Pictured above: Petina Gappah, Anthony and Dolores Fleischer and Karabo Kgoleng at the 2009 PEN/Studzinksi Literary Award ceremony, Franschhoek.

Longtime PEN SA committee members Dolores Fleischer and Tim Anderson recently announced their decisions to step down from the board, after many years of hard work promoting its causes.

Dolores, wife of the late PEN SA president Anthony Fleischer, served on the committee for over two decades. She acted as Treasurer for over ten years, organised and hosted six awards back in the 1960s and helped drive the awards that ran from 2005 to 2011.

Tim, who has been on the board for over a decade, was responsible for drawing up PEN SA’s current constitution and assisting in the registration of PEN SA as a non-profit organisation.

PEN SA President Margie Orford had the following to say: “Tim and Dolores contributed a great deal intellectually to PEN South Africa. Their commitment to freedom of expression and to the fostering of literature in South Africa was both selfless and admirable. We thank them for doing so much work so well with such grace and good humour.”

PEN SA thanks them for their invaluable input over the years.

(Image courtesy of Books LIVE)