Litnet

The closing date for applications is 25 July 2025 and the residency will take place at Paulet House in KwaNojoli in the Eastern Cape from 29 September to 19 October 2025.

"The world often doesn’t make sense to any thinking person, so taking flight to imaginary worlds can offer comfort – here, often the world does make sense. Magic realism can be a form of sense-making of the world around us, a need that seems to be escalating."

As part of its landmark 25th anniversary celebrations, the Caine Prize for African Writing is pleased to announce the return of its online editing programme.

"What we ask of literary prizes is not infallibility, but integrity, imagination and boldness. The awarding of a prize should strive to be as fearless and far-reaching as the fiction it celebrates."

Journey across epic China – through millennia of early innovation to modern dominance in one riveting, fast-paced read. From ancient times to Xi Jinping, Covid-19 and the “wolf warriors”, here is the vast, complex history of China, distilled into just 250 pages. Jaivin dismantles the idea of a monolithic China, revealing instead a nation of startling diversity. And she gives China’s women, from ancient warriors, inventors and rebels to their 21st-century counterparts, long overdue attention.

"I would really stress to writers, especially creative writers – of fiction and also of creative nonfiction – to develop your voice, your style; don’t turn to AI to develop it for you. There’s a wooden quality to this sort of prose that’s a bore to read."

The Schreiner Karoo Writers Festival is an annual literary celebration held in Cradock, South Africa, featuring writers mainly from the Karoo. Evening gatherings often include dinner-theatre performances, fireside chats, and open mic sessions, complemented by hearty Karoo cuisine and warm hospitality.

"The interpreters is ’n versameling essays wat die tradisionele grense van joernalistiek en literêre skryfwerk uitdaag. Dit is ’n viering van stories wat nie net inlig nie, maar ook emosie, refleksie en kulturele diepte uitlok. Die boekresensent Jonathan Amid het in gesprek getree met die samestellers van die boek, Sean Christie en Hedley Twidle."

"The Great Cattle Killing incident is an extremely sensitive issue among the Xhosa. Nicholas dared to tread where most fear to tread. He handled the topic fairly and with deep empathy. But much of what still needs to be researched and said about the incident remains."

"The more we publish, the brighter it looks, so we are going to continue nurturing this wonderful genre."

"The first book to be launched was Winged words, a short collection of poetry on bird mythology, written by John Samuel and beautifully illustrated by Vulindlela Nyoni. The second was Tested by fire, a biography on Neville Alexander, written by Doreen Musson."

Alan Kirkaldy, recently retired from Rhodes University in Makhanda, was awarded the Vice-Chancellor’s Book Award at the 2025 graduation ceremony for his work Everyday communists in South Africa's liberation struggle. The lives of Ivan and Lesley Schermbrucker.

"So, we sat in a random staff room at the CTICC and ate really bad food, the blandest curry on earth, which I had overheated in the microwave, with plastic forks and styrofoam cups of water while we made small talk for an hour."

South Africa faces severe femicide, and most murderers evade justice. Prisons fail by perpetuating crime; harsher sentences do not help. Edwin Cameron, after visiting prisons, advocates for reform. Along with colleagues, he suggests abolishing minimum sentences, cash bail, and decriminalising drug use to improve safety and justice.

Mannequin Pictures has optioned the screen rights to the political thriller Good Hope, the debut novel of South African author, political advisor and communications specialist, Nick Clelland, for adaptation into a series.  

Soutie Press is excited to launch The interpreters: South Africa’s new non-fiction edited by Sean Christie and Hedley Twidle. Hosted by Lou-Marié Kruger at the Welgevallen Community Clinic in Stellenbosch on 29 May 2025, Sean and Hedley will be in conversation with Jonathan Amid about rare and beloved forms of nonfiction writing emerging from the country over the last 30-plus years.

U word hartlik uitgenooi na die boekbekendstelling van Ill at ease deur Francois Verster op Saterdagoggend van 11:00 tot 13:00 op 14 Junie in Welgemoed. Francois Bloemhof sal in gesprek met die skrywer wees.

You are invited to the book launch of The lucky ones by Alistair Mackay at Love Books in Melville, Johannesburg, on 26 May 2025 from 17:30 for 18:00. Jarred Thompson will be in conversation with Alistair Mackay.

"Though our focus is on black history – because it has been neglected and deliberately suppressed – we tell the entire history, including the over-represented colonial and Afrikaner history. From the booklet, you learn not only about Governor Somerset and Bruintjieshoogte, but also about what was there before the European arrival. You learn who Nojoli was, and how all these histories interlock and are joined at the hip, despite our pretensions."

"The notion of home is intimately tied to an individual’s sense of self. ... This dual meaning of home is certainly a useful way of looking at the new collection of autobiographical poems by Frank Meintjies, A place to night in."