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From novels to the kitchen

James Woodhouse has shifted his focus from books to the kitchen in his new restaurant venture.

HAENERTSBURG – James (37), Manager at the Mountain CafĂ© restaurant on the R71 outside Haenertsburg, has recently returned from London where he attended the annual book fair.

This book fair is second only in size to that held every year in Frankfurt, Germany. The London fair was held at Olympia, a huge Victorian-styled conference venue in the heart of London.

James, who has worked for years in publishing, says he met with some 40 publishers from around the world. He attends the fair now more as a social event as many of his friends are still in the trade.

Every year the buzz at the fair is around one “big book”. This year’s big book is a new Barack Obama project.

Obama is an accomplished author, having already published several books, and you can expect to see his latest work on the shelves in 12 to 18 months time.

James is still involved in the publishing world and has been working as a literary agent at Tibor Jones, Wilbur Smith’s literary agency, for the past two years. At present James is concentrating on Mark Winkler’s fourth novel. Mark (41), who was born in Mpumalanga, is Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi in Cape Town. James recently sold the rights to Mark’s second novel, Wasted, to SoHo, a publishing house in New York.

James has worked in the publishing world in both the UK and South Africa. He was born in Norwich in Norfolk, UK. James studied Cultural Studies at Norwich Art School and majored in creative writing, fine art and 20th century Western philosophy.

He’s worked for Picador, Penguin and Kwela Books. James first came to South Africa in 1999 and after an on off relationship with the country, he moved permanently in 2004.

When asked if he misses anything about the publishing world, James said it felt so special when a new book arrived. He republished the first ever Mandela book No Easy Walk to Freedom. It was the first collection of his speeches and writings.

“That feeling of bringing something back to life is just so special. Working hard on a book and seeing it published gives one a real feeling of achievement,” James said.

The other thing he misses is when an author wins a prize or gets recognised. During his time at Kwela, one of his authors, Songeziwe Mahlangu, was awarded the biggest fiction prize on the African continent, a Nigerian prize called the Etisalat prize for African fiction, for his debut novel Penumbra.

James also takes great pride in the stories that Kwela published from across the African continent. One of these, The Lost Boy, a biographical work by a Sudanese refugee, was optioned by an Italian publisher for €250 000. The author, Aher Arop Bol, had left home at the age of four to escape the ongoing civil war and was making a living selling second-hand clothing from a hawker’s stand at Pretoria railway station when the deal was done.

The money Aher received from Italy changed his life. He educated all his siblings, moving them to Uganda so they could receive better schooling, and returned to Sudan for only the second time in 20 years to see family and friends.

These days, instead of taking pride in new books, James relishes the quick turnaround in the restaurant business which he runs together with his partner, Reneé Naudé.

sue.ettmayr@gmail.com

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