Caryn Gootkin, Co-chair, JLF2025

Caryn left legal practice to indulge her passion for words and now spreads her time between her writing and editing business In Other Words, her position on the board of Souper Troopers NPO, and co-chairing JLF2025. When not working on any of these, you will find her walking in the mountain with friends, learning bridge, enjoying her family, or curled up in bed with a book. As a passionate advocate for South African literature, book festivals are Caryn’s happy place and she is thrilled to pair up with Vanessa again to stage JLF2025.

Vanessa Valkin, Co-chair, JLF2025

Vanessa has been a journalist and editor for 30 years. She serves as co-chair of the Gitlin Library and co-chair of JLF. Previously she was Editor of the SA Jewish Report, Director of the Herzlia Schools Foundation and Executive Director of Canadian Friends of Tel Aviv University. She worked as a journalist for the Financial Times of London in New York and as Editor in Chief of Lifestyles philanthropy magazine in Toronto. She is passionate about books and reading.

Gary Anstey, Treasurer

Gary has been associated with the Festival since its first iteration in 2016. He is in charge of finances – the custodian of the budget. He involves himself in the planning and execution as long as it is not programming – better left to experts.

Vivienne Anstey, Founder and Trustee

Viv Anstey is the Director of the Midrasha Adult Education Institute incorporating the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning and serves on the Cape SA Jewish Board of Deputies. She is the founding member of Limmud South Africa and consults to Jewish organisations on strategy, innovation, change management and lay-professional relations. Viv is passionate about Jewish education and social justice and is currently Director of the Elliot Osrin Leadership Institute.

Joanne Jowell, Founder and Trustee

With an academic background in English and Psychology, and a brief but formative stint in managing consulting, Joanne began writing professionally at age 28 when she published her first book, Managing the Quarterlife Crisis: Facing life’s choices in your 20s and 30s (Struik, 2003). These days, she is the author of such bestselling biographies as On the Other Side of Shame: An Extraordinary Account of Adoption and Reunion (Macmillan, 2008), and Zephany: Two mothers, one daughter. An astonishing true story (Tafelberg, 2019).

Over the course of a Master’s degree in Creative Writing (University of Cape Town) and numerous subsequent books, Joanne has created a signature style of creative non-fiction, examining the multiple voices that collide in any single biography. I am Ella: A remarkable story of survival, from Auschwitz to Africa is her seventh book.

Joanne now lives in Sydney, Australia with her husband and three children and remains an enthusiastic supporter of, and contributor to, the SA Jewish Literary Festival.

Cindy Moritz, Founder and Trustee

Cindy Moritz is a writer and editor who has worked on various magazine titles covering a range of genres including the business of fashion, parenting and women’s lifestyle. She flirted briefly with television production, but spent most of her career in print and then online media. She was educated at Herzlia school in Cape Town and has a B.Journ degree from Rhodes University. Cindy is editor of FMR Bookchoice, a monthly radio book programme, a volunteer guide at the Cape Town Holocaust and Genocide Centre, and is currently studying for a Masters in Jewish Education through the London School of Jewish Studies. An predilection for reading Jewish books and discovering Jewish authors led to a fortuitous meeting of similar minds, resulting in the creation and production of the Jewish Literary Festival.

Adam Osrin, Social media and Quicket master

Adam Osrin is a born-and-bred Capetonian. 

He graduated from Vega with a BComm in Digital Marketing and a BComm Honours in Strategic Brand Management.

Since graduating, he has been involved in various community organisations and recently joined the JLF team. He is considered our ‘Jack of all trades’.

When not assisting with event preparations, Adam is our go-to expert for anything related to the web and social media. On the day of the event, he will lead our fabulous volunteers to help ensure everything runs smoothly.

Adam also helps Limmud Cape Town with their Social Media and volunteers at the event.

Raquel Zuckerman, Logistics Coordinator

Raquel Zuckerman is a born and bred Capetonian.
She is a graduate of UCT and has a Diploma in Public Relations. As a former employee in the financial industry, she has extensive experience in all aspects of the conferencing and events industry.

Currently involved in organising conferences and incentive trips for major South African companies.
Raquel has been involved in the Jewish community, both in Jewish Youth Movements, Herzlia school and her local Shul.

As someone who is an avid reader, she is very excited to be involved with the Jewish Literary Festival.

Beryl Eichenberger, Marketing

Beryl Eichenberger has lived in Cape Town for nearly four decades  and from 2000 to 2015 carved a niche for herself and her company HIPPO Communications in the competitive Public Relations industry. ‘Semi -retiring’ in 2015 has allowed this energetic ‘seenager’ and self- confessed bookaholic to use her experience in retail, media and PR to pursue the projects she really loves, most of which involve books and literature.