Litnet

Alistair MacKay’s novel The child will be launched at Love Books in Melville on 23 May, in conversation with Charles Leonard, and at Bridge Books in Brixton on 28 May, in conversation with Griffin Shea.

"This is a timeous book, one that I believe everyone capable of understanding English should read."

The Otto Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of the inaugural Otto Foundation children’s book award. | Die Otto Stigting kondig met trots om ’n nuwe jaarlikse kinderboektoekenning aan.

"Mhlongo, through the character of Mangi, loves Johannesburg with the insane and obsessive love of a jilted lover."

Oude Leeskamer is proud to announce the launch of The near north by the award-winning Ivan Vladislavić on 21 May 2024 at 18:00. He will be joined by Justin Fox, whose Place: South African literary journeys has recently enjoyed a fifth print run. Skrywersaand host Jonathan Amid will lead the discussion.

Poets or their publishers are invited to submit entries for the Ingrid Jonker Prize for English poetry in 2024. The closing date for submissions is 20 June 2024.

"Admittedly, it is tricky to write about a journey with food. Unless you are writing a recipe book, how do you go about it? The book is a blend between autobiography and narrative novel."

"On Friday, during the South African Festival of Children’s Literature, I have been presented with the SA Children’s Laureate Award for my contribution to SA children’s literature."

Amazwi 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.

"Rather than charge an entrance fee, we want children to be able to go home with a book or at least carry a story that they heard at the festival in their hearts for the rest of their school days, at least."

The third event in the Skrywersaand series will feature the launch of two compelling thrillers: The hidden by Fiona Snyckers and Good Hope by Nick Clelland. Both novels are set in the near future, The hidden in the United States and Good Hope in an unsettling version of what readers would recognise as Cape Town. Jonathan Amid will lead the discussion, delving deeply into questions of genre, power, place and the politics of fear.

"I was asked to speak about young-adult fiction (YAF). It is a topic I am passionate about, and I love reading YAF, but I am really old. That was one of the reasons I asked four YA authors to share their views on their own writing with the girls. The authors agreed to share their insights with the rest of the country on World Book Day."

"The near north is a book of memory, about life and death, joy and sadness, spatial geography and the thinking and not thinking behind human settlements."

"This is my first traditionally published novel set outside of South Africa. This is a story that could only be set in the USA. The combination of survivalist cult, ultra-right-wing white supremacists and federal authorities could only take place there. That was the story I felt compelled to tell, and that dictated the setting."

An international judging panel has shortlisted twenty-three outstanding stories for the world’s most global literature prize. The shortlisted writers hail from 13 countries across the Commonwealth and their ambitious stories span continents and decades.

Join us for an evening filled with lively discussions around Ian Sutherland’s new novel, Catastrophe. Set against the backdrop of a world teetering on the brink of disaster, this thought-provoking novel explores themes of resilience, redemption, and the pursuit of truth in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Whether embarking on a bizarre quest to find Cecil Rhodes’s missing nose (sliced off the bust of the Rhodes Memorial) or bike-packing the Scottish islands with a couple of squabbling anarchists; whether learning to surf (much too late) in the wild, freezing waters off the Cape Peninsula or navigating the fraught politics of a Buddhist retreat centre – the author explores forgotten utopias, intentional communities and islands of imagination with curiosity, hope and humour.

"I remember that it was a close-up photo of Opperman’s face which illustrated one of his poetry collections. I was fascinated by the detail, which I immediately associated with a landscape. This was the impetus which inspired me to start writing."

Following the success of our first Skrywersaand, we are pleased to invite you to our second event in this series on 11 April at Oude Leeskamer in Stellenbosch. Jonathan Amid will poke the bear with these two live-wire authors, asking whether their writing is indeed disturbing the comfortable and comforting the disturbed.