Books and writers
Information about the latest books and the people behind them
Pasverskyn: Kunswoordeboek | Arts Dictionary geredigeer deur Alex Duffey en Susan Roets
2021-05-20’n Verteenwoordigende groep vakspesialiste en deskundiges uit ’n verskeidenheid velde en subvelde is genader om termlyste by te dra.
2021 Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature shortlist: an interview with Othusitse Moses Lobelo
2021-05-19"Besides, our youth in schools cannot read only about love and witchcraft from those old books written by old authors. We must start passing fresh information on to them by writing about the problems and concerns of today."
Shaping Addo by Mitch Reardon: reader impression
2021-05-14"I thoroughly enjoyed reading Shaping Addo. Reardon writes both knowledgeably and entertainingly about the history of the park as well as its current endeavours."
Death and the after-parties by Joanne Hichens: an inter-review
2021-05-12"I didn’t set out to be so honest, particularly about my childhood. I was going to write a short grief memoir, but the more I wrote, the more I understood that one’s childhood plays a role in how we grieve, that how we deal with loss as adults is connected to how we face loss as children, and so I went down that road, open to exploring my childhood."
An illuminated darkness by Jacques Coetzee: a review
2021-05-12"But beyond the good that this means for visually impaired readers and the South African publishing industry, the collection’s poems are worth their own engagement. To me, the poems’ most interesting elements come from their portrayal of various humans’ attempts to relate to one another earnestly."
Press release and competition: Buy Christine and win a trip to Amsterdam in 2022
2021-05-04To celebrate the release of Christine, Melinda Ferguson Books (an imprint of NB Publishers) is thrilled to announce an exciting competition that offers one lucky reader the chance to win a return ticket to Amsterdam in 2022.
By the fading light by Ashraf Kagee: a reader impression
2021-05-04"By the fading light is a book to be read and reread. To remind us of where we were as a country. To savour the language. To laugh. But mostly to stare misty-eyed into the distance."
The African Library ‒ Timothy Ogene: The day ends like any day (2017)
2021-05-03"This debut novel by acclaimed poet Timothy Ogene bears the traces of the author’s lyrical talent, his Nigerian origins, his expansive reading of world literature and his life-cherishing attentiveness to natural and human phenomena, both physical and spiritual. The text is, nevertheless, unpretentious in every way; as a narrative, perhaps a bildungsroman, the predominant tonal quality is a sort of quietness, a retrospective serenity."
First sip: It’s not about the bats by Adam Cruise
2021-05-03"We recognise when our pets are happy or sad, we understand the happy expression of an elephant wallowing in a muddy waterhole or a tired lion yawning under the shade of a tree at midday. But the mannerisms of bats, fish and mosquitoes, no."
The profiler diaries by Gérard Labuschagne – reader impression
2021-04-28"As a reader (and writer), I find the interviews Labuschagne conducted with suspects most interesting, as they afford one rare glimpses into their worlds and the way they saw things."
Suidoosterfees 2021: An interview with Wahbie Long
2021-04-28On 29 April 2021 at 10:00, Marianne Thamm will be in conversation with Wahbie Long about his book, Nation on the couch: Inside South Africa's mind, as part of the Suidoosterfees-Jakes Gerwel conversations at Artscape, Cape Town. Robert Kriger interviews Wahbie to find out more about his book, which he describes as a "letter to all South African citizens".
2021 Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature shortlist: an interview with Penny Lorimer
2021-04-26"What distinguishes South African stories is that they are about people who experience our environment in the same way we do, who look like us, who understand the specific challenges we face, perhaps in more profound ways than people in other English-speaking parts of the world."
2021 Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature shortlist: an interview with Francis Tebesi
2021-04-26"I want them to pursue their studies and other talents they have, even if it is tough and challenging, because in all hard work there is reward, and hard work pays."
Suidoosterfees 2021: An interview with Adam Cruise
2021-04-23"Basically, we all need each other, so, no, we cannot allow humanity to self-destruct." Adam Cruise (It’s not about the bats) will be part of the Jakes Gerwel conversations at the Suidoosterfees.
2021 Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature shortlist: an interview with Jaco Fouché
2021-04-22"Why write? Because you (as a reader yourself) know all about the joy that a reader finds in a good book. You want to replicate that joy, be responsible for it. A book is a hand reaching out, sometimes to communicate, sometimes to offer comfort, sometimes to outrage."
Deon Meyer, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres: Commendation at the ceremony
2021-04-22"He is the man South Africa can call with pride its best crime fiction author, whose reputation has long crossed the South African borders to reach Europe and France."
Deon Meyer, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres: pictures of the ceremony
2021-04-22Deon Meyer was awarded the award of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters) on behalf of the French President at Glenelly Estate in Stellenbosch. Here are some pictures of the event.
Deon Meyer, Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres: Meyer’s speech
2021-04-22"Ce soir, le chat est sur le toit. Tonight, the cat is on the roof."
Press release: South African author Deon Meyer receives France’s top cultural award
2021-04-22On Tuesday, 20 April 2021, the Ambassador of France to South Africa, His Excellency Mr Aurélien Lechevallier, bestowed upon South African crime fiction author and screenwriter, Mr Deon Meyer, the award of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters) on behalf of the French President at Glenelly Estate in Stellenbosch.
Suidoosterfees 2021: An interview with Thembalethu Seyisi
2021-04-22"It is my small way of paying it forward and a way of showing gratitude for the privileges life has afforded me thus far." Thembalethu Seyisi (21 life lessons @ 21) will be part of the Jakes Gerwel conversations at the Suidoosterfees.
