Our pen is as blunt as our sword

South African fiction writing is brimming with health, but the state of reading is so dire as to be virtually on a hospital respirator.

Nothing 'basic' about going back to basics

“OBE today has become a swear word, a shorthand for every dissatisfaction we have with education”

Books a footnote at SA's resurrected literary festival

"It's a fact," pronounced the read-me headline, "Darkies just don't read." Provocative? An understatement.

Bipolar, but beloved

"Being a democratic South African is a troubled relationship, but true citizens don't quit, they seek new solutions"

M&G Jo'burg Litfest: Lovely, lively and intelligent

M&G books editor Darryl Accone shares his views on the event that occurred over the weekend.

Ellen Aaku wins fiction prize at M&G Litfest

Ellen Aaku, from Zambia, was the recipient of the Penguin Prize for African Writing in the fiction category at the M&G's Literary Festival.

Literary festival keynote address

In his keynote address at our literary festival, editor-in-chief Nic Dawes examines the culture of complaint at the heart of media oppression.

A tribute to Mphahlele -- renowned writer and intellectual

The Literary Festival will include a tribute to the renowned writer and intellectual Es’kia Mphahlele.

Reading into the here and now

The M&G Literary Festival picks up from its predecessor and takes stock of where we are at.

The book lives!

The book is not dead, says Jonathan Ball, managing director of Jonathan Ball Publishers.

For the love of the word

In the tradition of the Weekly Mail Book Week, this festival aims to revivify Jo'burg's cultural landscape.

Festival highlights

Writers Veronique Tadjo and Boris Boubacar Diop respond to Murambi: The Book of Bones

Literary Festival: Writers respond to Murambi: The Book of Bones

Authors, Veronique Tadjo and Boris Boubacar Diop, explore 'difficult writing' using imaginative depictions of the 1994 Rwandan genocide as an example after visiting Rwanda in 1998.

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Leon de Kock leads a discussion on writing after the struggle

Literary Festival: Reality hunger or escapist pudding

Leon de Kock leads South African authors, Deon Maas, Chris van Wyk, Thando Mgqolozana and Zukiswa Wanner, in a discussion about writing after the struggle, defining masculinity and literary groupies.

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The M&G is 25 years old this year, and the festival celebrated this milestone

Literary festival: M&G at 25

In celebrating the 25th anniversary of the M&G this year, founding co-editor Anton Harber and current editor-in-chief Nic Dawes discuss the current implications for media freedom in relation to the restrictions during the apartheid era. They also share their thoughts on the most significant stories they have presided over.

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The event that was

M&G books editor Darryl Accone shares his views on the event that occurred over the weekend. Click here to read more... (Paul Botes)

Keynote address by M&G editor-in-chief Nic Dawes

Literary festival: Nic Dawes' keynote address

Editor-in-chief of the Mail & Guardian Nic Dawes delivers his keynote address on the current media landscape and the threat to our media freedom, which marked the opening of the 2010 M&G Literary Festival.

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Poem reading by Dawid Minnaar

Literary Festival: Poetry reading by Dawid Minnaar

The 2010 M&G Literary Festival saw a gathering of some of the country's most respected authors, journalists and academics. Enjoy actor Dawid Minnaar's reading of Wilma Stockenstrom's poem Skoenlapper Heuwel, Skoenlapper Vrou. This was to mark the launch of Judith Mason's new book illustrating the poem.

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