South Africa

Tuesday – 9th July 2019

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.

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.