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Thursday – 11th July 2019
First-ever book festival on the Cape Flats announced: The Read to Rise Book Festival (31 Aug-1 Sep)
A new book festival to be held in Mitchells Plain has been announced by Read to Rise.
Wednesday – 10th July 2019
Watch the book trailer for No Neutral Ground: Finding Jesus in a Cape Town Ghetto by Pete Portal, shot on location in the Cape Flats
No Neutral Ground is the gripping account of Pete Portal’s move from London to Manenberg, of addicts and gangsters meeting Jesus and being transformed and all the heartbreak and failure along the way.
‘Does any writer have the right to tell any story?’ Lacuna author Fiona Snyckers talks about writing Lucy Lurie, who is ‘not a metaphor’
Pan Macmillan recently chatted to Fiona Snyckers about her highly charged new novel, Lacuna, a response to JM Coetzee’s 1999 novel Disgrace.
I Choose To Live: Life After Losing Gugu – Letshego Zulu’s tragic and inspiring memoir
When Letshego Zulu set off with her husband, South African racing champion Gugulethu Zulu, to conquer Mount Kilimanjaro in July 2016, she had no idea that she would return to South Africa days later with her husband’s body in a coffin.
Tuesday – 9th July 2019
New book alert! Susan Newham-Blake’s As if Born to You – a story of secrets, trauma and finding healing in unexpected places
As if Born to You, the new novel by Susan Newham-Blake, the author of Making Finn, is out now from Penguin Random House.
Is there hope after state capture? Find out in After Dawn by former Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas
From the pen of the former deputy finance minister of South Africa, Mcebisi Jonas, comes After Dawn: Hope After State Capture.
‘Either the next big thing or total bulls–t’: Read how the Winklevoss brothers got over losing Facebook in Bitcoin Billionaires
From Ben Mezrich comes Bitcoin Billionaires – the fascinating story of brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss’s big bet on cryptocurrency and its dazzling pay-off.
Nigerian author Lesley Nneka Arimah has won the 2019 Caine Prize for African Writing
Nigerian author Lesley Nneka Arimah has won the twentieth edition of the Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story ‘Skinned’.
Celebrate Black Girls in Literature and Women’s Month with BlackBird Books and Bridge Books in Joburg (10 August)
BlackBird Books, an imprint of Jacana Media, invites you to a Black Girls in Literature event at Bridge Books in Johannesburg – in celebration of Women’s Month!
Monday – 8th July 2019
2019 South African Book Fair – find out more about the authors and events!
The 2019 South African Book Fair will take place from 6–8 September at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg.
The most dangerous lies are the ones we tell ourselves. A Good Enough Mother by Bev Thomas
An utterly compelling drama with a timebomb at its core, A Good Enough Mother is a brilliant, beautiful story of mothering, and how to let go of the ones we love when we must.
Claire Robertson’s award-winning novel The Spiral House to be made into an international film
Filmmaker Erica Brumage has optioned film rights for the sweeping, gloriously told novel The Spiral House by Claire Robertson.
FOREsight: Awaken curiosity. Cultivate wisdom. Discover the abundant future. John Sanei’s latest book is on shelves now!
Bestselling author John Sanei’s latest book FOREsight is on shelves now!
Sarah Ladipo Manuika’s debut novel In Dependence explores the complexities of contemporary Africa
In Dependence is a lyrical and moving story of unfulfilled love fraught with the weight of history, race and geography and intertwined with questions of belonging, ageing, faith and family secrets.
Friday – 5th July 2019
Friday Night Book Club: Read an excerpt from Nthikeng Mohlele’s spellbinding novel Pleasure
The Friday Night Book Club: Exclusive excerpts from Pan Macmillan every weekend! Staying in this evening? Get comfortable with a glass of wine …
Zola Nene wins Best TV Celebrity Chef prize at the International Gourmand Awards
Zola Nene has been announced as the winner of the Best TV Celebrity Chef in English Award at the International Gourmand Awards!
Don’t miss the launch of Malawian storyteller Upile Chisala’s book Soft Magic at Exclusive Books Sandton City (10 July)
Jonathan Ball Publishers and Exclusive Books invite you to the launch of Soft Magic by Upile Chisala.
Call for applications: BlackBird Books Writer’s Residency for young African womxn at Casa Lorde, Pretoria
BlackBird Books, an imprint of Jacana Media, as well as Casa Lorde and Eunice Ngogodo Own Voices Initiative are setting up a writer’s residency for young African womxn who are starting their careers as writers.
Thursday – 4th July 2019
2019 Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award longlist announced!
Announcing the longlisted poems for the 2019 Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award & Anthology
Footnotes, July 2019: Book links from around the web
At The Reading List, we’re trainspotters when it comes to interesting book links, and here are a number that caught our eye over the last month. Browse and enjoy!