Man Booker International at the University of Cape Town

The Man Booker International Prize will be announcing its 2015 finalists at UCT – the first time an event of this nature is being held on the African continent. In celebration of this partnership, UCT will be hosting a series of associated events.

More about the Man Booker

The Man Booker International prize is awarded every second year to a living author of any nationality for their contribution to fiction on the world stage in a body of work published in English or available in English translation. The winner is chosen by a judging panel, who will announce their finalists from UCT on 24 March 2015. Chaired by writer and academic Dame Marina Warner, the 2015 judging panel consists of novelist Nadeem Aslam; novelist, critic and professor of English at Oxford University Elleke Boehmer; editorial director of the New York Review Classics series Edwin Frank; and professor of Arabic and comparative literature at SOAS, University of London Wen-chin Ouyang.

Events

Public seminar

Chinua Achebe and his Legacy: Africa's Man Booker International Winner
James Ogude in conversation with Harry Garuba and Chris
When: Wednesday 25 February 2015, 13h00-14h30 (light finger lunch served from 12h45)
Where: Room 116, Arts Block, upper campus
For more information: head-english@uct.ac.za

Public seminar

Reading the Booker: Reflections from Southern Africa
Sarah Nuttall and Percy Zvomuya in conversation with Imraan Coovadia.
When: Wednesday 11 March 2015, 13h00-14h30 (light finger lunch served from 12h45)
Where: Room 116, Arts Block, upper campus
For more information: head-english@uct.ac.za

Press conference

Announcement of the Man Booker International Prize 2015 finalists
Chair of the 2015 judging panel Dame Marina Warner announces the Man Booker International finalists at a press conference opened by the dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Sakhela Buhlungu.
When: Tuesday 24 March 2015, 11h00
Where: Ben Beinert Room, Otto Beit Building, upper campus
For more information: truda.spruyt@fourcolmangetty.com or pat.lucas@uct.ac.za

Graduate workshop

The cultural industry and literary value
This UCT graduate workshop with Elleke Boehmer and Edwin Frank is open to limited numbers of graduate students from other programmes or universities on a pre-booked basis.
When: Tuesday 24 March 2015, 12h30-14h30
For more information: sandra.young@uct.ac.za

Public seminar

Arabian Nights and Indian Ocean World Literatures
Elleke Boehmer, Wen-Chin Ouyang and Marina Warner in conversation.
When: Wednesday 25 March 2015, 13h00-14h30 (light finger lunch served from 12h45)
Where: Room 116, Arts Block, upper campus
For more information: head-english@uct.ac.za

Creative writing workshop

Postcolonial Style

This MA in Creative Writing workshop with Nadeem Aslam and Elleke Boehmer is open to limited numbers of graduate student fiction writers from other programmes or universities on a pre-booked basis.
When: Thursday 26 March 2015, 10h00-12h00
For more information: imraan.coovadia@uct.ac.za

 

Public panel discussion

The Man Booker International Prize 2015 and World Literature from the Global South

In recognition of Man Booker's first partnership on the African continent and the global scope of the International Prize, the 2015 judging panel will discuss world literature from the perspective of the south and the role of the Man Booker International Prize in shaping the global literary field.
When: Thursday 26 March 2015, 18h00 (doors open at 17h00)
Where: Jameson Hall, upper campus
RSVP: for admission to this event please book at www.uct.ac.za/events
For more information: For any enquiries, contact Megan White-Galant at 021 650 3730 or megan.white@uct.ac.za

 

School visits

The 2015 judging panel as well as members of UCT's Department of English will be visiting schools to run writing and reading workshops with school learners as part of a mutual commitment to grow reading publics in South Africa.

Visit to LEAP 1 School on 26 March 2015
For more information: derrick.higginbotham@uct.ac.za

Visit to UCT SHAWCO Saturday School Programme on 28 March 2015
For more information: hedley.twidle@uct.ac.za

Download the Man Booker International Prize flyer

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