporting this initiative.

Beukes’ hangout on air will be on Sunday, 22 March, between 4 and 5:30 PM. She will be giving away exclusive goodies in order to raise funds for Pixels.

The Pixel Project will be holding the first International Women’s Day (IWD) Edition of their “Read For Pixels” Google Hangout campaign which will kick off on March 1st, 2015. “Read For Pixels” IWD 2015 features live Google Hangouts with award-winning bestselling female authors in honour of International Women’s Day 2015 and in support of the Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign, which aims to raise US$1 million in aid of The Pixel Project and the USA’s National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

• More information: The Pixel Project

Don’t miss it!

Event Details

• Date: Sunday, 22 March 2015
• Time: 4 PM for 5:30 PM
• Venue: The Pixel Project

• Check out Lauren Beukes’ recent Reddit Ask Me Anything

Book Details

• Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes
  Book Homepage
  EAN: 9781415202005
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

Damon Galgut was interviewed by a group of 12 readers from The Afterword Reading Society in Canada’s National Post recently.

Galgut’s latest novel, Arctic Summer, is an imaginative biography of EM Forster’s life. He told the readers that his interest in Forster “crept up by degrees, rather than leaping upon me suddenly”.

Galgut says he feels he is similar to Forster in a number of important ways, and found him interesting for this reason. He adds, however, that he cannot say how the man himself would feel about his novel.

Read the interview:

Cathleen Hughes asks What compelled you to write about Morgan Forster and his adventures?
Damon Galgut replies It was a choice more than a compulsion, and it gave me a lot of self-doubt. I suppose I was drawn to him because certain key aspects of his life and experience echo mine. Not all, I hasten to add. But enough to keep me genuinely interested in trying to understand him.

• Complete interview: National Post

Book details

• Arctic Summer by Damon Galgut
  Book homepage
  EAN: 9781415206898
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!