Books and writers
Information about the latest books and the people behind them
Yellowface by RF Kuang: a book review
2023-05-29"This book is a critique not only of the publishing world, but of our Western culture and late-capitalism-induced way of life."
Press release: The art and craft of editing (UCT Summer School)
2023-05-26Editing encompasses a wide range of skills and procedures, many of which are mysteries to the reading public, and hotly debated even within the publishing and journalism fields.
Press release: Creative Fiction Writing (UCT Summer School)
2023-05-26This online course is designed for the creative writer who hopes to tangibly improve their creative work. Over the course of six two-hour sessions, we will explore the fundamental elements of creative writing.
Short.Sharp.Stories anthology Fluid: interview with David Medalie, author of "Milly takes a husband"
2023-05-24"It’s gratifying to see how many people from diverse backgrounds want to write, how many stories are waiting to be told, how many new talents are emerging. That does make me optimistic."
Short.Sharp.Stories anthology Fluid: interview with Diane Awerbuck, author of "The ones that got away"
2023-05-24"We all have those roads-in-the-yellow-wood dudes – the unready loves who left us, or we left. Sometimes, in the small, shuddery hours, they come back. I think about them; I’m glad I knew them."
Fresh off the press: 21 Voices from Israel and South Africa by Marthie Momberg
2023-05-24The conversations with 21 activists from South Africa and Israel who campaign for Palestinian rights shatter perceptions cultivated by widespread propaganda to show that the issue is, after all, not so difficult to understand.
Press release: The annual Schreiner Karoo Writers Festival – a fulcrum of exceptional creative encounters
2023-05-20This June, in the middle of the knypkoue Karoo winter, Cradockians are opening their hearths and hearts to all to warm their souls at the Schreiner Karoo Writers Festival, where creatives gather to meet and share and celebrate the art of the word and the legacy of Olive Schreiner.
Corrupted by Jonathan Jansen: a book review
2023-05-18"If 'corrupted' in his title seems like an exaggeration, read the book. It is soul-destroying to see such evidence of institutions that ought to be custodians of the highest standards in civil society being so susceptible to looting, extortion, fraud, bullying, even assassinations. Many of our universities are in the same state as the most beleaguered of our municipalities and state-owned enterprises."
There is no us: A reader’s impression of Eye brother horn by Bridget Pitt
2023-05-18"It is impossible to skim through Bridget Pitt’s brilliantly crafted and meticulously researched historical novel, which relates its story from 1862 to July 1879. Eye brother horn is like a rip current by which the reader is swept into an inescapable historical reality."
Short.Sharp.Stories anthology Fluid: interview with Anna Hug, author of "Fynbos"
2023-05-17"... I think the gold in running a competition like this is seeing just how differently people come at it, how rich and wide the inspiration."
Short.Sharp.Stories anthology Fluid: interview with Nedine Moonsamy, author of "The jump"
2023-05-17"South Africa is a nation that experiences constant crises and undergoes vast amounts of emotional stress, so I’m looking at how we turn to fiction to write reparative and cathartic narratives for and about ourselves."
Eye brother horn by Bridget Pitt: A review
2023-05-16"The strength of Pitt’s writing is her rare ability to repudiate without judgement or condemnation. Her arguments, worn with artistic lightness, go beyond mere politicising."
Press Release: Truth to power; PRH will take legal action against illegal distribution
2023-05-15The distribution of pirated copies infringes our copyright as well as that of the author, and it is unlawful in terms of the Copyright Act of 1976.
Winning the property game: an interview with Koketso Sylvia Milosevic
2023-05-15"In my book, Winning the property game, I cover a variety of property investment strategies, including ways to invest in property while still working a full-time job. I understand that not everyone can just quit their job and dive head first into property investing, and that’s why I provide practical advice on how to start building a property portfolio while still maintaining a steady income stream."
Press release: Truth to power – my three years inside Eskom by André de Ruyter
2023-05-15De Ruyter takes the reader inside the boardrooms and government meetings where South Africa’s future is shaped, with ministers often pulling in conflicting directions. He explains how renewable energy is the cheapest and quickest solution to our power crisis, in spite of fierce opposition from vested coal interests.
Apartheid’s Stalingrad by Rory Riordan: a book review
2023-05-10"When I received the book for review, my first reaction was, 'It’s far too long'. However, once I started reading, I struggled to put it down."
Press release: K Sello Duiker’s well-known The hidden star is available in isiXhosa
2023-05-10For the first time K Sello Duiker’s well-known The hidden star is available in isiXhosa. Inkwenkwezi efihlakeleyo was translated by Xolisa Guzula and published by Penguin Random House South Africa.
The veil of Maya by Chantal Stewart: a review
2023-05-09"The author takes us from academia in Cape Town to the traditional areas of Lubombo in Eswatini. She mirrors the theme of different realities in pitting Lena’s Western methods of investigative medicine against the traditional stories and beliefs of the Swati."
Fresh off the press: Winnie & Nelson: Portrait of a marriage by Jonny Steinberg
2023-05-09Drawing on never-before-seen material, Steinberg reveals the fractures and stubborn bonds at the heart of a volatile and groundbreaking union; a very modern political marriage that played out on the world stage.
Of babalelas and bullies: A tribute to Martie Preller
2023-05-08"Well-known author Martie Preller was offering interactive story-making workshops for aspiring Afrikaans and English writers across South Africa. The workshop focused on the core of her writing correspondence course, the idea that the author is the source of the author’s own stories."
