News & views

Some highlights from 2004

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  • Author visit to Kenya – includes opening Mathare North Library with Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, 21 Feb – 2 March
  • Baba’s Gift, written with daughter Maya, illustrated by Karin Littlewood. Published by Penguin on World Book Day, 4 March. Beverley with students from Cape Town on Robben Island in video link to students from Ilfracombe College, Devon…. Atlantic Crossings!http://www.robben-island.org.za
  • Hillingdon English Conference, 12 March
  • Crossing Boundaries through Literature English Conference, Warwickshire, 19 March
  • Tackling Racism through Citizenship Conference, Dorset, 25 March
  • Oxford Literary Festival, with Abdul Razak Gurnah & Maya Jaggi, 28 March
  • Who do we think we are? National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) International Conference on Language and Literacy, University of Strathclyde, 2 April
  • Staffordshire schools, 28-29 April
  • Brighton Festival, Adopt-an-Author final event, 5 May
  • Barbican Education South African Gumboots Project, London, 6-7 May & 8 July
  • Schools from London to Lancashire, 16 -25 June (16th June – South African Youth Day)
  • Young Voices for Change – an international videoconference, 3 September 2004 – Click Here.
  • International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Conference, Cape Town, 6 – 9 September.See www.sacbf.org.za. You can read my paper Out of bounds: ‘Witness literature’ and the challenge of crossing racialised borders by clicking on PAPERS FROM IBBY CONGRESS 2004 (see Wednesday 8th)
  • Web of Lies (sequel to The Other Side of Truth) and Chain of Fire (re-issue of sequel to Journey to Jo’burg) published by Penguin, September
  • The Playground at Polka Theatre, Wimbledon London. Directed by Olusola Oyeleye. October – November.

“I have based the play on a short story in Out of Bounds. Set in South Africa 1995, it is about the first black girl entering an all white school where some parents are still resisting the new laws… “

  • Author visits linking to The Playground, October – November
  • 2004 ended with the good news that my first stage play The Playground was designated a Time Out 2004 Critic’s Choice. Having given up most of the previous year to working on it, I was delighted!

Frances Simon as Rosa (photo by Robert Workman)

in

The Playground

Directed by Olusola Oyeleye and designed by Phil Newman

Polka Theatre, London 23 September – 30 October 2004