Litnet

PEN South Africa is excited to announce a new six-episode season of The Empty Chair podcast.

How do we represent Africa as a multicultural, multifaceted continent to our readers? How do we embrace diversity in early readers for Africa’s kids? And how do we market our wonderful African stories to a Eurocentric world?

In this, the fifth episode of his monthly podcast series, David Attwell talks to Zakes Mda about his latest, and possibly his last, novel. 

"This is a simple tale of a love-struck man, wanting out from what has become a tedious and unfulfilling life. In essence, it is a tragicomedy, a fated love story, a fable of our times, in which Tubby Reddy is himself complicit."

It’s that time again! Join us for our fifth annual #ReadingAfrica Week celebration. Each year, in the first full week of December (this year, December 5–11, 2021), we invite publishers, authors, librarians, literary organisations, bookstores and book lovers of all kinds to share the best in African literature across social media.

If you number yourself among the yearners, or perhaps even want to dip your toes in the waters of fiction, or need to satisfy your curiosity about what being “sunnies” to an author’s wild imaginings entails, then why not join PEG’s climactic webinar of 2021?

"Sol T Plaatje: A life in letters provides an important glimpse into the life of Plaatje, his ideas, his relationships and the world in which he lived. Another important feature of note in the book is the index, which is critically important and will greatly ease the task of future researchers."

Poet PJ Philander was born on 25 November 1921. Nearing what would have been PJ Philander’s 100th birthday, his son Peter Harker Philander shares an essay about his father with LitNet readers: "[PJ Philander] missed Afrikaans and Afrikaans speakers and sought them out when he could."

While this book exposes corporate corruption and lifts the lid on foreign profiteering and the weakening of South Africa’s public institutions, it also highlights the lonely burden of the whistleblower and the great personal cost of telling the truth in the face of overwhelming pressure.

Janet van Eeden: "I tried to interview Athol Williams about his new book of poetry called Whistleblowing, but the timing was never quite right, as he was fearing for his safety. Therefore, I put together comments of my own and quoted from poems from his above publication to create a commentary, and also cited an earlier interview I did with Williams in 2012."

"The elections bring more uncertainty in the system. The elections show that the ANC is indeed in trouble, but so is the DA."

"After planting the bomb, Harris phoned a warning to the station police and to two national newspapers half an hour before it was timed to explode, but no warning was relayed to station commuters on the concourse."

"Regrettably, Mr de Lange is incorrect to think of SALA as a competition. Instead, it is a celebration of the literary craft as an instrument of artistic, creative and cultural expression within the context of our diverse and multicultural society."

The Madibaland World Literary Festival takes place from 20 to 28 November 2021. Here is the full programme. Register now! It is free.

"I recommend it – engrossing and tender – to all who face the challenges of letting go, to readers heading for a time of life without children, perhaps without partners, and considering, with hope, what fruitful – also intense and challenging – years may lie ahead."

"The flight of the bat is an engaging, thought-provoking novella and a valuable addition to the growing genre of South African speculative fiction."

It’s been another helluva year, and who better to make sense of it than Zapiro, cartoonist, political analyst and agent provocateur?

Each year during the first full week of December, we invite publishers, authors, educators, librarians, readers, and book-lovers of all kinds to use the hashtag #ReadingAfrica across social media to highlight posts that celebrate African literature.

The 16th South African Literary Awards ceremony was held on 7 November 2021. Here is the complete list of winners.

"I wanted to make the point that competitive parenting has become a worldwide phenomenon."