Books and writers

Information about the latest books and the people behind them

Fresh off the press: Give us more guns by Mark Shaw

LitNet Books and writers 2021-04-21

One senior police officer’s crime: his decision to sell millions of rands’ worth of guns to fund his children’s university fees.

Heritage to ashes, dust to dust

Karina Magdalena Szczurek Books and writers 2021-04-20

"What I remember most is the silent communication, between researcher and librarian, between researcher and the past – in my case literary."

Persverklaring | Press release: Sanlampryse vir Jeuglektuur, 2021-kortlyste | 2021 Sanlam prizes for youth literature, shortlists

LitNet Jonathan Ball-portaal 2021-04-19

Sanlam en Tafelberg Uitgewers kondig met trots die finaliste vir die 2021-Sanlampryse vir Jeuglektuur aan. | Sanlam and Tafelberg Publishers are delighted to announce the 2021 finalists for the Sanlam Prizes for Youth Literature.

The lazy makoti’s guide to the kitchen by Mogau Seshoene – reader impression

Louise Viljoen (JBay) Books and writers 2021-04-15

"If you’re on a hunt for a cookbook that leads you through kitchen basics and teaches you foody tips, tricks and fresh ideas, look no further."

All rise: A judicial memoir by Dikgang Moseneke – reader impression

Barend van der Merwe Books and writers 2021-04-15

"Very few books that I have read in my life have been so eloquently composed as this one."

Fresh off the press: Hidden Karoo by Patricia Kramer and Alain Proust

LitNet Books and writers 2021-04-14

Hidden Karoo presents a snapshot of the region, offering a glimpse into towns and villages, farms and churches, public buildings and private homes, all against a backdrop of awe-inspiring landscapes.

Press release: 2021 Commonwealth short-story prize shortlist announced

LitNet Books and writers 2021-04-14

South African writer Zoë Wicomb praised the "novel use of local non-standard Englishes as well as inventive inscription of native languages."

Review of 1986 by William Dicey

Helen Moffett Books and writers 2021-04-13

"This is a hallmark of the book that I personally found fascinating: the way Dicey returns women’s stories to the overarching narrative of that year."

Invitation: Launch of Bloody Sunday by Mignonne Breier

LitNet Jonathan Ball-portaal 2021-04-08

Tafelberg and Exclusive Books invite you to join the book launch via online webinar of Bloody Sunday by Mignonne Breier.

Johanne 14 by Hope Malau: a reader impression

Louise Viljoen (JBay) Books and writers 2021-04-01

"In a time in South Africa when we are trying to understand each other more than ever, when we are experimenting with ideas of unity, diversity and forgiveness, while still staying true to ourselves, Johanne 14 is a quiet celebration of the things that really matter, that which lies at the heart of it all – like the perfect cabbage."

First sip: Rogues’ Gallery by Matthew Blackman and Nick Dall

LitNet LitNet Eerste Slukkie | First Sip 2021-03-26

If you reckon corruption in South Africa began with Zuma or even with apartheid, it’s time to catch a wake-up call.

Invitation to the launch of Yesterdays and imagining realities: an anthology of South African poetry

LitNet Books and writers 2021-03-19

We hope you may be able to join us for the launch of Yesterdays and imagining realities: an anthology of South African poetry this Sunday 21 March at 15h00.

Press release: Young children’s book author to meet COVID-19 expert Uzma Syed

LitNet Books and writers 2021-03-19

The books uniquely tell the story of the pandemic through the eyes of disadvantaged communities. 

Hidden Johannesburg by Paul Duncan and Alain Proust, a review

Paul Murray Books and writers 2021-03-16

"Duncan and Proust have compiled a magnificent book, a feast for the eye. In it, they have captured numerous buildings, each with its own intriguing story."

Hidden Karoo by Patricia Kramer and Alain Proust, a preview

Penguin Random House South Africa PRH/LAPA-Uitgewersportaal 2021-03-16

Here dreams are born, legends are made, and outcasts find sanctuary. It is also an ancient place, whose story is revealed through geology, fossils and artefacts.

Walking in the shadow by Carmen Radtke: an inter-review

Janet van Eeden, Carmen Radtke Books and writers 2021-03-11

"The story of Jimmy Kokupe is an unlikely subject for a historical drama, but his character is based on one of a number of men who were sent to the island by the British colony to live out their days in isolation during the early 1900s."

Still life by Zoë Wicomb – reader impression

Willem Krog Books and writers 2021-03-04

"If there is a recent literary work that can serve as an important example for fiction writers, Still life, in my view, is it."

Book launch: It’s not about the bats by Adam Cruise

LitNet Jonathan Ball-portaal 2021-03-02

Join the Zoom webinar on the 15th of March 2021.

African library: Chasing the tails of my father’s cattle by Sindiwe Magona

Annie Gagiano Books and writers 2021-03-01

"What she conveys (sometimes emphatically and sometimes more obliquely) in this text is a conviction that a culture needs both growth and pruning – as a living thing that should adapt to its surroundings. If tradition stalls and hardens into ideology, it stultifies rather than nurtures both communal and individual life."

Reader impression: Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you who you are by Muako Maepa

Louise Viljoen (JBay) Books and writers 2021-03-01

"What I love about this cookbook is not only the fact that a teenage boy has brought such a marvellous gift to the world, but that I, as a reader, am treated to delightful glimpses of Muako’s life."

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