Books and writers
Information about the latest books and the people behind them
The Spiral House by Claire Robertson
2014-01-03 “Claire Robertson’s extensively researched debut novel, The Spiral House, comes after thirty years spent working as a journalist. The novel has garnered praise from various quarters, unsurprisingly, since it seems to engage every nerve and fibre of one’s body and mind, so absorbing is its arc.”
Reader's review: Black Widow Society
2014-01-03 "If anyone dared to say that the burgeoning South African crime fiction scene was light on inventiveness, over-politicised, almost exclusively cornered by Cape writers and lacking in contributions from black female writers, then Angela Makholwa offers a decidedly tart response with her latest novel, Black Widow Society."
African Library: Harare North by Brian Chikwava
2013-12-18 Chikwava’s Harare North ... presents readers with an evocation of conflicted Zimbabwean identities ... and with making lives for themselves in Britain, where so many of their compatriots have inserted themselves ... (T)hey have mockingly re-named London 'Harare North' (Johannesburg being known as 'Harare South')."
Skinned by Antjie Krog
2013-12-04 "The poet thus becomes the text, inhabits the text and becomes part of the articulations and rhythms of the text." Franci Vosloo discusses why Skinned is a good representation of Krog's oeuvre and the essence of Krog's poetics.
Announcing the 2013 European Union literary award winner
2013-11-28 Participating European Union members and Jacana Media are delighted to announce Penny Busetto as the winner of the 2013 European Union Literary Award for 2013 .
The War at Home: An interview with Bill Nasson
2013-11-12 "Some (black people) were loyal and trusted servants of Boer families, others were participants in the running of the camp system. You could say that there were divided loyalties. Or, that for some there were no loyalties – they were just doing their best to get through the war."
2013 ACT Lifetime Achievement Awards: Winner profiles
2013-11-12 “The Arts & Culture Trust named author Elsa Joubert as the 2013 winner of the ACT Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature, sponsored by Media24 Books, in Johannesburg today.”
Finding the writer where the stories begin
2013-11-11 An interview with award-winning South African author Linda Rode about the award-winning book In die Nimmer-Immer Bos / In the Never Ever Wood.
October by Réney Warrington: Photos of book launch
2013-11-11 Réney Warrington’s October (published by Protea) was launched on 8 November 2013 at Bibliophilia in Woodstock, Cape Town. Réney Warrington was in conversation with Izak de Vries. Hannelie Coetzee shared her photos of the evening with LitNet.
Review: For the Mercy of Water
2013-11-04 "Inspired by Jayes’s experience as a newspaper journalist covering events in the Middle East, For the Mercy of Water is concerned with the ways in which control over access to water can be used as a political tool."
Blossoms of the Savannah by HR Ole Kulet
2013-10-29"Ole Kulet evinces profound admiration of most aspects of Maa lifestyle and tradition, and the fact that he writes this novel from an insider’s perspective strengthens the validity of his balanced representation of a fraught issue and a valuable African culture."
BookBedonnerd VI: Full programme
2013-10-21 The theme of this year’s Booktown Richmond’s Festival, BookBedonnerd VI, is Alice in Booktown Land. The festival takes place from 23 to 25 October 2013.
Rethinking Thinking: Modernity’s “Other” and the transformation of the University
2013-10-10 "This book is about the need for the transformation of higher education in South Africa. It problematises thinking about universities, and thinking in universities."
Kasrils’s battle for a free South Africa
2013-10-01 "In the fourth edition of his memoir, Armed and dangerous, former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils recounts his journey as an Umkhonto we Sizwe operative and a member of cabinet following the collapse of apartheid."
Photos: Book Launch of Call it Dog by Marli Roode
2013-09-18 South African-born Marli Roode lives in London and recently visited South Africa for the launch of her debut novel, Call it Dog. The Johannesburg launch was at Love Books, Melville.
Boyhood: Reader's review
2013-09-18 "Coetzee is a skilful didactic lecturer as well. He withdraws himself from those pages, leaving one alone with his faint shadow and words, without ever telling one what he is really saying."
Umuzi Fiction: Giveaway – winner announced
2013-09-17 Umuzi is pleased to announce a fiction giveaway on LitNet. A lucky reader can win three books published by Umuzi. The winner of the competition is Nadia Taljaard. Congratulations, Nadia!
Open Book Festival 2013: The Ghost-Eater and other stories
2013-09-17 "The Ghost-Eater and other stories is a collection of 31 short stories from different writers who all took part in a creative writing workshop at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) with the compiler of the book, Diane Awerbuck, last year."