Books and writers
Information about the latest books and the people behind them
Time travel with Time of the Writer festival
2024-03-28"This year’s theme for Time of the Writer was 'Reflections, resonance and revival'. Watching the diverse panels online strangely focused my attention on these concepts in ways that maybe an in-person attendance wouldn’t have."
Darlings of Durban by Shafinaaz Hassim: a book review
2024-03-28"But it is fantastical, in ways which aren’t entirely positive, to read a contemporary novel which treats the very thin bubble of glamour in the city without asking about the facts lying right within the bubble ..."
Love and fury, a memoir by Margie Orford: a book review
2024-03-28"[I]n this book she has less 'chosen' the events of her own life than been strong enough to grasp, grapple with and capture them – laid them, you might say, as if on a mortuary slab. Except, mercifully, she didn’t die."
The Jakes Gerwel Foundation and Passa Porta international house of literature in Brussels residency: an interview with Shireen Mall
2024-03-28"Any serious writer with purpose will agree that the opportunity to collaborate in dialogue with a diverse group of writers from across the world in various disciplines is a sure way to grow personally as a writer and broaden your scope."
Press release: Second Amazwi conference on children’s literature, a call for papers
2024-03-26Amazwi South African Museum of Literature invites you to a conference that explores all aspects of children’s literature, from picture books to young adult fiction.
Press release: AVBOB Poetry – Melissa Sussens’s tips for “finding the spark”
2024-03-25Melissa Sussens is a poet dedicated to opening up and maintaining inclusive spaces for poets everywhere. Melissa has shared three exercises that help her to find her own creative spark (and kindle it in others).
The Jakes Gerwel Foundation and Passa Porta international house of literature in Brussels residency: an interview with Sibuyiselo Sbuja Dywili
2024-03-23"And secondly, I keep asking this: why should anyone bother to read or come watch a play written by an unknown young man who lives in the outskirts of Cape Town, where everything is far from him and the city lights are supposedly fantasies? And who lives every day looking up hoping to see a billboard of a role model in the township, but only gets to see the walking, unsung heroes who once tried and failed, the many who sought stability and did everything right, yet still crashed?"
The Jakes Gerwel Foundation and Passa Porta international house of literature in Brussels residency: an interview with Ayanda Xaba
2024-03-22"The best part of the residency is the uninterrupted time to write, in a heavenly location, and the inspiration one gets in such a historic place. The town is quiet, the views are calming; this is honestly the best place to write."
Books on the Bay Festival 2024: an interview with Darryl David
2024-03-19"Midway through my second passion fruit and lemonade, I said that a region so rich in literary history deserves a literary festival of its own. To which David [Attwell] replied: 'Why don’t we do it?'"
Press release: Amazwi’s Literature, Heritage, Ecology Conference
2024-03-08Amazwi is hosting its annual Literature, Heritage, Ecology Conference on 19 and 20 March. There is no charge to attend the conference.
Open Book Youth Festival 2024: an interview with Refilwe Nsibande
2024-03-07"Growing up, I did not have books. People around me didn’t buy books, and libraries were far from where I lived in Soshanguve. .... I eventually went from not having books to writing them."
Open Book Youth Festival 2024: an interview with Bianca Flanders
2024-03-07"Representation really matters. When you see yourself represented on film or in books, I feel that it sends the message that you are worthy and your stories are worthy of being told. You belong in this world. You are seen."
Press release: Time of the Writer Festival Literary Legacies
2024-03-06The Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is presenting the Time of the Writer festival from 14 to 21 March. A noteworthy focus will be on literary legacies, inviting festival attendees to engage in profound reflections on the significance of literary legacies in our ever-evolving world.
Translated or repatriated? An interview with Ignatius Mabasa on translating Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous conditions
2024-03-06"In a bid to understand the process, nuances, motives and challenges of the process while also uncovering the politics of language, Philani A Nyoni converses with Ignatius Mabasa, the man who translated Nervous conditions into Shona."
Goodbye and hello: Zimbabwean publishing future and past
2024-02-29"The reign of these juggernauts was quite a golden age, but not without its problems."
Press release: Exploring democracy through a literary lens during Time of the Writer Festival
2024-02-28During the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, 17 and 18 March, attendees are invited to explore the complexities of democracy and the different aspects of what builds a democratic society. This year’s programme features various dimensions of reflection on a free and just society through a literary lens.
Copyright Amendment Bill: Authors unite
2024-02-28South African authors, readers and stakeholders in the book industry note with grave concern that the Copyright Amendment Bill is scheduled for concurrence by the National Assembly on 29 February 2024. Read the views of Gabeba Baderoon, Sihle Khumalo, Sihawukele Ngubane, Athol Fugard, Breyten Breytenbach, Jaco Jacobs, Margie Orford, Fanie Viljoen and Tannie Evita Bezuidenhout. You may join in voicing your concern by adding you signature to the online petition.
Press release: Please sign this petition as South African authors urge the National Assembly to reject the Copyright Amendment Bill
2024-02-23The bill will deprive local creatives of existing rights and income streams. Further, the local book industry will suffer, with projections of a 33% decrease in book sales and a 30% decline in employment if these provisions should become law.
A sociological analysis of Breaking the bombers by Mark Shaw
2024-02-23"Shaw provides excellent evidence to show that wherever and whenever different societal agents and agencies started moving towards cooperation and collaboration, they started becoming effective. When the agencies of the state started talking to one another and when leadership compelled the institutional actors to collaborate, the situation changed positively."
Beyond the door of no return by David Diop: a review
2024-02-20"If you’ve loved the sparse ironic tone of Amor Towles’s A gentleman in Moscow, you’ll love Beyond the door of no return."