events

Shudu’s happy and carefree childhood seems far away when she moves towns and is bullied by her new classmates for being outsiders. But her special friendships help her feel like she belongs. Deep inside, Shudu has a spark, a special kind of strength she didn’t even know existed. She finds her voice and can be herself. I am Shudu is an empowering coming-of-age story that will inspire readers to celebrate who they are and to dream big dreams! 

A new family has moved in next door. Vuyo can see them from his bedroom window. The mom is dancing, the dad is laughing, the dog keeps wagging its tail … Why does the little girl look sad? It is a lyrical book about friendship and kindness that encourages young children to accept and support others. Join us, send us an RSVP at bookcirclecapital@gmail.com

Lessons from Past Heroes” – a book that delves into the lives of South Africa’s achievers of the pre-1994 era. Much has been written about South Africa’s pre-1994 era – but none of the people who have written on this subject lived most of their lives after apartheid. TM Publisher

What’s Your Money Personality? will change the way you view and manage your individual and family finances. Discover the secrets behind your unique money personality and unravel the intricate web of cultural, generational, and personal influences that shape your financial behavior. Eye-opening anecdotes, relatable case studies, and expert insights empower you to understand, embrace, and transcend your money archetype. PanMacMillan Publishers

In The Girl Who Survived Her Mother, she details the years of her torturous relationship with her mother, maps the intergenerational nature of the trauma in her family, and reveals how she was finally able to begin her journey of healing. Today she helps clients around the world face their most shameful question — how do I love myself when the person who carried me and gave birth to me cannot? – NB Publishers

Some children look a bit different from others and even different from their own parents, of course only on the outside. Discover through a fun experiment why it is so and why we are all special.

Luzuko Goba, a South African studying at Oxford, navigates the worlds of the undocumented, and the people living on the margins of life in Oxford, England. His father, a former political exile, has just died, and Luzuko is weighing up his father’s life of sacrifice and the price they both paid for freedom back home. This is a book about wayfarers, out of time, and on the wrong side of the UK’s department of immigration. They are the paperless. Sweeping and soulful, Buntu Siwisa observes the hidden and exceptional modern lives of migrant Africans in England in this beautiful debut.

Join us for the launch of Self Publishing to 6 Figures  with Darren August on Saturday, 21 October 2023. Bestselling author (A Teacher Changed My Life), coach and publisher at Inspired Publishing. Darren has published over 100 books and he has also coached over 3000 people to write their books through his annual writing masters classes hosted nationally. The book is for people who are passionate about sharing their stories, making and impact and leaving a legacy

Sol Plaatje’s Diary was only published for the first time in 1973. Fifty years on we both celebrate and take stock. We have brought together a distinguished cast of writers, drawn from several different disciplines, to engage creatively with the diary. This book includes short stories inspired by Plaatje and his diary; an exploration of Plaatje’s use of language; accounts of the historical and literary contexts that shaped the diary and the impact it had; the connections between Plaatje’s experiences during the siege and his later career as a journalist.

Breasts, etc. is a novel of double consciousness. It is an exploration of, and meditation on the existential strife and tragic comedy at the Frontier, a postapocalyptic and desolate landscape that forms the backdrop to an examination of masculine vulnerabilities and wickedness in a world stripped of feminine presence and wisdom. The novel is set in the future world that haunts portrait photographer and narrator, James Baldwin, as he alternates between present-day South Africa and the Frontier — an existential dystopia where women are inexplicably completely and permanently wiped from the world. This, according to him, can only mean extinctions of varying and catastrophic degrees.

The biography is written by renowned poet and writer Mongane Serote. It covers Mompati’s early life and political awakening, her personal and political life while in exile as one of the very first women members of the ANC’s military wing, uMkhonto uMkhonto we Sizwe, and as a member of the ANC’s senior leadership. It also deals with her role in the negotiations to end apartheid in the early 1990s and her contribution to the reconstruction of the country after 1994 in various roles in government.

A Country of Two Agricultures focuses less on history and more on the present and the future, explaining why these disparities have persisted in the democratic era, and what it will take to overcome them. It aims to contribute to a better understanding of the variety of agricultural forces, taking into account both questions of domestic political economy and external factors, as well as to bring to light new risks and opportunities. Wandile Sihlobo offers insights into the role of agriculture in the South African economy from an agricultural economy perspective, and provides political economy insights that are rooted in the experiences of farming communities on the ground and right through the value chain.

 

Original and forceful, At Fire Hour delivers Bheki Makhathini, a South African character study for the ages. Suspected of betraying the ANC, the young poet left home for exile in 1976, and until his return home after the unbanning in 1990, Bheki writes the story of a revolution – an unfinished one.
Gilder allows Bheki the freedom to deal with the big ideas of art and love, freedom and struggle in a shrewd and vivid way, the result being an unforgettable and deeply moving tale.

Life histories of 40 women who fought with Poqo, the military wing of the PAC; uMkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the ANC, and the township-based self-defence units, from 1961 to 1994. “This groundbreaking study affirms women’s exceptional contribution to South Africa’s armed struggle. From the ‘transnational guerrillas’ who joined MK or APLA in exile, to the ‘combative mothers’ inside the trenches of South Africa’s rural villages and black townships, women have proudly fought for South Africa’s liberation and their own emancipation through their actions, commitment and beliefs.” Arianna Lissani, Wits History Workshop

Join us for the launch of Making Friend with Feelings, a compassionate story that teaches boys that it is okay to cry when they are sad and that is healthy to express their emotions. Bring the children for a fun and insightful book reading where author Sewela Langeni and illustrator Subi Bosa will engage the kids on the process of writing this book while also highlighting the importance of expressing one’s feelings. Subi will also share some basic facts about the art of illustrating children’s books.

Azad Essa is an award-winning journalist and author based between Johannesburg and New York City. He is currently a senior reporter for Middle East Eye covering American foreign policy, Islamophobia and race in the US. Join us as we discuss his latest book Hostile Homelands: The New Alliance Between India and Israel. Hostile Homelands puts India’s relationship with Israel in its historical context, looking at the origins of Zionism and Hindutva; India’s changing position on Palestine; and the countries’ growing military-industrial relationship from the 1990s. Lucid and persuasive, Essa demonstrates that the India-Israel alliance spells significant consequences for democracy, the rule of law, and justice worldwide.

I Write the Yawning Void is a collection of essays that highlight her engagement with writing that span the transition from apartheid to the post-apartheid period and addresses themes such as HIV/Aids, language and culture, home, and belonging. These essays bring to life many facets of Dr. Sindiwe Magona’s personal history as well as her deepest convictions, her love for her country and despair at the problems that continue to plague it, and her belief in her ability to activate change. They demonstrate Magona’s engaging storytelling and mastery of the essay form which serve as meaningful supplements to her fictional works, while simultaneously offering insightful responses to the conditions that inspired them.

Both India and South Africa have shared the infamy of being labeled the world’s ‘rape capitals’, with high levels of everyday gender-based and sexual violence. At the same time, both boast long histories of resisting such violence and its location in wider cultures of patriarchy, settler colonialism, and class and caste privilege.

Through the lens of the #MeToo moment, the book tracks histories of feminist organizing in both countries, while also revealing how newer strategies extended or limited these struggles. Intimacy and injury is a timely mapping of a shifting political field around gender-based violence in the global south.

Mpumi and Gogo share a special bond. They enjoy their time together – which often involves making meals together. When Gogo becomes ill and does not come back from the hospital, Mpumi is left with a very sad heart. Her friends and neighbors make a feast full of love to help Mpumi and her family remember Gogo in a special way.
In this poignant, insightful book, Mpumi and her friends reveal the redemptive importance of edible expressions of love.

Noni Jabavu was the first black South African woman to publish books on her life. Her memoirs Drawn in Colour and The Ochre People have been compared to Zora Neale Hurston’s work. A cosmopolitan, free-spirited woman, she returned home in 1977 and wrote a weekly column in the Daily Dispatch. This book is a compilation of these cheeky, insightful and hilarious columns for a younger audience of empowered women – NB Publishers.

An Angel’s Demise is an epic saga that explores a contested legacy and the heartrending destiny of a family. An Angel’s Demise, Sue Nyathi’s fourth novel, is a gripping tale infused with spirituality.

 It recounts an explosive story of love, war, bloody massacre and betrayal that encompasses a harrowing history, the cruel caprice of politics, gender-based violence and what happens when ordinary people get caught up in lies – Pan MacMillan SA

Journalist Lesley Mofokeng investigates the life of his remarkable grandfather, Mongangane Wilfred Mofokeng, a prominent Dutch Reformed Church evangelist, who built a thriving community out of the dust of the far North West. The journey takes him from Joburg’s Marabi-soaked townships of the 1930s to his childhood home of Gelukspan near Lichtenburg and then to the rural Free State and the remote mountain kingdom of Lesotho. In what becomes a spiritual quest, he traces the inspirational footsteps of his ancestors and the legendary King Moshoeshoe. In the process, Mofokeng proudly claims his heritage and also uncovers a long-lost chapter of South African history and the church of the apartheid regime – Jonathan Ball Publishers

This is the story of a little boy growing up in in a big Lebanese family in Mayfair, in Johannesburg, 60 years ago. It tells of his relationship with his mom, whose deep faith gave her the fearless courage to face injustice. This inspired a spiritual journey which led him from fighting bullies at school to becoming a young revolutionary fighting apartheid.

As a young man facing difficult contradictions of life under apartheid, he and his friends courageously took action to narrow the contradictions between life’s struggles in the light of their faith. With the idealism of youth, they had a curiously certain sense that God carried them forward on an unstoppable wave

This is a story about a woman; a story about her struggle. As the survivor of great tragedy; this is a story about triumph. Despite only being 33 years old, Zoleka Mandela has endured enough to fill several lifetimes. While she may be a member of South Africa’s own royal family, Zoleka has not led a sheltered life. She has travelled down paths which most would not dare; from the horror of losing two children within two years, to the shadowy journey through cocaine addiction and rehab, and being diagnosed with cancer. Zoleka Mandela is not a victim. She is a survivor, and her story serves as testimony to the strength of the human spirit in fighting against life’s challenges.

This is a thought-provoking account by a South African who asks uncomfortable questions and forces his compatriots to contemplate what the future of this country (or cowntry) might hold. Why ‘cowntry’, Sihle? Consider the shady characters who’ve been milking this piece of land for centuries. And the fact that some politicians mispronounce the word ‘country’. But who knows? Maybe it is not mispronunciation – perhaps they’re giving us a message: the people in power are milking this country and it’s all just a game – Penguin Random House

This is a debut novel by author Lufuno Mulaudzi. The author takes you back in time, 1206AD the Kingdom of Mpemba Kasi and the Kingdom of Mapungubwe, where we meet Dini, an orphan, our protagonist, or is he the antagonist?

Dini is banished from his village under very suspicious conditions, even though he doesn’t know what he did. His path however leads him to discover his roots, a journey several years in the making which culminates into a plot twist that will have you shocked! – Blank Page Books

The book celebrates the life of an accomplished South African whose work was recognised with several awards, including the highest honour in South Africa, the order of Mapungubwe for his contribution to Science. An NRF-A rated scientist who discovered the gene mutation that causes a type of heart muscle disease.
The book covers different chapters of his life from birth to death at the age of 51. An African Legend who believed in conquering the academic Everest, one basecamp after the other, lifting others as he rose, with his eye on the eradication of diseases of poverty from the African continent in our lifetime – Sifiso Publishing

Mandla J. Radebe has written the first, full account of the South African revolutionary, Jabulani Nobleman ‘Mzala’ Nxumalo. Intimate and analytical, this powerful and searching biography of one of the liberation movement’s chief critical thinkers, writer and constant questioner, The Lost Prince of the ANC traces Mzala’s life from birth to his untimely death in London in 1991, at the age of 35.

Radebe’s insightful life of Mzala, is the story too, of the radical tradition of the liberation movement, which flourished during its underground days – Jacana.

In this book, Lihle, Jolie, Camilla, Nomonde and Bongi women from very different walks of life openly share their stories, providing an insider perspective on the life seen on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Pinterest: The lavish holidays, the designer bags, the dinners and champagne and the luxury vehicles that make the Soft Life so irresistible.

Feminist thinker, author and anthropologist Lebohang Masango explores the many dimensions of this phenomenon, grounding her often unexpected insights in South African pop culture and prominent women who have made this lifestyle the staple of gossip blogs – NB Publishing.