Thabiso Mahlape, the founder of BlackBird Books, has been profiled by the World of Women Project for the invaluable work she does in book publishing.

WOW’s ambition is to draw up a global panorama of inspiring women with varied backgrounds in order to offer new models of female success. During the second half of last year, they interviewed 100 women from 10 African countries.

BlackBird is a pioneering publisher focused on introducing young Black writers and their works to a larger audience, while maintaining a strong South African identity.

This is what WOW had to say about Mahlape’s work:

South African literature is taking a new turn with Thabiso Mahlape, the first black woman at the head of a publishing house in South Africa. Incubated by Jacana Media, Thabiso launched BlackBird Books, a publishing home to both new voices and the existing generation of black writers. From intern to the direction of a publishing house, Thabiso talks about her ascension in the very competitive and discriminatory publishing world.

In the interview, the publisher is asked about her greatest pride, the inspirational women in her life, and for some words of advice.

Mahlape’s career advice for the new generation of women is:

‘Stay strong in what you do, stay focused, and don’t let yourself be easily distracted by gender politics. Don’t explain yourself. Your visibility is enough, and you don’t always need to be visible to do important, impactful work.’

Watch the video:

Categories Fiction Non-fiction South Africa

Tags BlackBird Books Book Publishing Jacana Media Publishing Thabiso Mahlape Videos World of Women