South Africa

Monday – 8th July 2019

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.

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!

Wednesday – 3rd July 2019

Authors, your once-a-year opportunity to wow Jacana Media is back! Pitch to Publication 2019 is now open

Jacana Media is once again offering authors an opportunity to pitch their books in person.

Tuesday – 2nd July 2019

‘I have a need to tell stories and the stories need to come out’ – Listen to Gail Schimmel discussing her fourth novel, The Accident

Listen to Gail Schimmel in conversation with Radio Today Johannesburg’s Sue Grant-Marshall about her fourth novel, The Accident.

Don’t miss the launch of A Headmaster’s Story by Bill Schroder at Rondebosch Boys’ High School (17 July)

Jonathan Ball Publishers invite you to the launch of A Headmaster’s Story: My Life in Education by Bill Schroder.

Harry Kalmer questions what it means to be human in his latest novel, In ‘n land sonder voëls (Afrikaans)

Earlier this year, Penguin Random House published Harry Kalmer’s latest novel in Afrikaans – In ’n land sonder voëls. 

Monday – 1st July 2019

Read an excerpt from The Enforcers, revealing a brazen plot to assassinate Nelson Mandela at his inauguration

Jonathan Ball Publishers has shared an excerpt from The Enforcers: Inside Cape Town’s Deadly Nightclub Battles by Caryn Dolley.

Now available as audiobooks – Sue Nyathi’s The Gold Diggers and Craig Higginson’s The Dream House!

Pan Macmillan SA has released two new audiobooks: Sue Nyathi’s The Gold Diggers and Craig Higginson’s The Dream House.

Friday – 28th June 2019

Mozambique Hell Run: Trucking Tales of the War by Miguel Mitras

An unforgettable memoir about driving through Africa’s most treacherous roads during the Mozambican civil war. They called it the ‘Hell Run’. 

Friday Night Book Club: Read an excerpt from Achmat Dangor’s powerful and thought-provoking novel Dikeledi

Staying in this evening? Get comfortable with a glass of wine and Achmat Dangor’s Dikeledi – the story of an ordinary family in the extraordinary days of apartheid.

Cover reveal! An Image in a Mirror by Ijangolet S Ogwang is the latest novel to receive a BlackBird Books redesign

BlackBird Books has revealed its latest cover redesign – featuring the publisher’s bold new look!

Struik Nature Publisher Pippa Parker receives Special Honorary Award from the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for Science and Arts)

Pippa Parker, the Publications Manager/Publisher of Struik Nature at Penguin Random House SA, has been awarded a Special Honorary Award by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for Science and Arts).

Free mini workshop with Anthea Gardner, investment specialist and author of Make Your Money Work For You, in Cape Town (11 July)

Jonathan Ball Publishers and Exclusive Books invite you to a free mini workshop by Anthea Gardner, investment guru and author of Make Your Money Work For You.