Books and writers
Information about the latest books and the people behind them
US Woordfees 2018: Dutch writer Ernest van der Kwast
2018-02-28"My latest book is called Jouw toekomst is mijn toekomst (2017) and contains the stories of four students with a refugee background. These are courageous stories that offer a different perspective on people who have made the crossing to Europe."
Water crisis: a country at war
2018-02-15"In the end, like in the book, it boils down to helping one another. There is great blessing in giving a glass of water to a poor and thirsty person. It is a form of healing."
A gap in the hedge by Johan Vlok Louw: book review
2018-02-07"The characters and the surroundings are drawn with the accuracy of a master painter, as the author’s descriptions evoke the hopelessness echoed in the area and in the lives of its inhabitants."
Navigate by Karin Schimke: photos from the launch
2018-02-06Navigate was launched at The Book Lounge on 31 January 2018. Paul Reeves captured the evening with his photos.
Vertical and lateral literary movements in a writer’s career. Breyten Breytenbach’s Windcatcher in the USA and the Low Countries
2018-01-31"Research on the constitution of foreign images of a canonical Afrikaans poet can start right here."
Navigate by Karin Schimke: book launch
2018-01-18You are invited to the launch of Navigate on 31 January in Cape Town. Jolyn Phillips will introduce the poet, Karin Schimke, who will also read from her poetry collection.
Navigate: an interview with Karin Schimke
2018-01-18"On a day-to-day basis, poems rush by me and through me all the time, and only now and again do I have the time to snatch them by their slippery tails and nail them to the page."
As by fire – the end of the South African university by Jonathan Jansen: book review
2018-01-09"Many news reports, blogs and scholarly articles have been written about 'the hashtag movements', but As by fire is the first comprehensive, systematic attempt at analysing the reflections on the movements from the perspectives of the leaders of those universities most closely involved."
In memoriam: Keorapetse Willie Kgositsile – A letter by Breyten Breytenbach
2018-01-04"He lived as if he was a reed for the tunes and the rhythms and the winds of his time, and in that he was the reed of our turbulent passage on earth, perhaps transmitting a very ancient song to us."
Journal 1955–1962: Reflections on the French-Algerian War by Mouloud Feraoun
2017-12-18"This important and moving text is the last completed work by an Algerian Berber novelist and public intellectual who wrote in French, the language in which the original Éditions du Seuil edition appeared in 1962."
My Portuguese feast: an interview with Mimi Jardim
2017-12-06"This book is about a celebration of moods, travels, family, classes – therefore, a feast."
Under Nelson Mandela Boulevard by Sean Christie: a book review
2017-11-29"Christie skilfully weaves historical and social context into the retelling of day-to-day events, from his early encounters with the Beachboys through to his introduction to the slums of Dar es Salaam."
Trevor in the land of fantasy by Sheila Cussons: book launch
2017-11-24"Beautifully illustrated with her own delicate artwork, the quaint characters in Trevor in the land of fantasy come to life, transporting the reader with them into a world of fantasy and imagination." Izak de Vries shares his photos of the Cape Town book launch with LitNet.
A literary guide to KwaZulu-Natal by Niall McNulty and Lindy Stiebel: book launch
2017-11-24You are invited to the launch of A literary guide to KwaZulu-Natal on 30 November in Durban.
Migrations: New short fiction from Africa edited by Efemia Chela, Bongani Kona and Helen Moffett: book review
2017-11-23"Migrations is the fourth SSDA anthology after Feast, famine and potluck: African short stories, Terra incognita: New short speculative stories from Africa and the abovementioned Water. The idea behind the SSDA project is to offer a platform for writers across the African continent and the African diaspora to write about our experience on our own terms, and to support African writers in our endeavours through the SSDA Prize, anthologies and writing workshops."
Brunch across 11 countries by Alix Verrips: book launch
2017-11-14You are invited to the launch of Brunch across 11 countries on 18 November in Claremont. Alix Verrips will be in conversation with Susie Chatz-Anderson.
Press release: Charges laid against Jacques Pauw
2017-11-10"Instead of investigating what Pauw’s explosive new book reveals about the agency – including that millions of rands of taxpayers’ money was blown on a bogus parallel intelligence network – the SSA has chosen to 'shoot the messenger'."
The volksmoeder, ordentlikheid and whiteness
2017-11-09On 6 November, the launch of Sitting Pretty: White Afrikaans Women in Postapartheid South Africa took place in Cape Town. Christi van der Westhuizen, author of Sitting Pretty, was in conversation with Adam Haupt. Read a broad overview of the main discussion points and also listen to the entire discussion.
Press release: The 2017 South African Literary Awards (SALAs) winners announced!
2017-11-09"This year's winners of the South African Literary Awards (SALAs) were announced on Tuesday, 7 November 2017. Authors, poets, writers and literary practitioners whose works are continuously contributing to the enrichment of South Africa’s literary landscape were celebrated in an auspicious ceremony."
Press release: Enemy of the People by Adriaan Basson and Pieter du Toit
2017-11-08“A remarkable, well-researched book, a must read for anyone interested in evidence of state capture and getting South Africa back on track.”