The Jakes Gerwel Foundation, in collaboration with the Jannie Mouton Foundation’s Oude Leeskamer, provides debut writers the opportunity for further mentorship and to write their second books while staying right at the heart of the picturesque town of Stellenbosch.
The participants for this year’s Second Book Writers’ Residency are Audrey Jantjies, Juliette Mnqeta and Theolla Langenhoven.
Audrey is die skrywer van die bildungsroman, As die Katjiepiering Blom, wat sy onder mentorskap van Suzette Kotze – Myburgh voltooi en deur Kwela Boeke in 2022 gepubliseer is. Sy is huidiglik werksaam as Gemeenskapsverhoudings Bestuurder en spandeer haar tyd tussen haar werk, familie, lees en skryf.
Juliette is a ‘whodunnit’ enthusiast who always hopes that the butler ‘didn’t do it’. As a freelance isiXhosa transcriptionist and translator during the day, Juliette finds time to create mystery on paper in the evenings. In 2022, she was chosen as one of four candidates to participate in the Jakes Gerwel Foundation’s writing mentorship program. Her debut novel, If the Dead Could Talk, set in Knysna, was published by Kwela Books in February 2025.
Theolla works at the University of the Western Cape, whilst studying an Honours in Women & Gender Studies part-time. Her poetry and short fiction have been featured in anthologies and magazines such as Kuier Tydskrif or IOL’s Landisa Project. She published Die Here kom sterk deur, in 2023, which received the Cape Flats Literary Award for Teenagers’ Books. She’s since received three more Cape Flats Literary Awards for her contribution to literature and for best poem for Hou jou bek. Her debut novel, Soetroos van Saron, is soon to be published by Kwela Books. But she says her favourite story is being a mom and wife.
We wish these writers all the best with their respective projects and hope that their time in the Oude Leeskamer’s Skrywerkamer will be fruitful for their creative journeys. We look forward to reading what you come up with, writers!
