Antjie Krog is gebore en word groot in die Vrystaat. Sy was sewentien toe haar eerste digbundel verskyn. Hierna volg ’n verdere dertien bundels. Sy was redakteur van die politieke tydskrif Die Suid-Afrikaan en werk later as radiojoernalis. Sy is internasionaal veral bekend vir haar boek Country of my skull, ’n persoonlike verslag van die Waarheid-en-versoeningskommissie. Vir haar joernalistieke werk is sy met die Pringle-toekenning bekroon. Sy is ook die skrywer van ’n Ander tongval en Begging to be Black.

Krog ontvang die belangrikste toekennings in die genres waarin sy werk: poësie, niefiksie en vertaling, onder meer die Eugène Marais-prys, die Hertzogprys, die Alan Paton-prys en die Olive Schreiner-prys. Sy is vereer met die Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation se Stockholm-toekenning, die Sentraal-Europese Universiteit se Open Society Prize en die Nederlandse Gouden Ganzenveer. Sy is getroud met die argitek John Samuel.

Bronwyn Williams is a brilliant Futurist, Economist and Business Trends Analyst and a sought-after media commentator on future trends and economic trajectories. She has consulted for clients in public and private sectors across the world. Her latest book is Survive the AI Apocalypse in collaboration with Sharon Pearce.

Dana Snyman is op Stellenbosch gebore, maar het op verskeie plekke in Suid-Afrika en Namibië grootgeword. Hy het onder meer as veiligheidswag, skakelbordoperateur en boekwinkelklerk gewerk voor hy in die joernalistiek beland het. Hy skryf vir Beeld, Weg!, Huisgenoot en Die Kerkbode en is een van Suid-Afrika se mees geliefde skrywers met ’n rits topverkopers agter sy naam. Dana se talle  boeke, rubrieke en verhoogstukke is vol empatie en raak waarnemings oor alledaagse lewe in Suid-Afrika. Sy gewilde TV-reeks, Op pad met Dana, het verskeie seisoene beleef, gevolg deur Grondpad geloof, waarvan die tweede seisoen in 2025 gebeeldsend is. Dana het meer as 70 000 volgelinge op Facebook, waar hy sy stories deel, met oorweldigende meelewing deur sy lesers. Onder sy talle toekennings tel die prestigeryke kykNET-Rapportprys vir niefiksie.

Dawie Roodt is the Founder, Director, and Chief Economist of the Efficient Group. He serves on a variety of the group’s investment committees and plays a key role in shaping its economic outlook and strategy. With more than 30 years of experience, Dawie is one of South Africa’s most respected and widely referenced economists. His work spans both local and international politics and economics, and he was awarded the prestigious Economist of the Year title by a leading media house. 

Dawie Roodt is die stigter, direkteur en die hoofekonoom van die Efficient Groep. Hy dien in ‘n verskeidenheid van die groep se beleggingskomitees en speel ‘n sleutelrol in die vorming van die groep se ekonomiese visie en strategie. Met meer as 30 jaar se ondervinding, is Dawie een van Suid-Afrika se mees gerespekteerde en gerekende ekonome. Sy werk strek oor plaaslike én internasionale politiek en ekonomie, en hy is deur ‘n toonaangewende mediahuis met die gesogte Ekonoom van die Jaar-titel bekroon.

Dibi Breytenbach is ’n skrywer van KwaZulu-Natal. Sy werk in die strafregstelsel, veral met kindersake. Ná sewe spanningsromans, Saliger, Vrediger, Heiliger, Dowe gode, Blinde gode, Stom gode en Buit, slaan sy met Heks ’n nuwe rigting in.

Dion Chang is one of the authors of The Future. He is a strategic thinker, keynote speaker, a walking ideas bank and professional cage rattler. He is one of South Africa’s most respected trend analysts and the founder of Flux Trends, which takes the unique view of “trends as business strategy”. He is in demand for helping corporations facing change and struggling to adapt to the new world order.

A seasoned career shifter, he has embarked on another new trajectory. As a certified end-of-life doula he is dovetailing his new vocation with 20 years of experience in “the death of old ideas and the birth of the new” and is now guiding people through life’s pivotal moments as a transition coach. He is also the author of A Pawfect Life, about the booming global pet economy.

Elna Rossouw is van jongsaf lief vir lees. Ná haar universiteitstudies werk sy eers as verslaggewer by Beeld en Sarie voor sy by rooirose as besturende redakteur aangestel word. Aan die begin van die millennium, verruil sy die praktyk vir die akademie en gee klas by UJ. Kort voor haar aftrede, verwerf sy haar doktorsgraad in joernalistiek. Elna en haar man, Kobus kuier al sedert hul studentedae op Clarens. Hulle woon in Johannesburg, maar het vyf jaar gelede ‘n huis op die dorp saam met hul kinders gekoop. Nou word hul wegbreke al hoe langer! Elna dien op die Direksie van die Clarens Kunstefees en is deel van die kreatiewe span wat die gesprekke oor boeke saamstel.

Ferial Haffajee (Class 2 Fellow) is an Associate Editor, Daily Maverick. She covers cities and runs several award-winning newsletters. She is former Editor-In-Chief of the Mail&Guardian and City Press and a Moderator at the Africa Leadership Initiative.

She has served on the boards of the International Press Institute and the World Editors Forum. She chaired the SA National Editors Forum’s ethics and diversity committee. She is an Associate Member of Gender Links, an NGO geared toward improving the media’s coverage of development and gender empowerment. She has received the Shoprite-Checkers Woman of the Year Award; The Media magazine’s Women in Media Award; a Sanlam financial journalism award and Naspers group’s most prestigious internal prize, the Phil Weber Award. 

She is a Fellow of the 2nd class of the Africa Leadership Initiative-South Africa, as well as a member of and moderator for the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She is also a previous winner of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) International Press Freedom Awards. She is the CNN MultiChoice African Journalism Awards’ judge. She is the author of a book titled: “What If There Were No Whites in South Africa?” published by Pan McMillan in 2015 and also of the book Days of Zondo, an account of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. 

Helena Hettema is ‘n gevierde kabaretkunstenaar, aktrise, liedjieskywer, stemkunstenaar en digter. Sy verwerf ‘n dramagraad by Tukkies en is een van vyf dramastudente wat landwyd gekies word om by die destydse TRUK in die Pretoria Staatsteater aan te sluit. Vroeg in haar loopbaan, is sy die jongste lid van Anton Goosen se alternatiewe musiekgroep, Die Kommissie van Ondersoek. Sy skryf en sing die temalied vir die gewilde Sonkring TV-reeks en haar stem en verhoogkuns neem haar na Londen, Nederland, België, Italië, Nieu-Seeland en Turkye. Sy sing in Afrikaans, Engels, Frans, Nederlands en Italiaans, en het reeds 13 CDs en twee DVDs uitgereik. Sy word ook met twee Sama- en twee Afri-Indie-toekennings bekroon.Journeyman – A Poet Revealed/ ‘n Digter Ontbloot, wat einde verlede jaar bekendgestel is, is Helena se eerste boek. Dit is ‘n pragtige koffietafelboek, geïllustreer met kunswerke en foto’s wat gedigte, liedjies en outobiografiese prosa begelei.

Jaco Strydom is die leier van Echo Jeugontwikkeling (‘n organisasie sonder winsoogmerk met onder andere 13 huise vir jongmense in nood) en is deeltyds gekoppel aan Villieria NG Gemeente. Hy is ‘n rubriekskrywer vir verskeie publikasies. Meer as 200 van sy artikels en rubrieke het die afgelope tien jaar verskyn in onder andere Beeld, Rapport, Finesse, Kerkbode, Maroela Media, Taalgenoot en Weg!.

Hy is ook ‘n gereelde blogger (Anderkant die doringdraad). Jaco het vir ‘n tyd lank in Indië gewoon en was betrokke by verskeie projekte in Suid-Asië en Afrika. Een van Jaco se stokperdjies is roei, hy onderneem deur die jare ‘n aantal solo-reise na afgelëe plekke met sy kayak (roei  onder andere solo vir meer as ‘n maand lank  vanaf Vaaldam tot by die see, ook talle soortgelyke reise na afgelëe plekke in Transkei, Mosambiek, Tanzanië, Noord Pakistan, Andaman eilande en Zanzibar). Hy is oortuig dat gereelde afsondering in die natuur net so belangrik is as om in gemeenskap te lewe. Jaco het in Randburg gematrikuleer en daarna gestudeer by die Noord Wes Universiteit en die Universiteit van Pretoria. Hy woon tans in die Echo-gemeenskap in Villeria

Jacqueline Kalley is Pietermaritzburg born and bred. She was educated at St John’s DSG and the Universities of the Witwatersrand and Natal where she obtained both her undergraduate and PhD degrees. She was Librarian at the South African Institute of International Affairs on the Wits campus for many years but has now forsaken librarianship for writing and publishing. She is currently the CEO of Otterley Press.

Jared McDonald is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Assistant Dean of the Faculty of The Humanities at the University of the Free State’s Qwaqwa Campus. He holds a PhD in History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His research interests include the intersections between Christianity, imperial citizenship, and resistance in the Cape Colony during the early nineteenth century; the work of the London Missionary Society in Southern Africa; comparative histories of settler colonialism; and the genocide of the Cape San.

He has published articles on these themes in journals such as the Journal of Genocide Research, Historia, and the South African Historical Journal and has contributed chapters to works such as Genocide on Settler Frontiers: When Hunter-Gatherers and Commercial Stock Farmers Clash and Chosen Peoples: The Bible, Race and Empire in the Long Nineteenth Century. He published his first monograph in 2023 with Routledge, titled Khoesan and Imperial Citizenship in Nineteenth Century South Africa.

Justice Edwin Cameron was a judge from 1994 to 2019, who served six years as inspecting judge of prisons after stepping down from the Constitutional Court.  He has authored two prize-winning memoirs (Witness to AIDS and Justice: A Personal Account).  His third book, coauthored with two colleagues from the prisons inspectorate, Rebecca Gore and Sohela Surajpal, Behind Prison Walls: Unlocking a Safer South Africa, was recently published.

Kathy Munro is a retired Wits academic and long-standing heritage practitioner whose work bridges scholarship, public history, and community engagement. Born in England at the end of the Second World War to an English RAF serviceman and a South African mother, she was educated in Johannesburg and studied at the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Edinburgh, training as an economic historian.

She spent four decades at Wits University, where much of her teaching focused on part-time evening students in the professional BCom degree, giving her deep insight into the aspirations and challenges of working adults. This shaped a number of pioneering initiatives, including the founding of Wits Plus, the Centre for Part-Time Studies, the Reading and Support Programme for Blind Students, and the Aletta Sutton Child Care Centre — the first employer-provided, multi-racial crèche in South Africa.

After retirement she became an Associate Visiting Professor in the Wits School of Architecture and Planning, working on architectural archives and the housing of major Johannesburg mining collections. She served as Chair of the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation and later as Chair of the Heritage Association of South Africa, where she convened national heritage symposia between 2022 and 2025, including one here in Clarens.

Kathy is a prolific heritage writer, with over 100 articles published on the Heritage Portal, and is the author of a chapter on Prynnsberg in Sandstone Houses of the Eastern Free State. Her current research interests include the architecture of war cemeteries and memorials in Europe. A serious book collector, lecturer, and tour leader, she remains intellectually curious, actively engaged, and very much not retired.

Two-time winner of the prestigious Taco Kuiper Award, Kyle Cowan is one of South Africa’s most acclaimed investigative journalists. His fearless exposés of corruption at the highest levels of power have earned him many other journalistic accolades. He is also the author of Sabotage: Eskom Under Siege. Mafia Land is his second book.

Leon van Nierop is ’n bekende omroeper, skrywer, regisseur, podsender, voorsitter van die National Film and Video Foundation en vervaardiger. Van sy bekendste boeke sluit in Moord op Lake Panic, Duiwelsroos en Die volmaakte moord.

Hy het verlede jaar Het van Verlangekraal deur Johann Bekker vir die verhoog verwerk. Hy is al met verskeie toekennings bekroon, onder ander onlangs ’n KOKER-toekenning vir sy lewenslange bydrae aan die vermaaklikheidsbedryf vir sy rolprentresensies en skryfwerk.

Hy het ook Ballade vir ‘n enkeling vir kykNET geskryf en vervaardig, Wolwedans in die Skemer en die TV-reeks Daar doer in die fliek. 

Lindiwe Hani is the author of the bestselling memoir, Being Chris Hani’s Daughter which was co-written with Melinda Ferguson. Lindiwe is also a PR expert and consultant.

LOMILE MOKOENA is a language practitioner, journalist, and radio enthusiast passionate about words and storytelling.

Manie van Schalkwyk is heavily invested in the wellbeing of Clarens and has moved to the Village four years ago.  He has been dipping his toes into the Clarens Magic for the last 25 years visiting their small farm and guesthouse just outside the Village.  Manie is the current Chairperson of board for the Clarens Arts Festival and is doing all that it takes to develop the arts in Clarens.  

Marieta Carrick werk in mediese tegnologie. Haar debuutroman, Waar bloed kruip, verskyn in 2020. ’n Nuwe uitgawe word in 2026 uitgegee. In 2025 publiseer sy Bloed van ’n vlinder. Met ’n agtergrond in die mediese veld beeld sy die hospitaalruimte in haar sielkundige rillers geloofwaardig uit. Sy woon in die noordelike voorstede van Kaapstad.

Melinda Ferguson is a South African author and publisher. As a writer, she is known for her addiction memoirs Smacked, Hooked, Crashed and Bamboozled. She has recently completed her latest book SWIFT. As a publisher she is the captain of her independent publishing house, Melinda Ferguson Books/ Ride or Die Press. Melinda is also involved in mentoring emerging writers and facilitating writing courses.

Michele Magwood is an award-winning writer and editor who was the Sunday Times literary editor for more than two decades. She is the author of Brahman Hills – The Making of a World-class Garden. She lives in Johannesburg, but she and her husband frequently spend time at their holiday home in Clarens.  

Associate Prof Rethabile Possa is the Head of African Languages and Literatures, a Senior Lecturer, member of the Language Policy Committee, and Student Registration Advisor in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Cape Town. She is the chairperson of Sesotho National Language Body under PanSALB. Through her leadership and activism, she has contributed significantly to institutional and societal change, serving as a staff assessor on UCT’s Gender-Based Violence Tribunal and holding leadership roles as the Warden of Fuller Hall and Deputy Warden at Forest Hill.

An accomplished scholar and writer, Associate Prof Possa has published widely on folklore, literature and onomastics in academic journals and is also the author of a Sesotho drama book, children’s story, and poetry. Beyond her academic achievements, Associate Prof Possa is the Sesotho editor for the AVBOB Poetry Competition. She is the founder of Mokgatlo wa Matjhaba wa Sesotho (Sesotho International Association) and is recognized internationally as a keynote speaker. Her influence extends across multiple platforms, including Transnet, SABC 2, SABC 3, ENCA, Rosebank College, as well as schools in the Western Cape, Lesotho, and various women’s forums, where she continues to inspire and empower women both locally and globally.

Siphokazi Jonas is a South African poet, playwright and actor with an MA in English Literature and a BA in English and Drama. She was the 2016 runner-up for the national Sol Plaatje European Union Award and headlined as the first Featured Poet at the Poetry Africa Festival in 2021. Siphokazi received a Best Short Film South African Film and Television Award (SAFTA) as co-producer of the poetry film #WeAreDyingHere.

Her work has appeared in Poetry London, Atlanta Review, Versopolis Review, The Poetry Society and Stanzas. Her debut book of poetry, Weeping Becomes A River, has won several prizes, including the 2024 UJ Prize For South African Writing: Debut Prize Winner, Best Poetry award at the 10th Annual Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) Awards, and a 2025 Cultural Award: Literary Excellence Award awarded by the Western Cape Government.

Sohela Surajpal co-authored Behind Prison Walls while working as a law clerk and researcher at the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services. Before that, she clerked at the Constitutional Court of South Africa, worked on LGBTQ+ rights at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, and obtained a Master of Law in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa. Sohela is currently a candidate attorney in Johannesburg.

Yewande Omotoso studied architecture and received a masters in creative writing from the University of Cape Town. Her debut novel Bomboy (2011 Modjaji Books), won the South African Literary Award First Time Author Prize. Her short stories include How About The Children (Kalahari Review), Things Are Hard (2012 Caine Prize Anthology), Fish (The Moth Literary Journal) and The Leftovers (One World Two).

Yewande was a 2015 Miles Morland Scholar. Her second novel The Woman Next Door (2016 Chatto and Windus) was shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award and The Barry Ronge fiction Prize and longlisted for the Baileys Women’s Literature Prize. Her third novel An Unusual Grief (Cassava Republic) was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and the Republic of consciousness Award and shortlisted for the Barry Ronge Fiction Prize.

Zama Madinana is a South African poet, based in Johannesburg. His work has appeared in The Shallow Tales Review Kalahari Review, Efiko, Libretto, Brittle Paper, Olney, and other literary publications. Zama’s work focuses mainly on love, politics, and social issues. In 2021, he won the third prize of the Sol Plaatje EU Poetry Award. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2022.His full-length poetry collection, ‘94 was published in June 2023, and it was longlisted for South African Literary Award in 2024.

In addition to regular performances and readings in Johannesburg and across South Africa, he has performed his poetry in various countries including Botswana, Mozambique, and Lesotho. He has also performed his work at poetry festivals like Poetry Africa and McGregor Poetry festivals.  He is currently studying towards a Creative degree with the University of South Africa.