Litnet

"He is not a career politician. Mashaba’s decision to accept the call to leadership within the DA resulted from his desire to serve the people of Johannesburg."

You are invited to the launch of Heart of a strong woman by Xoliswa Nduneni-Ngema on 24 August 2020. She will be in conversation with Fred Khumalo.

LitNet and the Jakes Gerwel Foundation will present a mentorship programme for promising young English and Afrikaans writers in Somerset East from 12 October to 1 November 2020. The programme is intended specifically for short-prose writers – applications are now open.

"It’s important that we understand that femicide is not something that happens only when there is a big story in the news – but it is systemic, and it has been happening over a long period of time; it exists as part of a broader society that has allowed and encouraged violence to be used as a solution or as a means to an end." 

"Space doesn’t allow for a fuller discussion of the author’s conclusions, the main conclusion of which is that a major geopolitical contest between America and China is both inevitable and avoidable."

"Pam Christie’s entire career’s work shines a bright light on our educational fault lines, and now, with this book, she invites us into the decolonial space, which is an impossible space to embrace – maddeningly impossible – yet one which must be occupied and rendered pedagogical."

"I think the way we think about and talk about protests and why they happen has the ability to shape our receptiveness to listening, and I wanted to explore this idea in The fall."

"This is a book that is really worth the read; I am even considering rereading it sometime, which is something that I very rarely do with books."

"It was during a morning beach walk on one of these trips that he pointed out all the 'sea stars' in a rock pool. I was already writing the book, and that scene automatically made it in."

The winner of the Ingrid Jonker Prize for a debut volume of poetry in English published in 2018 and 2019 has been announced.  

"Please could Helen Moffett write the ending to my life story? Listening to Helen’s delightful Charlotte as an audiobook had me weeping in delight as I learned how things turned out in the end for the unobtrusive Charlotte Lucas, one of Elizabeth Bennet’s closest friends in Pride and prejudice."

"Writing is a solitary occupation, and writers enjoy being able to exchange ideas with other writers. The Circle provides them with this opportunity."

"Talking to strangers made me realise yet again that one cannot separate one field of study from the other. History and psychology go hand in hand."

The shortlist for the Ingrid Jonker Prize for debut volumes of poetry in English published in 2018 and 2019 has been announced. The prize is alternately awarded on an annual basis to a first volume of poetry in Afrikaans or English – the two languages in which Ingrid Jonker herself wrote.

"The theory of flight is a beautifully told narrative, memorable and innovative, and a skilfully structured novel."

"21 Lessons for the 21st century was such an insightful read that I gained great respect for the author of this book. I tried to keep notes, as I typically do, but the number of quotations that I loved from this book became so many, that I accepted that I would not be able to use them all in one impression."

"I loved this autobiography of the legendary Sir Elton John!"

"Is Niq saying what I think he is saying? That white judges will choose white winners? And, by implication, black judges will choose black winners? How else is one to interpret his quote, 'But when the judges are white, the people who win will be white'? The judging process is, at the best of times, a highly subjective act, and is not swayed by the race of judges."

Die wenners van die Media24 Boeke Literêre Pryse vir 2020 is vanaand (Donderdag 18 Junie 2020) bekend gemaak. Meer as 80 boeke wat in 2019 by Media24-uitgewerye verskyn het, is vanjaar ingeskryf in ses kategorieë met prysgeld van altesaam R210 000.

Read the commendations of all the books on the shortlist – and the announcement of the winner!