TO MARK THE 50th anniversary of the South African Council for English Education (SACEE), the Western Cape branch is launching a new book entitled Leaves to a Tree, with contributions from an impressive array of South African authors.

Education MEC Cameron Dugmore will on Wednesday 26 October 2005, at 18h00 address the launch function at the Centre for the Book in Cape Town.

The authors who have made contributions to Leaves to a Tree include poets Jeremy Cronin, PR Anderson, Megan Hall, Allan Kolski Horwitz, Kelwyn Sole, Peter Kantey, and the current editor of English Alive Sarah Johnson; novelists Henrietta Rose-Innes, Ken Barris, Nokuthula Mazibuko, Menán du Plessis; journalists Shaun de Waal, Jeremy Gordin, Heather Robertson, Justin Fox, Shaun Johnson, Ben Maclennan, Vivien Horler, Anél Powell, and Henk Rossouw. Some of them will be in attendance.

All the writers in this celebration of South African words have a connection with English Alive, the annual anthology of high school writing that SACEE has published for 39 years. Either the writers edited the anthology at some time or they contributed pieces to it while they were at school.

MEC Dugmore has himself been a contributor to English Alive in the early 1980s. Other speakers at the launch will be Anne Schlebusch, SACEE National Co-ordinator of English Alive and editor Robin Malan.

The book, which is available from bookshops, is published by the David Philip New Africa Books. Leaves to a Tree is edited by Robin Malan, who was one of the founding editors of English Alive from 1967–70 and again the editor for the ten years 1995–2004. The cover artwork is by Katherine Bull, who contributed the artwork for a cover to English Alive while she was at school.

The proceeds of the sale of the collection will go to develop the reach and influence of English Alive so that it finds its way to schools throughout the country who have not yet felt the impact of its work in nurturing writing by young people.

Other contributors are playwrights Nadia Davids and Karen Jeynes; historians Jeff Peires, André Proctor and Rob Turrell; teachers and lecturers Michael King, Julia Martin, Helen Moffett, and David Schalkwyk; and writers of youth, children’s and sports books Onele Mfeketo, Duane Jethro, Mike Kantey and Robert van der Valk.

Among those based overseas are novelist Ann Harries, theatre director David Lan, teacher of creative writing Sharon Colback, BBC journalist Martin Plaut, songwriter and singer Robin Auld, and academic Elaine Unterhalter.

Ann Schlebusch, National Coordinator for English Alive, said: "A very special endorsement of the collection comes in the form of a gift contribution by South Africa’s Nobel Literature Prize winner Nadine Gordimer. Asked to send a message, she instead sent a short story of her own to be included with the other pieces by South African writers."

For enquiries, contact Ann Schlebusch: 083 272 4346, or Gert Witbooi 082 550 3938.