PAGECAST: Season 1: Recent Episodes
PAGECAST by Jonathan Ball Publishers
Released every Monday at 7 am, Pagecast Season 1 offers you insider interviews with recently published authors and their latest books. We look into the process of writing these books, explore the narratives within and provide you with the story behind the story.
"There's patent litigation right now over the God molecule. I just think it's the most absurd thing."
What happens when an ethereal, ego-dissolving experience runs headlong into big pharma? Dan Corder chats to journalist Kimon de Greef on The Ego Trip, and the strange final act of the toad story: 5-MeO-DMT quietly becoming one of the smart bets to be the next clinical psychedelic treatment. They talk about why a half-hour trip is so seductive to a market-driven industry, the patent wars already breaking out over the God molecule, and the push to administer it without any accompanying psychotherapy at all. Kimon also makes a plea for the toads themselves, magnificent, grotesque creatures being tossed into buckets, over-milked and left in the sun as the movement they never asked to be part of goes global.
Kimon de Greef's new book is The Ego Trip: Psychedelic Toads, a Trail of Deaths, and the Guru Who Peddled Transcendence.
Kimon de Greef is one of the most important non-fiction writers working today. His work has appeared in National Geographic, The Guardian, The New Yorker and The New York Times, and his previous book, Poacher, drew wide acclaim.
Dan Corder is an award-winning political comedian, news commentator, TV, radio and podcast host.
The latest episode of Pagecast is out now!
"It looked apocalyptic."
Veteran journalist Chris Gibbons sits down with journalist, TV producer and best-selling author Graeme Coetzer for a gripping conversation on Zama Zama: Inside the Illicit Mining Underworld. Together they unpack fifteen years of investigation into South Africa's illegal gold economy: from the desperate miners going underground to earn a wage, to the organised crime syndicates making billions off their labour. Graeme describes the astonishing VAT scam that saw stolen gold sold at a premium, the cottage industry of forged invoices and stolen ID books propping it up, and how a single company was accused of laundering an estimated 22 billion rand through the racket. He also revisits the tragedy at Buffelsfontein, where 74 people died underground, and shares the surreal story of one Zama who climbed 1.5 kilometres up an abandoned shaft to save his own life.
Graeme Coetzer's new book is Zama Zama: Inside the Illicit Mining Underworld.
Graeme Coetzer is a journalist, TV producer and best-selling author whose long-form investigations for Carte Blanche have delved into every layer of South Africa's illicit mining world.
Chris Gibbons is a veteran South African journalist and broadcaster.
"I love this phrase you've used - explain ourselves to ourselves."
Joanne Joseph sits down with best-selling author Alka Joshi for a rich, expansive conversation on Six Days in Bombay. Together they unpack why Alka only came to novel writing later in life, the mother whose real story became the seed of The Henna Artist, and the painter Amrita Sher-Gil, "the Frida Kahlo of India", whose bold, uncompromising life inspired the character of Mira. They talk about the responsibility of writing historical fiction with care, the meticulous research behind Alka's immersive worlds, and the layered ways women in her novels travel outward to find their way back to themselves. It's also a wider conversation about heritage, colonisation, and why literature matters as a tool for explaining ourselves to ourselves.
Alka Joshi's new book is Six Days in Bombay. Inspired by the life of Amrita Sher-Gil, it follows nurse Sona as she carries a cryptic note and four paintings across a Europe teetering toward war, in search of the truth about the woman who left them in her care, and about herself.
Alka Joshi is the best-selling author of The Henna Artist and the Jaipur Trilogy. Her books have been translated into nearly 30 languages.
Joanne Joseph is a TV and radio presenter, producer, and writer, and the author of Children of Sugarcane and Drug Muled.
What happens when a former CIA analyst turns his hand to fiction? Lester Kiewit chats to David McCloskey about The Persian, a sophisticated, atmospheric thriller that pulls readers deep into the shadow war between Iran and Israel, and the human cost of living a double life.
David McCloskey's new book is The Persian. Layered with intrigue, shifting loyalties and geopolitical danger, the novel follows Kamran Esfahani, an Iranian dentist recruited by the Mossad, whose life unravels after a single operation goes terribly wrong. Smart, fast-paced and atmospheric, it's a compelling read for fans of intelligent spy fiction.
David McCloskey is a former CIA analyst and best-selling author of intelligent spy fiction. Lester Kiewit is the host of the CapeTalk Breakfast show.
In this episode of Pagecast, food enthusiast, recipe creator, and social media sensation Onezwa Mbola joins storyteller and marketing professional Star Senamile Shongwe for a warm conversation about her debut book, A Food Love Story.
Onezwa traces her culinary journey from her mother's kitchen in a rural Eastern Cape seaside village, through destinations around the world, and back home again - a story about how food connects us to the people and places we love most. As a mother, she shares that love with her son and with the million-plus followers who have made her one of South Africa's most beloved voices in home cooking.
A Food Love Story is filled with wholesome recipes and the kind of warmth that makes you want to head straight to the kitchen.
A Food Love Story is out now and available at all good bookstores.
In this episode of Pagecast, South African writer Julia Martin joins Professor David Attwell, Professor of English at the University of York, for a reflective conversation about her latest book, On the Sponge Islands: Loss and Restoration in the Aegean.
The book follows Julia's journey through the Greek islands of the Dodecanese - Rhodes, Symi, Halki, Kalymnos, and Patmos - tracing the cultural and ecological legacy of sponge diving. For centuries, men from these islands had dived for sea sponges and traded them across the world. In the late nineteenth century, new deep-sea diving suits made it possible to harvest the seabed at an unprecedented scale, bringing home extraordinary wealth - and at extraordinary cost, in lives lost and ecosystems stripped bare.
On the Sponge Islands is a meditation on beauty and suffering, abundance and collapse, and what it means to restore what has been lost - both in the natural world and in ourselves.
Julia Martin is a South African writer and academic known for her work at the intersection of ecology, place, and contemplative practice. On the Sponge Islands is out now and available at all good bookstores.
In this episode of Pagecast, political analyst Tara Roos joins Twanji Kalula for a sharp, no-nonsense conversation about her new book, Where to From Here?, and what it reveals about the state of South African politics.
Roos argues that South Africa has entered an age of uncertainty, as populism rises and a new, unstable coalition era takes hold. She unpacks the structural weaknesses, strategic miscalculations, and identity crises within political parties, sorting them into three categories: Winners, Losers, and Survivors, and explains what each is getting right, where they are failing, and why some have grown while others have collapsed.
Thirty years into South Africa's democracy, Where to From Here? is a clear-eyed account of how politicians have failed the people, and a challenge to the electorate to demand better.
Tara Roos is one of the leading political thinkers of her generation. Twanji Kalula is a Cape Town-based communications professional, media practitioner, and joint chairperson of the Cape Town Press Club, widely known for hosting and moderating South African literary, cultural, and current affairs events.
Where to From Here? is out now and available at all good bookstores.
In this episode of Pagecast, Man Booker Prize-shortlisted author Tan Twan Eng joins Cape Town-based political commentator and writer Mphuthumi Ntabeni for a conversation about his latest novel, The House of Doors.
Set in 1921 at Cassowary House in the Straits Settlements of Penang, the novel follows Robert Hamlyn, a well-to-do lawyer, and his steely wife Lesley, whose lives are upended by the arrival of an old friend, Willie Somerset Maugham. One of the great writers of his day, Willie is privately beleaguered by an unhappy marriage, failing health, and a struggle to write. As Lesley's friendship with him deepens, she sees him more clearly for who he truly is -- and finds herself sharing secrets of her own, including her connection to the revolutionary Dr Sun Yat Sen and a scandalous murder case in the Kuala Lumpur courts.
Drawn from real events, The House of Doors is a masterful exploration of public morality and private truth, set against the shadow of empire -- a story of love, betrayal, and the masks we wear to survive.
Tan Twan Eng is the bestselling author of The Garden of Evening Mists. The House of Doors is out now and available at all good bookstores.
In this episode of Pagecast, South African playwright and novelist Nadia Davids joins renowned poet and scholar Gabeba Baderoon for a conversation about her latest novel, Cape Fever.
Cape Fever follows Soraya Matas, a young maid who takes up a position in the beautiful, decaying home of the eccentric Mrs. Hattingh - not far from the Muslim Quarter where she lives with her parents. What begins as a practical arrangement slowly unravels into something far stranger: a ritual of dictated letters, restless spirits, and a bond between two women that threatens the sanity of both.
Set in an unnamed colonial city and drawing on gothic themes, folk tales, and psychological suspense, Cape Fever has been compared to the work of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Daphne du Maurier. It is a story of love and grief, class and power, and the long reach of history into the lives of those history forgets.
Nadia Davids is an award-winning South African author and playwright. Cape Fever is her latest novel and is available now at all good bookstores.
Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Mandy Weiner sat down with Shakti Pillay from Jonathan Ball Publishers to talk about her latest book, The Deal.
In this episode, Mandy pulls back the curtain on the story behind the book -- the kind of deep, forensic storytelling that has made her one of the most trusted voices in South African media.
Mandy Weiner is the host of The Midday Report on 702 and Cape Talk, a weekly columnist for EWN, and an award-winning author. Known for her rigorous investigative journalism and her ability to make complex stories accessible, Mandy has built a reputation as a fearless chronicler of South African public life.
The Deal is out now and available at all good bookstores.
Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Nozipho Tshabalala sat down with Mpumi Mgidlana from Jonathan Ball Publishers to talk about her memoir, After the Fires: Unlocking the Power of Letting Go.
In this episode, Nozipho reflects on the question at the heart of her book: when the flames of life's challenges have swept through you, who do you become from the ashes? It is a conversation about grief, surrender, and the unexpected freedom that comes from letting go.
Nozipho Tshabalala is a globally sought-after conversation strategist who has facilitated presidential and executive conversations for the World Bank, UN agencies, and governments around the world. In After the Fires, she turns that same lens on her own life -- tracing her journey from the loss of her mother at the height of her career, to a profound reckoning with control, identity, and what it truly means to thrive.
After the Fires: Unlocking the Power of Letting Go is published by Jonathan Ball Publishers, which is celebrating 50 years in South African publishing this year. The book is out now and available at all good bookstores.
Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Sally Andrew sat down with Faye Knight from Jonathan Ball Publishers to talk about the latest instalment in her beloved Tannie Maria mystery series, Wild Things Never Die.
In this episode, Sally shares what keeps drawing her back to Tannie Maria -- and what readers can expect from the fifth book in the series.
Sally Andrew is the best-selling author of the award-winning Tannie Maria mystery novels, which have been translated into fifteen languages and adapted into an international television series. She lives with her artist partner in a mud-brick house on a nature reserve in the Klein Karoo, and holds a master's in Adult Education from the University of Cape Town. A former social and environmental activist, she now writes, cooks, does Biofield Tuning, and is training to be a doowop girl.
The Tannie Maria series includes Recipes for Love and Murder, The Satanic Mechanic, Death on the Limpopo, and The Milk Tart Murders. Sally has also published a cookbook, Recipes to Live For. Wild Things Never Die is the fifth instalment in the series and is out now at all good bookstores.
Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Caitlin Venniker sat down with Kelly Mawa from Jonathan Ball Publishers to talk about her debut book, Unleashed.
In this episode, Caitlin shares the stories and experiences behind the book -- a candid look at life as a South African vet navigating two worlds, and the rescue animals who have found their way into her heart along the way.
Caitlin Venniker is a South African vet and award-winning writer who divides her time between South Africa and the Middle East. She shares her life with a collection of rescue animals, including a scruffy desert dog and a one-eared cat. Unleashed is her debut book.
Unleashed is out now and available at all good bookstores.
Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Karabo Poppy sat down with Gontse Mosiane from Jonathan Ball Publishers to talk about her latest book, Hugged by The Night.
In this episode, Karabo shares the vision and inspiration behind the work -- a celebration of the African aesthetic told through bold, contemporary illustration.
Karabo Poppy Moletsane was born in 1992 in Vereeniging, South Africa. She is an illustrator, graphic designer, and road artist based in Johannesburg, and is passionate about the preservation of the African aesthetic. Her work explores rich narratives with a contemporary and bold visual language that has earned her recognition both locally and internationally.
Hugged by The Night is available now at all good bookstores.
Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where David Mann sat down with Maryam Adams from Jonathan Ball Publishers to discuss his debut short fiction collection, Once Removed.
In this episode, David reflects on the stories behind the collection -- a sharply observed body of work that has already made its mark on the South African literary landscape.
David Mann is an award-winning writer, editor, and art critic who has written and edited for numerous art publications. He currently works as writer for the arts incubator The Centre for the Less Good Idea, and is a co-founder of Writers' Block, a Johannesburg-based arts writing collective. His short stories have appeared in local and international journals including Strange Matters (USA), Portside Review (AU), and Imbiza Journal (SA), among others.
Once Removed was published in 2024 by Botsotso. It won the Thomas Pringle Short Story Prize and was shortlisted for both the NHISS Award and the Nadine Gordimer Award for best short story collection.
Once Removed is available now at all good bookstores.
Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Lebo Mazibuko sat down with Zwanga Nemanshi from Jonathan Ball Publishers for a candid conversation about her latest novel, Fabrics of Love.
In this episode, Lebo reflects on the stories and inspirations behind the book - a moving exploration of love, identity, and the threads that connect us.
Lebo Mazibuko was born in Johannesburg and is currently based in Cape Town. She began her career in theatre before turning her focus to writing, and holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town. Her debut novel, Bantu Knots, was shortlisted for the K. Sello Duiker Memorial Award at the South African Literary Awards in 2022. Fabrics of Love is her most recent work.
Fabrics of Love is out now and available at all good bookstores.
“When love hurts, what remains of who we are?”
In the final live Pagecast episode from the Franschhoek Literary Festival, Joy Watson sits down with Karina Magdalena Szczurek for a thoughtful conversation about Because I Love You, Joy’s latest book exploring gender, power, violence, and the complicated realities of love through the stories of three women.
Drawing from her work as a researcher, writer, and feminist storyteller, Watson reflects on the difficult questions the book asks about relationships, identity, survival, and what happens when love becomes harmful.
Live from the Franschhoek Literary Festival Pagecast Studio, Veruska De Vita speaks to Charlotte Bauer about Deep Blue.
Veruska De Vita is the author of Deep Blue, a love letter to the sea that explores humanity’s deep connection with water and the bliss of swimming, diving, dipping, and simply being in salt water.
The latest episode of Pagecast, recorded live from the Franschhoek Literary Festival, is out now.
Live from the Franschhoek Literary Festival Pagecast Studio, Bronwyn Williams and Paige Nick are in conversation about AI, the economy, and the trajectories shaping the years ahead, in a way that actually makes sense.
Bronwyn Williams's new book is The Future.
Bronwyn Williams is a futurist, economist and business-trends analyst. She is the co-author of The Future Starts Now, Rescuing Our Republic and The Future, a columnist for leading business and technology publications, and a well-known global keynote speaker and media commentator on future trends and economic trajectories.
Paige Nick is a South African novelist, columnist, and advertising copywriter. She founded The Good Book Appreciation Society on Facebook, and has co-authored A Girl Walks Into a Bar, a series of choose-your-own-adventure erotic novels.
A little reminder to look up. Live from the Franschhoek Literary Festival Pagecast Studio, Bridget McNulty and Sarah Bullen are in conversation about the small, glimmering moments that make up a year, and the practice of noticing them.
Bridget McNulty's new book is Daily Glimmers: The Art of Finding Tiny Joys Every Day of the Year.
Bridget McNulty began her career as a magazine journalist and has since written the novel Strange Nervous Laughter, The Grief Handbook, and her most recent book, Daily Glimmers. After being diagnosed with diabetes, Bridget co-founded the NGO Sweet Life Diabetes Community, through which she publishes books and a regular magazine. She also co-founded Now Novel, an online writing course.
Sarah Bullen is a multi-published author and renowned writing coach who leads international writing retreats and adventures in Europe and Africa. A former financial and magazine journalist, her most recent book The Other Side delves into stories of near-death experiences and spiritual encounters. Sarah's work reflects her passion for storytelling and exploration of the human spirit.
This one's pure joy.
Live from the Franschhoek Literary Festival Pagecast Studio, Africa Melane and Fehmz get into food, family, and the stories behind the recipes, and you can hear the laughter from a mile off.
Fehmz's debut cookbook Damn Good Food features over 80 recipes.
Fehmz is a city girl from Johannesburg chasing her dreams as a food, lifestyle and travel influencer. She is a strong believer in keeping things real and authentic, and her vibrant personality infuses every recipe with energy, colour, and bold flavours inspired by her Muslim heritage.
Africa Melane is a South African broadcaster, journalist, and moderator known for hosting the Early Breakfast Show on both CapeTalk and 702.
He is admired for his measured, inquisitive, and respectful interview style, and brings more than a decade of experience in South African broadcasting.
Live from the Franschhoek Literary Festival Pagecast Studio, Justice Malala joins Lester Kiewit for a wide-ranging conversation on South Africa's political trajectory and the questions shaping our democracy.
Justice Malala is an award-winning South African political analyst, journalist and bestselling author. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including We Have Now Begun Our Descent and The Plot to Save South Africa, which examine the country's political trajectory and democratic challenges.
Lester Kiewit hosts CapeTalk's Good Morning Cape Town.
Filmed & edited by Curt Ruiters at @Quickclickproductions_
What does it take to turn years of investigative reporting into a book? Live from the Franschhoek Literary Festival Pagecast Studio, Jeff Wicks opens up to Qaanitah Hunter about the craft, the process, and the personal toll of putting his new book on the page.
Jeff Wicks is a journalist with News24's investigations team. His reporting on the assassination of Babita Deokaran was shortlisted for the Global Shining Light Award, which recognises watchdog journalism in developing countries carried out under threat, duress or the direst conditions.
Qaanitah Hunter is an award-winning South African political journalist and founding editor of The Debrief Network. She is the author of several non-fiction and fiction works, including the co-authored Who Will Rule SA?, which has helped shape public discourse around South Africa's political future.
Live from the Franschhoek Literary Festival Pagecast Studio. Sven Axelrad's new book is The Dogs of Vivo.
Sven Axelrad is the author of four novels: Buried Treasure, God's Pocket, Nicotine Gospel, and now The Dogs of Vivo. He has published short stories in New Contrast and Fragment Collective and has been longlisted for the Desperate Literature Prize in Madrid. Sven is an accountant who just loves reading and writing.
Riley Henry-Herbert is a fiction writer and book reviewer based in Cape Town. He reviews books on Book Choice for Fine Music Radio and shares his thoughts on social media and on his Substack page, Underline.
Filmed & edited by Curt Ruiters at @Quickclickproductions_
Live from the Franschhoek Literary Festival Pagecast Studio. Tara Roos's new book Where To From Here? is a book for anyone wanting to understand the future of South African politics and the choices that will define it. Get your copy at Exclusive Books at the Franschhoek Town Hall!
Tara Roos is a political analyst and the parliamentary correspondent for Business Day.
Emma Swart is a Cape Town-based book reviewer, content creator, and co-host of The Reading Chatroom podcast. She is also the founder of The Shared Shelf, a literary community that brings readers together through book clubs, author conversations, and reflective reading spaces. Through her work, she shares a deep love for books and the conversations they make possible.
The latest episode of Pagecast is out now! For more festival insights, follow along with the News24 livestream of the Franschhoek Literary Festival.
Filmed & edited by Curt Ruiters at @Quickclickproductions_
Pagecast is coming to you live from the Franschhoek Literary Festival. Rémy Ngamije's new book is Only Stars Know, a collection of short stories that explore love, loss, identity, and human connection, centred on the life of an aspiring writer.
Rémy Ngamije is a Rwandan-born Namibian writer and photographer. He is the founder of the Doek Arts Trust, an arts organisation which publishes Doek! Literary Magazine, Namibia's first literary magazine, which he cofounded and serves as editor-in-chief.
In conversation with Wamuwi Mbao, columnist for Business Day's Wanted magazine, SALA-winning literary critic for the Johannesburg Review of Books, and lecturer in English Studies at Stellenbosch University. His book Years of Fire and Ash brings together fifty years' worth of South African protest poetry into one collection.
Filmed & edited by Curt Ruiters at Quickclick Productions.
In hierdie episode van Pagecast gesels die meningsvormer en leier van die burgerregte-organisasie Kaapse Forum Heindrich Wyngaard met die bekroonde ondersoekende joernalis en skrywer Julian Jansen oor sy nuwe boek Op die Spoor van die Stasiemoordenaar. Jansen, wat ook die skrywer is van boeke soos Moord op Stellenbosch en Die De Zalze-moorde, is bekend vir sy aangrypende, diep menslike joernalistiek en hierdie roerende gesprek het net weer bewys waarom hy bekend is daarvoor dat hy altyd die storie agter die storie gaan haal.
Van 1986 tot 1994 het die sogenaamde Stasiemoordenaar die mense van die Kaapse vlakte geterroriseer – 22 seuns en jong mans, die meeste tussen 9 en 14 jaar oud, is naby treinstasies ontvoer, seksueel aangerand en vermoor. Norman Simons is in 1995 skuldig bevind aan een van die moorde en is in 2023 op parool vrygelaat, maar steeds spook tergende vrae oor die saak. Jansen het op die spoor van die seuns en die destydse polisieondersoeke gegaan om lig te werp op hierdie donker raaisel.
"Ons moet die kind se identiteit, sy menswees onthou," sê Jansen. Agter elke naam in hierdie verhaal was 'n lewe, 'n gesin, 'n toekoms wat weggeruk is.
In today's episode of Pagecast, Joy Watson is in conversation with someone who knows her better than most - her sister, and fellow author, Mary Watson. It's an intimate kind of interview, the kind where the questions go somewhere deeper because the love in the room is already established. Settle in for this one.
More about the book:
What does it mean to lose yourself inside a relationship? Not dramatically. Not all at once. But slowly, quietly, in the small erosions that accumulate until one day you look in the mirror and struggle to recognise the person looking back.
That's the territory Joy Watson walks into with unflinching clarity in her extraordinary new book, Because I Love You.
This is not a book about breakups. It's about erasure. About the quiet harm that can live inside love, the kind that doesn't leave bruises on the skin but rewrites the architecture of your mind. It's about gaslighting and silence, withdrawal and control - and the slow, destabilising experience of being made to doubt your own reality by someone who claims to love you.
Watson traces the inner lives of three women - Zara, Mira and Thuli - whose stories unfold in fragments, the way real experience does. And woven through their stories is her own. It's for anyone who has ever wondered whether they were overreacting, too sensitive, too much, too little. Anyone who has asked: Am I the problem?
More about Joy and Mary:
Joy Watson is a feminist researcher, writer, and Book Editor-at-Large at the Daily Maverick. Because I Love You is published by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Mary Watson is from South Africa and now lives on the west coast of Ireland. She has a PhD from the University of Cape Town, where she taught for many years. She won the Caine Prize for African Writing for her adult publishing in South Africa, and in 2014 was named on the Africa39 list of writers under 40 with the potential to define trends in African literature. Her YA novels have been nominated for the Irish Book Awards and the Carnegie medal. Her adult debut, The Cleaner, was an instant Irish Times bestseller.
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In hierdie episode van Pagecast is Hanlie Retief in gesprek met Louis Jansen van Vuuren oor sy nuutste boek, Biltong en Dior: Avonture van 'n Afrikaanse Fransman.
Meer oor die boek:
As grootoog seun in die ou Oos-Transvaal het Louis Jansen van Vuuren nooit kon dink dat hy eendag ’n château in die Franse platteland sou besit nie.
Louis se kostelike vertellings oor sy lewe in Frankryk word verryk met boeiende brokkies oor die Franse geskiedenis en raad vir hoe om te oorleef in ’n samelewing met ’n haas onleerbare taal en eiesoortige gewoontes. Uiteindelik gee dié Afrikaanse Fransman se lewe in die vreemde hom ook ’n nuwe waardering vir dit wat hom uniek Suid-Afrikaans maak.
Pagecast #LouisJansenvanVuuren #BiltongenDior
In this episode of Pagecast, Shana Fife interviews Zubayr Charles about his unflinching debut novel, Haram.
About the book:
As a young man in a close-knit Muslim community in Woodstock, Muhammad used to feel trapped between who he was and who he was expected to be. But then he met Riyaaz, and his world shifted in unexpected ways.
Many years later, on the day of his wedding, Muhammad is pulled into memories of his adolescence – a time when faith and forbidden desires collided.
Haram is an unflinching tale alive with hidden and unspoken desires.
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📖 Buy Haram and support South African literature. It is available at all major bookstores
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This week on Pagecast, Khaya Dlanga interviews Pepe Marais about his book, One Word.
About the book: One Word reveals the transformative power of discovering and embedding your organisation’s true purpose – captured in a single word. In this thought-provoking and practical guide, based on the author's doctoral research and business experience of growing South Africa’s most successful advertising and communication group, Joe Public, you will uncover a clear framework for translating corporate purpose into lived organisational culture. #Pagecast #PepeMarais #JoePublic #SouthAfrica #BookPodcast #KhayaDlanga
Selokela Molamodi is in conversation with Dr Mzamo Masito about his book, This Country Hates Our Boys, a searing exploration of the complex relationship South African society holds with its Black and Coloured men and boys.
More about the book:
The widely accepted phrase ‘amadoda zizinja’ – men are dogs – is more than a colloquialism; it’s a symptom of a society where positive masculine role models are scarce. This linguistic shortcut flattens the nuanced reality of masculinity into a single, simplistic concept of patriarchy, obscuring the complex, chaotic social issues at play.
Through the vital work of African Men Care, a non-profit organisation, Dr Masito unpacks the interlocking crises facing Black boys and men: educational disparities, mental health struggles, pervasive violence, and fractured relationships. More crucially, the book illuminates a clear path forward.
‘Every man is every boy’ is not merely an observation but a powerful call to action. The struggles of adult men today are often rooted in the unaddressed needs and unrealised potential of the boys they once were. The lament ‘awekho amadoda’ (there are no men) serves as a stark warning: without decisive intervention, we risk losing entire generations. This book reveals how individual trauma metastasises into a collective crisis. When boys lack robust interior lives and positive identity models, the repercussions echo through families, schools, and communities. Hurt boys mature into hurting men, perpetuating cycles that impact everyone, including the girls and women in their lives.
Pagecast #ThisCountryHatesOurBoys #SouthAfricanLiterature #DrMzamoMasito
This week on Pagecast, Shaun de Waal sits down with acclaimed author Michiel Heyns to discuss his new novel, The Wildest Beauty.
Danny Marais is the twin brother of the beautiful, talented Charlie.
The Wildest Beauty is a remarkable novel, an account of their early childhood to their eventual enlistment in the First World War. From their placidly peaceful Stellenbosch schooldays to, ultimately, the battle of Delville Wood, Danny keeps a loving but half-resentful eye on his brother.
Though set largely in wartime, this novel is an intimate account of a small group of friends and family, inter alia the loving parents left behind in Stellenbosch. And then there is Danny’s life-changing encounter, in the darkened streets of wartime London, with a wryly cynical, battle-scarred officer.
In the midst of the greatest conflict in history, facing the wild beauty of ‘the abyss of unmeaning,’ Danny discovers the power of love, between friends, family – and even foes.
Pagecast #MichielHeyns #TheWildestBeauty #SouthAfricanLiterature #WWIFiction #HistoricalFiction #bookpodcast
In this Pagecast episode, Craig Foster sits down with father and son duo Charles and Matthew Griffiths to chat about their book, Explore the Shore, a guide to discovering the creatures and features shaping the South African shoreline.
More about the book:
Did you know that limpets grow their own seaweed gardens? Or that sea anemones fight one another to defend territories? What’s up with whelks surfing the waves in search of food? How does a starfish move? Does the paper nautilus really have a shell?
All this – and much more – about South African marine life is explained in Explore the shore. Written in an engaging and conversational style, the book encourages curious but novice naturalists of all ages to head to the shore to explore for themselves.
Readers will learn not only about general life on the shore but also about some weird and interesting aspects of creatures’ behaviour. Armed with the information in this book, a beach walk can be more exciting than any safari!
Pop-up features like personal anecdotes from the authors, interesting fact boxes and tongue-in-cheek comments from their adorable labradoodle Ben, who accompanies them on their beach visits, will make for personal, inviting content that readers will love.
📚 Get your copy of Explore the Shore at leading South African bookstores and online
ExploretheShore #SouthAfricanMarineLife #CoastalExploration #OceanConservation #CraigFoster
This week on Pagecast, host Arini Vlotman sits down with acclaimed local author Nivashni Nair Sukdhev to discuss her new novel, It's Complicated. They talk about second chances, hidden secrets, and the healing power of true love.
More about the book:
Love. Secrets. Second chances.
Nivashni Nair Sukdhev is back with another enchanting story set in the little town of Rally in KwaZulu-Natal.
After walking away from the big city and an international modelling career, Kaavi Archary is beginning to find an inner peace. She is making friends, volunteering in a programme for troubled teenage girls and relishing a fresh start in life. But she has a secret: her estranged husband, Neel.
So when Neel shows up in Rally with divorce papers, Kaavi’s life is thrown into chaos. He says he’s here to end things — but what he really wants is to win her back. Beneath the heartbreak lies a chemistry that neither of them can resist.
As Kaavi faces the truth about her past and her family, she and Neel must decide if they can trust each other again.
It’s Complicated is a heartwarming tale about finding your way home — and discovering the quiet miracle of true love. This is the second book in the Rally romance series and can be read as a stand-alone story.
GET THE BOOK: Grab your copy of It's Complicated by Nivashni Nair Sukdhev — available now at all major bookstores and online. Perfect for fans of heartfelt romance and second-chance love stories!
SouthAfricanRomance #Pagecast #RomanceBooks #NivashniNairSukdhev #LocalAuthors
Discover the untold stories of South African women who changed history. In this episode of Pagecast, Nancy Richards sits down with Professor Lizette Rabe to talk about her book, 101 Remarkable South African Women.
From ancient trailblazers like the "Eve of the West Coast" to modern icons including Thuli Madonsela, Caster Semenya, and Tyla, this essential book restores women to the centre of South Africa's story. Journey through profiles of celebrated figures like Miriam Makeba, Olive Schreiner, and Ruth First, alongside overlooked heroines such as Zwarte Maria, Mantatisi, Nongqawuse, and Gladys Mgudlandlu.
Spanning politics, literature, sport, activism, and art, these powerful narratives celebrate women's courage, intellect, creativity, and leadership that have shaped our nation and continue to drive the struggle for gender equality.
Malibongwe Makosikazi – let the women be praised!
About the Author:
Lizette Rabe is an emeritus professor of journalism at Stellenbosch University, with over 20 years of field experience before leading SU's journalism department. An acclaimed author and editor of key works on South African media, she has received major teaching and research awards, including the Chancellor's Award and the prestigious Stals Prize for Communication and Journalism.
About the Host:
Nancy Richards is an independent print and radio journalist, podcast host, and media trainer. She is the founder of Woman Zone, an NPO, and The Women's Library at Artscape. Her memoir, The Skipper's Daughter, was published in 2021.
🎧 Subscribe to Pagecast for more conversations celebrating South African literature and storytelling
📲 Share this episode with someone who needs to hear these remarkable stories
📖 Buy the book 101 Remarkable South African Women and own a piece of herstory
SouthAfricanWomen #Herstory #SouthAfricanLiterature #WomensHistory #Pagecast
This episode of Pagecast is brought to you in collaboration with the ARTdacity podcast, ahead of the Investec Art Fair. This week, Jo-Ann Strauss interviews Chris Soal about his book, To Sharpen our Senses and Soften our Touch.
Through his use of discarded and mundane ephemera, such as toothpicks and bottle caps, along with concrete, rebar, electric fencing cable, sandpaper, and other industrial materials, the artist intuitively develops the familiar to the point of the uncanny. Soal’s works can be considered social abstractions influenced by a reinterpreted Arte Povera that is deeply rooted in and reflective of his upbringing in Johannesburg, South Africa. Working symbiotically with his materials, Soal utilises the inherent physical characteristics of the objects to transform them through processes of aggregation, combination, and erosion.
You can find ARTdacity here:
https://www.artdacity.co.za/
Pagecast #capetownartist #artbookrecommendations
This episode of Pagecast is brought to you in collaboration with the ARTdacity podcast, just in time for the Investec Art Fair later this month. This week, Jo-Ann Strauss interviews Nicola Brandt about her book, The Distance Within, which features photographs and video stills made over more than a decade.
The Distance Within reflects on Nicola Brandt’s German and Namibian inheritance and deconstructs certain established ways of seeing Namibia. Brandt traveled the country extensively, documenting landscapes and people, structures and encounters, to reveal ensnared histories of German colonialism, National Socialism and apartheid. Markers of these histories range from the ephemeral and private, such as a dilapidated mound of stones as a roadside memorial, to official sites of remembrance and resistance, particularly for colonial atrocities. Alongside her images, Brandt assembles texts by thought leaders in photography, postcolonial cultures, memory and genocide studies, as well as material from private and public archives, to understand enduring blind spots. The result is an intersectional argument in favor of reclaiming suppressed indigenous stories and identities, undoing romantic notions of whiteness, and, ultimately, illuminating what has not been visible.
You can find ARTdacity here: https://www.artdacity.co.za/
Pagecast #capetownartist #artbookrecommendations
We have a bonus episode of Pagecast for you today featuring Claire Dinhut (Condiment Claire) and Karen Dudley. This is the perfect conversation ahead of the festive season as the two chat all about condiments, bold new flavours and secrets about how to elevate any dish.
More about The Condiment Book by Claire Dinhut:
The definitive condiment compendium by expert and TikTok sensation Claire Dinhut aka Condiment Claire
Are you Team Ketchup or Team Mustard? What are your Top 3 condiments? And is butter really a condiment? Let Claire guide you through the condiment world of flavour starting with the Classics that we all know and love – Ketchup, Mayonnaise, Mustard and Butter – right through to Hot Sauces, Ferments and Pickles (think Miso and Kimchi), Dressings & Oils, Fruit in Jars and Dips.
With illustrations and charts throughout, The Condiment Book covers everything from failsafe recipes for much-loved condiments, hundreds of variations and flavour pairings, condiments from across the globe, fascinating historical facts (did you know that Aztecs used chillis as a weapon?) – it is the definitive guide to this class of food that isn't strictly necessary yet to most of us is indispensable.
More about Upwards by Karen Dudley:
In Upwards, Karen Dudley invites us on a culinary journey that transcends the ordinary, encouraging us to look up to what is true and essential – living simply and well.
In this follow-up to Onwards, Karen, with her signature warmth and insight, shares how the act of cooking can – and should be – a letting go of life’s daily preoccupations, a way to connect with ourselves and others, by paying attention to the pleasure and enjoyment of cooking something beautiful, delicious and even surprising.
Sharing recipes from a vibrant palette of flavours, Upwards lifts Karen’s loyal community towards the next level – to learn new skills, to look up to quality over quantity and to pay attention to the splendour that can come from the meditative act of cooking. Upwards is thus a call to be inspired, to create and to connect, all the time looking up, up, up, as we invite into our kitchens new dishes, new flavours and new possibilities.
PagecastPodcast #CondimentClaire #KarenDudley #TheCondimentBook
FestiveFlavours #FoodieConversation #CookingInspiration #ElevateYourDish
Ons eindig ’n jaar van fassinerende boekpraatjies op Pagecast met ’n opwindende gesprek tussen Deon Meyer en Beer Adriaanse oor die topverkoper Skorpio.
Bennie Griessel en Vaughn Cupido ontvang die blye tyding dat hulle uiteindelik weer bevorder is tot die rang van kaptein. Maar hul vreugde is van korte duur. Die vergruisde liggaam van een van Cupido se beste vriende is gevind onder die motor waaraan hy in sy motorhuis gewerk het... was dit 'n ongeluk, of koelbloedige moord? En op ’n imposante plaas buite Stellenbosch ontplof ’n woonwa. Onverklaarbaar. Nadat die vuur geblus is, word ’n liggaam in die wrak gevind...
DeonMeyer #BennieGriessel
In this episode of Pagecast, Bongani Bingwa interviews Pieter du Toit about his latest book, The Dark Prince, an unflinching portrait of Paul Mashatile’s controversial rise through the ANC ranks to the doorstep of the presidency.
About the book:
Having survived scandal, controversy and the Zuma years, Paul Mashatile has risen through the ranks to the doorstep of the presidency.
Over a political career spanning 30 years, he has successfully navigated the corruption and factionalism that the ANC has become known for.
Now he wants to take charge of the party – and the Union Buildings. The question is: Should he? Is Paul Mashatile suitable for the highest office?
•He has been associated with the ‘Alex Mafia’ for more than 30 years. What influence do they have over Mashatile?
•He leads a lavish lifestyle, living in luxury homes in Johannesburg and Cape Town. How were they acquired?
•He has been outspoken about the economy, black economic empowerment, and South Africa’s foreign relations. But does he have firm principles?
•And how has his string of lovers affected his professional life?
This meticulously researched account by bestselling author Pieter du Toit answers these vital questions and reveals the dark truth about the ANC’s crown prince.
SouthAfricanBooks #PagecastPodcast #TheDarkPrince #PieterduToit #PaulMashatile #SouthAfricanPolitics #ANC #BookPodcast #Political
In this episode of Pagecast, Sindeka Mandoyi interviews Lebo Mazibuko about her latest novel, Fabrics of Love.
This family saga is told through the lens of the third generation of women who surround Lemohang Ntoi, the head of the family, as he struggles to hold onto life as he knew it. It is the Ntoi women’s assertiveness and drive that threaten Lemohang’s position and ideals for this family. We see their attempts at healing past trauma while they pursue their dreams. Fabrics of Love navigates issues around culture, legacy, love and marriage.
PagecastPodcast #SouthAfricanAuthors #FabricsOfLove #LeboMazibuko #FamilySaga #WomenWritersSA #AfricanLiterature #BookPodcast #CulturalLegacy #SAFiction
In hierdie episode van Pagecast is Mia Spies in gesprek met Marita van der Vyver oor haar nuutste boek, My jaar van vrees en vryheid.
Marita van der Vyver is een van die mees geliefde skrywers in Afrikaans en is bekend vir haar romans en kinderboeke wat lesers al oor dekades heen betower.
Mia Spies is ’n gerekende multimedia joernalis en TV-aanbieder, wat bekend is vir haar deeglike storievertelling en insiggewende onderhoude.
Meer oor die boek:
My jaar van vrees en vryheid is Marita se eerlike, roerende en soms skerp-humoristiese verkenning van ’n sprongjaar in haar lewe — ’n tydperk waarin sy van veiligheid en sekerheid na vrees en onsekerheid beweeg het. Terwyl sy deur haar herinneringe reis, ontgin sy ’n leeftyd van belewenisse, verlange, liefde, verlies, groei en die soeke na sin in ’n wêreld wat voortdurend verander.
Die boek verweef persoonlike vertelling met fyn waarneming: van die daaglikse ritme van haar lewe in Frankryk, tot drome van Suid-Afrika en die mense en plekke wat haar gevorm het. Dit is ’n verhaal oor vrees — maar ook oor bevryding, aanvaarding en die moed om weer te begin.
Sluit aan by Marita en Mia vir ’n warm, diepsinnige en verhelderende gesprek oor skryf, identiteit, herinnering en die krag van verhaal.
Pagecast #MaritaVanDerVyver #MyJaarVanVreesEnVryheid #AfrikaanseBoeke #MiaSpies #SuidAfrikaanseSkrywers #Letterkunde #Boekgesprek #AfrikaanseLeeskultuur #SkrywersInGesprek
In this episode of Pagecast, Anthony Molyneaux is in conversation with Nicole Engelbrecht about her new book, Bare Bones.
Nicole Engelbrecht is the creator and host of one of SA’s biggest podcasts, True Crime South Africa, and is the author of Samurai Sword Murder: The Morne Harmse Story.
Anthony Molyneaux is a Documentary Director & Video Journalist with over a decade of experience. He is the director of Netflix’s 'Beauty and the Bester' (September 2025).
More about the book:
Nicole Engelbrecht is back with a new book that delves into the cold cases of her phenomenally popular True Crime SA podcast.
In Bare Bones, she re-examines missing and murder cases she has covered in her podcast series, and revisits the leads and the interviews she conducted. Much of the information has never been made public before.
From the bones of a Jane Doe discovered under a swimming pool to a troubled young man who seemed to vanish in the prison system, from a business trip turned deadly to a child snatched from outside her home, Engelbrecht sifts the evidence anew and shines a light on old and new unsolved cases in the hope of bringing closure to the victims’ families and friends. Join her in the search for the truth behind the scenes of the podcast desk.
TrueCrimeSA #BareBonesBook #NicoleEngelbrecht #PagecastPodcast #SouthAfricanPodcast #TrueCrimeCommunity #ColdCases #PodcastInterview #NetflixDirector #CrimeBook
In this episode of Pagecast, Rorisang Tshabalala interviews Nozipho Tshabalala about her book, After the Fires: Unlocking the Power of Letting Go.
More about the book:
When the flames of life’s challenges have swept through you, who do you become from the ashes?
Nozipho Tshabalala is a high-performing, excellence-driven, successful black woman. Being in control of everything in her life was crucial to her survival and success. For the most part, it had always served her well – until it didn’t.
In this captivating and deeply personal memoir, conversation strategist Nozipho invites you into her world – one shaped by political violence, professional triumphs on global stages and the intimate battles with loss that would test her most fundamental beliefs. Now in her 40s, she has realised that what she needed most to survive may not be what she needs to thrive.
After the Fires is a call to reclaim the narrative amid life’s unexpected turns. It honours the complexity of womanhood while celebrating the possibility of becoming exactly who you were meant to be, even when that person looks nothing like what you imagined.
With vulnerability and wisdom, Nozipho demonstrates how surrender becomes not an act of defeat but a pathway to freedom. Her story reminds us that sometimes our greatest strength lies not in holding tighter but in opening our hands to release what no longer serves us.
memoir #AfterTheFires #lettinggo #womenauthors #personalgrowth #inspirationalbook #NoziphoTshabalala #Pagecast #resilience
In hierdie episode van Pagecast gesels Bouwer Bosch met Springbok rugbyspeler Eben Etzebeth oor sy outobiografie, Ten Slotte.
Eben Etzebeth is die speler wat al die meeste toetswedstryde in
Suid-Afrikaanse rugbygeskiedenis gespeel het. Op die veld word
hierdie slot se intelligensie, energie en aggressie gerespekteer en
bewonder.
Hy is lid van die senior Springbok-leierskapspan, en speel ’n groot rol
in ’n ongelooflik suksesvolle era wat twee agtereenvolgende
Wêreldbekers en die groep se huidige posisie van twee jaar boaan
die wêreldranglys insluit.
In hierdie eerlike en onderhoudende vertelling beskryf Eben van die
vernaamste faktore van sy sukses, en hoe hy gefokus bly – op en van
die veld af. Van sy nederige kinderjare in Goodwood – ’n voorstad
van Kaapstad waar niks maklik kom nie – regdeur sy vroeë
klubloopbaan, tot by sy swaar verdiende plek in die Suid-Afrikaanse
nasionale span, vertel Ten Slotte die persoonlike kant van sy
loopbaan, en wat dit geverg het om ’n wêreldkampioen te word.
In this episode of Pagecast, Lundi Khoisan Cavernelis interviews Reggie Peace about his inspiring memoir, Vredemaker. At 13, Reggie found refuge in a children's home that gave him stability and a chance to excel. Yet, he battled inner dissatisfaction and a longing for acceptance until he faced a life-changing choice: to choose life or a slow death. Reggie’s powerful story of hardship, hope, and resilience reveals how faith in Christ helped him overcome challenges and emerge stronger.
Vredemaker #ReggiePeace #LundiCavernelis #Pagecast #MemoirPodcast #SouthAfricanAuthors #FaithAndHope #OvercomingAdversity #InspirationalStories
In this episode of Pagecast, Mike Nicol sits down with David Cornwell to discuss his gripping new novel, Hell of a Country. This reimagining of a true crime story from 1970s South Africa explores the intense and dark tale of Lorraine van Niekerk, a teenager trapped in a toxic relationship with her married lover. When her life crosses paths with Alfie Geemooi, a recent amputee, Lorraine hatches a dangerous plan that leads to murder. Dive into this haunting story of love, betrayal, and the high price one may pay.
HellOfACountry #DavidCornwell #MikeNicol #TrueCrimeSA #SouthAfricanFiction #CrimeNovel #BookPodcast #1970sSouthAfrica #Pagecast #LiteraryPodcast
Dive into the latest episode of Pagecast as Tessa Barlin chats with Veruska De Vita about her new book, Deep Blue. Discover why the sea captivates us, how cold water plunging boosts wellness, and the urgent impact of climate change on our oceans. From free divers to scientists, this conversation explores our profound connection with saltwater and the joy it brings. Perfect for sea lovers and curious minds alike.
DeepBlueBook #OceanLove #ColdWaterTherapy #FreeDivingLife #ClimateChangeAwareness #SwimmingWellness #MarineConservation #SaltwaterHealing #PagecastPodcast #VeruskaDeVita
Pagecast was at the 2025 Open Book Festival, where we spoke with authors about their writing journeys and the stories they share with readers. In this episode, Bongani Kona interviews Rémy Ngamije about his new book, Only Stars Know the Meaning of Space.
Presented as a literary mixtape, Only Stars Know the Meaning of Space is a work that provides you with a uniquely modern reading experience. The A-Side, read as one narrative, tells the story of a soon-to-be thirty-year-old aspiring writer navigating a complicated world. The B-Side, taken as a separate experience, features (seemingly) independent and unrelated short stories.
There’s “Crunchy, Green Apples (or, Omo)”, a story about loss told by the strangest of narrative devices: a shopping list. “Sofa, So Good, Sort Of (or, John Muafangejo)” is a first-person account of a family’s history and a long journey towards hope. A group of friends attempts to navigate a recent breakup in “From the Lost City of Hurtlantis to the Streets of Helldorado (or, Franco).”
When read together, however, a third world emerges—a complex, intergenerational, and interconnected “journey across all genres” (Mukoma Wa Ngugi, author of Unbury Our Dead with Song) that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.
Thank you to our furniture sponsor, Zorora:
https://zororasofas.co.za/
PagecastPodcast #OpenBookFestival #SouthAfricanBooks #BookInterviews #BookPodcast
Pagecast was at the 2025 Open Book Festival, where we spoke with authors about their writing journeys and the stories they share with readers. In this episode, Wamuwi Mbao interviews Siphokazi Jonas about her poetry collection, Weeping Becomes a River.
Siphokazi Jonas is a weaver of seemingly discordant worlds; growing up in an Afrikaans dorpie, attending an English boarding school, and going on annual holidays to a village emaXhoseni during the transition years of South Africa’s democracy made this a necessity.
In Weeping Becomes a River she confronts the linguistic and cultural alienation experienced as a black learner in former Model C schools in the 1990s and early 2000s, then fashions the fragments to reclaim and rewrite her place within a lineage of storytellers.
Migrating between forms, between poetry and intsomi, she navigates the waters of tradition, religion, intergenerational experiences of rural and urban spaces, and the ways in which family dynamics affect the body. She is not only a referee of the raging tensions within her, but she also pieces together a language for pathways of leaving and returning.
Her poems grapple with the past, the present, and possible futures without forgetting that “the body is marked territory from birth, and the scent of it never leaves”.
Thank you to our furniture sponsor, Zorora:
https://zororasofas.co.za/
PagecastPodcast #OpenBookFestival #SouthAfricanBooks #BookInterviews #BookPodcast
Pagecast was at the 2025 Open Book Festival, where we spoke with authors about their writing journeys and the stories they share with readers. In this episode, Sindiswa Busuku-Mathese interviews Nick Mulgrew about his latest collection, The Book of Unrest, as well as the launch of his new press, Batis Books, which is based in Edinburgh.
More about The Book of Unrest:
An ocean of
floodwater. Shipwrecked toddlers. Skeletons that rise from pristine
beaches. In his second book of poems, Nick Mulgrew confronts the natural
and human disasters of the eastern South African coast – and, in the
process, himself.
An unflinching examination of ancestry and place, of ruined childhoods and a troubled present, The Book of Unrest
conjures a world of alternating beauty and horror; a series of tainted
land-, city and seascapes, increasingly hostile to those living in them.
Drawing upon the wisdom of other Durban writers, Mulgrew interrogates
the purposes of poetry and politics in such a fraught time and place.
Can our traumas be learned from, or do they only shackle us to the past?
In turns elegiac and nihilistic, witty and desperate, sprawling
and precise, these poems sift through personal and collective histories
of mistrust and violence, to find what, if anything, can bring us rest.
Thank you to our furniture sponsor, Zorora:
https://zororasofas.co.za/
PagecastPodcast #OpenBookFestival #SouthAfricanBooks #BookInterviews #BookPodcast
Pagecast was at the 2025 Open Book Festival, where we spoke with authors about their writing journeys and the stories they share with readers. In this episode, Bongani Kona interviews Frankie Murrey about her latest work, A Collection of Gaps.
There’s this moon in the sky. And I want to say – not now,
moon, I’ve got work to do. But you know the moon. She never
listens. So I sit and watch her for a while. Admire those curves.
Whisper secrets and cigarette smoke love.
— from ‘Letter to the Night’
Thank you to our furniture sponsor, Zorora:
https://zororasofas.co.za/
PagecastPodcast #OpenBookFestival #SouthAfricanBooks #BookInterviews #BookPodcast
Pagecast was at the 2025 Open Book Festival, where we spoke with authors about their writing journeys and the stories they share with readers. In this episode, Sindiswa Busuku-Mathese interviews Sarah Uheida about her debut poetry collection, Not This Tender.
Sarah Uheida’s Not This Tender is a profound exploration of memory, navigating the war-torn landscapes of North Africa, which she was forced to flee as a child. The collection offers a mythical yet deeply personal examination of longing and belonging, estrangement, loss, and the influence of family and language, conveyed through immersive portraits and the perspective of a fractured landscape.
Thank you to our furniture sponsor, Zorora:
https://zororasofas.co.za/
PagecastPodcast #OpenBookFestival #SouthAfricanBooks #BookInterviews #BookPodcast
Pagecast was at the 2025 Open Book Festival, where we spoke with authors about their writing journeys and the stories they share with readers. In this first episode, Wamuwi Mbao interviews Foluso Agbaje about her moving novel, The Parlour Wife.
Set in Lagos in 1939 during the start of World War Two, the story follows Kehinde, who must leave her dreams of writing to become the third wife of Mr Ogunjobi. Kehinde finds purpose selling snacks and later joining the Lagos Market Women’s Association, fighting the British for women’s rights. But if her husband discovers her defiance, she risks being abandoned. Can Kehinde find the courage to fight for herself and other women, or will she remain trapped as a parlour wife?
Thank you to our furniture sponsor, Zorora:
https://zororasofas.co.za/
PagecastPodcast #OpenBookFestival #SouthAfricanBooks #AfricanLiterature #FolusoAgbaje #TheParlourWife #LagosStories #WomenWriters #HistoricalFiction #BookInterviews #BookPodcast
In this episode of Pagecast, Shaun de Waal interviews Justice Edwin Cameron about his book, Behind Prison Walls.
More about the book:
Since the Zuma presidency weakened crime intelligence, violent crime surged, with murder rates rising over 75%. South Africa faces severe femicide, and most murderers evade justice. Prisons fail by perpetuating crime; harsher sentences do not help. Edwin Cameron, after visiting prisons, advocates for reform. Along with colleagues, he suggests abolishing minimum sentences, cash bail, and decriminalizing drug use to improve safety and justice.
EdwinCameron #BehindPrisonWalls #CrimeReform #SouthAfricaCrime #BookPodcast #Pagecast #Authorinterview #Prison
This week on Pagecast, Qaanitah Hunter is in conversation with Jeff Wicks to talk about his new book, The Shadow State.
More about the book:
On 23 August 2021, a quiet, hardworking single mom was shot down as she drove home. Her name was Babita Deokaran, chief accountant at the Gauteng Department of Health. The izinkabi paid to kill her were caught, but the question remained: who ordered her murder, and why? Crime reporter Jeff Wicks set out to find the answer – a pursuit that would profoundly change, even endanger, his life. This is an explosive investigation into state capture and a moving tribute to the cost of integrity.
TheShadowState #JeffWicks #QaanitahHunter #PagecastPodcast #NewBookRelease #PoliticalThriller #MustRead2025 #BookDiscussion #SouthAfricaPodcast #LiteraryTalk
In this episode of Pagecast, Keanan Hemmonsbey interviews Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell about her prize-winning memoir, These Heavy Black Bones.
More about the book:
This is not a story about making history.
Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell was once a double British Champion and the first Black woman ever to swim for Great Britain. As her body and mind are sharpened through gruelling training, press scrutiny and the harshness of adolescence, Rebecca charts her career’s ascent and her singular love of the water, before explaining why she walked away from it all.
A compulsive and unforgettable study of intensity, These Heavy Black Bones meditates on Blackness, identity and the ecstasy of peak physical performance, and lays bare the pressures within the swimming world.
TheseHeavyBlackBones #RebeccaAchiengAjuluBushell #Pagecast #BookPodcast #Swimming #Athlete #Book
In this episode of Pagecast, Janine Jellars interviews Nadia Cassim about her new book, Not Another Samoosa Run! This is a heartfelt conversation about the vibrant stories, rich cultural nuances, and powerful themes that make this book a unique and engaging local read.
More about the book:
In Tasneem’s close-knit Muslim Indian community, the stigma of divorce is a heavy burden to carry, and her mother insists on finding her a new husband – even if it means orchestrating a traditional ‘samoosa run’. When she meets Aadil an unexpected connection sparks and they strike a deal: a pretend engagement to keep their families off their backs. But a simple ruse soon grows complicated because one of them is hiding a life-changing secret . . .
PagecastPodcast #NadiaCassim #NotAnotherSamoosaRun #BookDiscussion #SouthAfricanAuthors #CulturalStories #LiteraryPodcast #DiverseVoices #StorytellingMagic #BookPodcast
This week we have the incredible Sue Nyathi chatting with Busisekile Khumalo to discuss her novel, "Rubies and Rain."
More about the book:
Ruby has to deal with the news of her father’s death and her sex scandal simultaneously trending on social media. Vimbai has been captured and Nosihle returns to Harare where her path crosses with Joshua, Shadow’s second in command.
Ruby is arrested and locked in the same cell as Vimbai. Will the two women be able to put aside their differences to survive this ordeal?
Rubies and Rain is a page-turner filled with surprise twists and turns.
RubiesAndRain #BusisekileKhumalo #SueNyathi #Pagecast #AfricanLiterature #BookPodcast #WomenWriters #MustReadBooks #AuthorInterview #BookRecommendation
Step into the world of South African fiction as Wamuwi Mbao sits down with Alistair Mackay to explore his collection of short stories, The Lucky Ones.
Discover what makes The Lucky Ones a “dazzling, poignant collection brimming with unforgettable characters and heart,” and why Mackay’s voice stands out in contemporary literature.
TheLuckyOnes #AlistairMackay #WamuwiMbao #Pagecast #LiteraryPodcast #SouthAfricanAuthors #QueerLiterature #ShortStories #ContemporaryFiction #BookChat
Discover the story behind "Journey Kwantu" as Joy Fakude sits down with author Vusumzi Ngxande to chat about South African spiritual identity and beliefs.
More about the book:
“Kwantu means home” – Vusumzi Ngxande
For decades, African spirituality has been demonised or met with suspicion. Many people have had to choose between being a believer, usually in the Christian faith, or believing in their ancestors. Yet often African cultural practices require the involvement of Ancestors in one form or another, which goes against Christian dogma.
Journey Kwantu is inspired by Vusumzi Ngxande’s popular podcast of the same name that delves into South African spiritual identity and beliefs and shows how it has evolved over hundreds of years. The book is rooted in extensive historical research, lived experiences and interviews with healers, teachers and ordinary people trying to live out their truth.
With a unique ability to simplify complex issues and ask taboo questions, the author endeavours to answers questions like, “Who are we?” and “How did we come to believe what we believe?” In the process he deals with issues he has struggled with on his own spiritual journey, such as death and the afterlife and the authority of the Ancestors vs the Power of God to more practical matters like performing rituals in urban areas and understanding lineage and its impact on one’s spiritual life.
Deeply perceptive and engaging, Journey Kwantu offers a guide and spiritual sustenance to African believers.
JourneyKwantu #VusumziNgxande #JoyFakude #Pagecast #SouthAfricanBooks #BookPodcast #AfricanAuthors #Heritage #Culture
Join Pippa Skotnes on Pagecast as she chats with José Manuel de Prada-Samper about his new book, Fading Footprints: In Search of South Africa’s First People. Discover the fascinating history, culture, and stories of the earliest inhabitants of South Africa in this insightful conversation.
Perfect for listeners interested in South African heritage and indigenous history.
More about the book:
Part historical detective story, part memoir, Fading Footprints traces the author’s journey into the magical folklore of the /xam hunter-gatherers of the Upper Karoo. Through archival research and on field trips in South Africa, De Prada-Samper reveals the tragic scope of the genocide of the /xam San by European colonisers.
Pagecast #PippaSkotness #JoseManueldePradaSamper #FadingFootprints #SouthAfricanHistory #IndigenousPeoples #BookDiscussion #CulturalHeritage #LiteraryPodcast #SouthAfricaBooks
Join Mila de Villiers in this episode of Pagecast as she sits down with acclaimed author Ted Botha to discuss his latest book, Hollywood on the Veld.
More about the book:
In 1913, a secretive American millionaire, who lived on the top floor of the famous Carlton Hotel, had a crazy idea: to make movies in Johannesburg. And not just any movies but the biggest in the world, huge spectacles with elaborate sets, thousands of extras and epic story lines.
Isidore Schlesinger – better known as ‘IW’ – built a studio on a farm called Killarney, where he set out to challenge a place in America that was in its infancy: Hollywood.
The glamour, gossip and high drama of IW’s studio fit perfectly into a city experiencing an intoxicating golden age. There was as much action on the movie sets as there was on screen: from political intrigue and the clashing of massive egos to public outbursts, fiery judicial inquiries, disaster and death.
Behind this mad enterprise was a maverick, a tycoon, a recluse, a friend of the famed and the connected. IW could have held his own in California but he chose as his base the City of Gold, and his indomitable ambition saw his ‘Hollywood on the Veld’ soar. This is the never-been-told-before story of the rise and fall of the strangest and most unique movie empire ever.
Pagecast #TedBotha #HollywoodOnTheVeld #BookPodcast #SouthAfricanAuthors #LiteraryPodcast #AuthorInterview #BookDiscussion #CinemaHistory #MustReadBooks
Join Mphuthumi Ntabeni in conversation with historian and author Bronwen Everill, as they discuss her book Africonomics: A History of Western Ignorance. This conversation offers essential insights into how we can rethink the African continent’s economic past, present, and future.
More about the book:
We need to think differently about African economics.
For centuries, Westerners have tried to 'fix' African economies. From the abolition of slavery onwards, missionaries, philanthropists, development economists and NGOs have arrived on the continent, full of good intentions and bad ideas. Their experiments have invariably gone awry, to the great surprise of all involved.
In this short, bold story of Western economic thought about Africa, historian Bronwen Everill argues that these interventions fail because they start from a misguided premise: that African economies just need to be more like the West. Ignoring Africa's own traditions of economic thought, Europeans and Americans assumed a set of universal economic laws that they thought could be applied anywhere. They enforced specifically Western ideas about growth, wealth, debt, unemployment, inflation, women's work and more, and used Western metrics to find African countries wanting.
The West does not know better than African nations how an economy should be run. By laying bare the myths and realities of our tangled economic history, Africonomics moves from Western ignorance to African knowledge.
Africonomics #BookPodcast #AfricanEconomy #AuthorInterview #EconomicDevelopment #AfricanBusiness #PodcastEpisode #Pagecast
BronwenEverill #MphuthumiNtabeni
In this episode of Pagecast at the Kingsmead Book Fair, Sibongile Machika sits down with two dynamic South African authors, Siya Khumalo and Khaya Dlanga, as they explore how storytelling challenges norms, sparks dialogue, and drives social change in today’s South Africa.
Khaya Dlanga, author of Life Is Like That Sometimes, reflects on personal resilience, blending humour with profound social commentary rooted in his Eastern Cape upbringing.
Siya Khumalo, author of The Queer Book of Revelation, discusses navigating the intersections of religion, sexuality, and activism through bold science fiction that challenges perceptions and inspires acceptance.
Discover how these voices use their craft to confront complex issues of identity, justice, and transformation.
PagecastPodcast #SouthAfricanAuthors #StorytellingForChange #BookPodcast #SocialJustice #SouthAfricanLiterature #IdentityAndJustice #AuthenticVoices #LiteraryPodcast #CulturalDialogue
Welcome to a fascinating episode of Pagecast at the Kingsmead Book Fair hosted by Kelly Ansara. What was meant to be a thoughtful discussion on writing the moment quickly turned into a passionate conversation about one of life’s biggest questions: is love fate or choice?
Join Kelly as she chats with four brilliant South African authors, each bringing their unique perspective on love, relationships, identity, and triumph.
In this episode, hear from:
Zukiswa Wanner, acclaimed novelist , whose latest book Love Marry Kill explores the complexities of modern relationships with sharp social commentary and humour.
Duduzile Nhlabathi-Madonsela, dating coach and author of The Dating Playbook, sharing candid and practical advice for navigating today’s dating scene.
Sven Axelrad, Durban-based author of The Nicotine Gospel, blending dark humour with poignant reflections on family, loss, and identity.
Khanyiso Tshwaku, sports journalist and co-author of Twice the Glory, chronicling the Springboks’ historic back-to-back Rugby World Cup victories and their cultural significance.
Tune in for an engaging, heartfelt, and sometimes fiery exploration of love in all its forms.
PagecastPodcast #SouthAfricanAuthors #LoveAndWriting #ModernRelationships #LiteraryPodcast #SouthAfricanLiterature #WritingCommunity #RugbyWorldCup #StorytellingMatters #LoveFateOrChoice #BookPodcast
In this episode of Pagecst at the Kingsmead Book Fair, Jean-Marie Korff is in conversation with four authors who are creating thrilling narratives around crime, culture, identity and their social realities.
In this episode, Jean-Marie Korff speaks with:
Marina Auer, a medical doctor turned author, whose novel Single Minded explores the pressures and resilience of hospital life.
Costa Ayiotis, South African-Greek author and former UN diplomat, who shares his nostalgic and humorous memoir Matriarchs, Meze and the Evil Eye, reflecting on family, culture, and identity.
Tony Park, acclaimed thriller writer, discusses his latest novel The Protector, focusing on wildlife crime and conservation.
Juliette Manitshana-Mnqeta, legal transcriptionist and isiXhosa translator, whose debut crime novel If the Dead Could Talk investigates justice and memory in South Africa.
Discover their writing rituals, the inspiration behind their stories, and how their South African heritage shapes their work.
PagecastPodcast #SouthAfricanAuthors #CrimeFiction #CulturalStorytelling #SouthAfricanLiterature #ThrillerWriters #LiteraryPodcast #WildlifeConservation #AfricanAuthors #StorytellingMatters
In this episode of Pagecast, recorded at the Kingsmead Book Fair, Shakti Pillay is chatting to three incredible authors about the art of storytelling and how they build fictional worlds that resonate with real emotions and reflect complex human experiences.
Join us for an intimate conversation with:
Louisa Treger, acclaimed author of The Paris Muse, who brings to life the untold stories of women silenced by history and explores the responsibilities of fictionalising real lives.
Bonnie Espie, writer and poet, whose latest novel Making A Killing blends dark comedy with crime fiction, offering fresh perspectives on identity, motherhood, and mental health.
Alistair Mackay, the Cape Town-based author of The Lucky Ones, whose fiction challenges social norms while championing love, kindness, and connection in uncertain times.
Together, they reflect on their writing rituals, how their voices have evolved, and the ways their work contributes to both local and global literary landscapes. Discover what it means to truly feel “seen” as a writer, how they balance humour and serious themes, and the books that have recently inspired them.
Whether you’re a writer, reader, or lover of stories that touch the heart and mind, this episode offers rich insights into the power of fiction to illuminate real emotions and lived experiences.
PagecastPodcast #SouthAfricanAuthors #FictionWriting #Storytelling #LiteraryPodcast #MakingA Killing #TheParisMuse #TheLuckyOnes #WritingCommunity #RealEmotionsInFiction #BookPodcast #KingsmeadBookFair
In this special episode of Pagecast, we bring you an inspiring conversation recorded live at the 2025 Kingsmead Book Fair. Hloniphile Mzangwa is in conversation with four South African children’s authors who are transforming childhood through stories that celebrate empathy, inclusion, cultural pride, and representation.
Meet the incredible voices behind these powerful books:
Lara Nathan, author of Jamie Shai and his Superpower, shares how her special-needs son inspired a story rooted in empathy and inclusion.
Professor Claudine Storbeck, founder of the Centre for Deaf Studies, explores the importance of Deaf culture and sign language in children’s literature and education.
Salamina Mosese, acclaimed actress and author of Disaster at Gogo’s Spaza, brings township family life vividly to the page through her storytelling.
Refiloe Moahloli, award-winning author and founder of Twelve Animation Studios, celebrates multilingualism, joy, and self-confidence in her work.
Together, they answer thought-provoking questions about the importance of representation in South African children’s literature, how social themes like inclusion and identity are woven into their stories, and the core values they hope young readers will embrace.
Whether you’re a parent, educator, or book enthusiast, this episode offers a look at the stories shaping the future of childhood in South Africa.
KingsmeadBookFair #SouthAfricanAuthors #ChildrensBooks #InclusionInLiterature #RepresentationMatters #EmpathyThroughStories #AfricanChildrensBooks #LiteraryFestival #BookLoversSA #StorytellingForChange #BookPodcast
Relive the excitement of the 2025 Kingsmead Book Fair with our exclusive behind-the-scenes podcast episode. Just minutes before the festivities began, Maryam Adams sat down with the talented team who brought this year’s incredible programme to life. Alex Bouche, Sue Nyathi, Jennifer Platt and Pamela Power spoke about what it took to organise one of South Africa’s most anticipated literary festivals, shared their intentions for the day, and offered unique insights into the creative process. And for a fun twist, Maryam asked them the burning question: If you could be any bird, which one would you be?
KingsmeadBookFair #BookPodcast #BookFair2025 #SouthAfricanAuthors #LiteraryFestival #BehindTheScenes #BookLoversSA #PodcastInterview #BookCommunity #FestivalHighlights #ReadingCulture
Eva Mazza sits down with Lindsay Norman to discuss her latest novel, Khaki Fever. This lively conversation delves into the inspiration behind the book, Norman’s writing process, and the unique South African setting that brings the story to life.
Khaki Fever is ‘Chick-lit in khaki’ that offers pure escapism with the perfect combination of romance and drama spiced with laugh-out-loud moments.
Game guide Alexandra Carnell-Ellis is principled, doesn’t suffer fools, and is generally not too fond of ordinary people either. When she’s fired from The Plains, a commercial ‘Ferrari Safari’-type game reserve in the Karoo for being rude to guests, she’s determined to make a fresh start.
She lands a dream job at an exclusive game reserve in Mpumalanga, but Alex’s new beginning appears to be doomed from the start as she arrives at the lodge with attitude, a few facts about her that aren’t strictly true, and a stolen dog in tow. For one, she had pretended to be a man in her application, because she is convinced that khaki fever gives male guides an advantage.
Alex struggles to control her unruly tongue and almost immediately makes enemies with the camp manager and the owner’s terrifyingly scary girlfriend, who can’t wait to expose Alex’s deepest darkest secrets. She finds love in the form of the level-headed and attractive head guide, but it’s not long before everything goes wrong.
After impulsively abandoning her vehicle and guests to rescue an abandoned baby baboon, a storm breaks over her head and she flees the reserve. Will she ever be able to find her way back?
Tune in to hear Lindsay Norman share behind-the-scenes insights and what makes Khaki Fever a must-read for 2025!
KhakiFever #LindsayNorman #SouthAfricanFiction #PagecastPodcast #BookChat #WomenWriters #AdventureReads #BookRecommendation #MustRead2025 #PodcastInterview #BookPodcast
Pagecast along with a host of book people take a seat in the vibrant courtyard of Smitten Cafe surrounded by a soirée of literary buzz.
Reflecting on the festival buzz in the air, standout moments, and the nostalgic love affair with Johannesburg, all against the breathtaking beauty of Franschhoek. In “The Last Word: Endings, Echoes, and What Comes Next”, Michele Magwood, Paige Nick, and Kate Mosse were interviewed by Shaun de Waal in a powerful, funny, and moving conversation that captured it all.
Pagecast along with a host of book people take a seat in the vibrant courtyard of Smitten Cafe surrounded by a soirée of literary buzz.
Sandiswa Tshabalala sat down with Ute Hermanus, Thandolwethu Binda, and Emily Bolton for “Moments That Moved Us: A Festival in Reflection” — a heartfelt and energising chat with the JBL FLF crew. They shared the behind-the-scenes magic, the unexpected joys, and the moments that made it all worthwhile.
Pagecast along with a host of book people take a seat in the vibrant courtyard of Smitten Cafe surrounded by a soirée of literary buzz.
Ute Hermanus sat down with Ashraf Jamal for “The Art of Story: When Words and Images Collide.” It was a brilliant, thought-provoking conversation that danced between the visual and the verbal. A true celebration of storytelling in all its forms.
Pagecast along with a host of book people take a seat in the vibrant courtyard of Smitten Cafe surrounded by a soirée of literary buzz.
Three Karens — Schimke, Vermeulen, and Lane — gathered to unpack what it means to be a Karen in 2025. The conversation, titled “Karen, Rewritten: Owning the Name in a Meme-Worn World”, was outrageously funny. They laughed louder (and longer) than the internet ever did at the meme. Enjoy!
Pagecast along with a host of book people take a seat in the vibrant courtyard of Smitten Cafe surrounded by a soirée of literary buzz.
Abi Daré and Bronwen Everill join Sibongile Machika to explore the borders of Africa as they appear in fiction and non-fiction, and how these boundaries are often more porous than we assume. Both authors reflect on how their work aims to spark ideas that help us rethink the ways we live in and relate to the world.
Pagecast along with a host of book people take a seat in the vibrant courtyard of Smitten Cafe surrounded by a soirée of literary buzz. Maryam Adams engages in a compelling conversation with Elleke Boehmer and Mary Watson, exploring their latest works of fiction, the diverse settings that inspire their narratives, and the audiences they envision while writer.
Pagecast along with a host of book people take a seat in the vibrant courtyard of Smitten Cafe surrounded by a soirée of literary buzz.
Caryn Dolley, Kelly Ansara and Nicole Engelbrecht talking true crime, ethical sleuthing and getting to the bottom of Caryn’s obsession with painting cats as famous Pawtraits.
Pagecast along with a host of book people take a seat in the vibrant courtyard of Smitten Cafe surrounded by a soirée of literary buzz.
Join Kelly Ansara and Justin Fox as they chat about place, memory and non-fiction writing. We also hear more about Justin’s unexpected skill that helps him with his writing.
Join the Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, as he engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Tony Leon about his latest book, ‘Being There: Backstories from the Political Front’. Tony Leon offers insightful reflections on the nostalgia of childhood, the formative experiences of school, and the pivotal ‘what if’ moments that shape a life spent on the frontlines of South African politics and history. Discover how even the smallest decisions or a handful of votes can alter the trajectory of a life and a nation.
Pagecast #TonyLeon #BeingThere #GeordinHillLewis #CapeTown #SouthAfricanPolitics #PoliticalMemoir #BookDiscussion #HistoryInTheMaking #LeadershipStories
In this episode of Pagecast, acclaimed journalist Gus Silber interviews the brilliant David Baddiel during his visit to South Africa for the 2025 Jewish Literary Festival.
David Baddiel is a British comedian, bestselling author, and cultural commentator known for his sharp wit and thought-provoking works like Jews Don’t Count.
His latest work is a deeply personal memoir called My Family. The book is a candid, moving, and often hilarious exploration of Baddiel’s North London childhood, his mother’s extraordinary journey from Nazi Germany, her unconventional passions, and his father’s battle with dementia. Discover how Baddiel weaves comedy and poignancy into family history, memory, and identity, and hear his insights on what it means to be Jewish today.
DavidBaddiel #Memoir #JewishLiteraryFestival #BookPodcast #GusSilber #BookLovers #Memoir #AuthorInterview #CapeTown #Jewish #JewishCulture
Breakups, makeups, and second chances! On this episode of Pagecast, Ute Hermanus sits down with bestselling romance author Jo Watson to dive into her latest irresistible read, The Ex Effect. From messy love stories to heartfelt humour, Jo shares what inspired the novel, how she crafts chemistry between characters, and why exes make the best (and worst) material. Don't miss this juicy literary chat! 🎙️📚
JoWatson #TheExEffect #RomanceBooks #SouthAfricanAuthors #PagecastPodcast #BookLovers #AuthorInterview #ContemporaryRomance #Bookstagram #ReadersOfInstagram #RomCom #BookPodcast #Pagecast #SouthAfricanAuthors #SecondChanceRomance #BookLovers #PodcastInterview #NewRelease
In this episode of Pagecast, Jeremy Boraine sits down with acclaimed author James Whyle to discuss his latest literary work, We Two From Heaven. In this conversation they touch on the creative process, the themes that shaped the book, and the profound narratives woven throughout this remarkable work. Don't miss this insightful conversation that bridges literature and life.
Whether you're a devoted reader or a curious listener, this episode offers a unique glimpse into the story behind the story.
More about the book:
We Two from Heaven is a singular memoir, a four-part fugue on the tricks and traps of memory, a shuffling of the cards of time. Episodes from the early life of writer James Whyle are interwoven with the letters of his father from the Western Front during the First World War. Their formative experiences – war, conscription, injury, desertion – flash by, juxtaposed, as if in counterpoint.
How do we know who we are? Upending the reader’s expectations of a memoir, Whyle then explores the violence and madness of apartheid society as the narrator passes through boarding school and university and takes his first steps to become a writer. Raw and rhythmic, lyrical and caustic, this is an unsparing, formally inventive dissection of human vanities and illusions.
At the end of history, on the shores of a blue bay, the voices of the past can be heard as we await the arrival of the barbarians – or the baboons, whoever comes first.
More about James and Jeremy:
James Whyle grew up in the Amatole Mountains in South Africa. Conscripted into the apartheid army, he was discharged on the grounds of insanity. He did everything in his power to assist the authorities in arriving at this diagnosis. The resulting play, National Madness, won an Amstel Playwright of the Year merit award in 1982. His story, The Story, was chosen by JM Coetzee as winner of the 2011 Pen/Studzinski competition. The Book of War, a novel, won the M-Net Lit Prize for best debut in 2012.
Jeremy Boraine is Publishing Director at Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Pagecast #JamesWhyle #WeTwoFromHeaven #JeremyBorraine #BookPodcast #AuthorInterview #LiteraryDiscussion #JonathanBallPublishers #PodcastLovers #CreativeWriting
Join us for a riveting conversation on Pagecast as Sewela Langeni sits down with Iris Mwanza to explore her gripping debut novel, The Lion's Den. This legal thriller set in Zambia's turbulent political landscape tackles themes of justice, gender equality, and systemic oppression.
More about the book:
Rookie lawyer Grace Zulu does not give up easily. She escaped an arranged marriage to put herself through university. Now she’s got her first case.
Her client is young Willbess ‘Bessy’ Mulenga, who has been arrested for offences ‘against nature’. Bessy works in a men-only bar, loves to dance, to wear dresses and live freely. But in 1990s Zambia, following your own identity can get you beaten, jailed or even worse. Grace is determined to get Bessy out of custody. Then her terrified, bruised client goes missing without a trace. She knows something bad has happened and that someone is trying to cover it up. Along with the most unlikely group of allies, Grace must take on powerful enemies at the highest levels – even risk her own safety – to get to the truth. The whole truth.
A debut novel that soars with passion and humanity, The Lions’ Den is a moving story of prejudice, corruption, injustice, courage and solidarity. It shows us that no cause is ever a lost one.
More about Iris and Sewela:
Iris Mwanza is a Zambian-American writer. Now Deputy Director of Women in Leadership in the Gender Equality Division of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she has worked as a corporate lawyer in both Zambia and the US. Mwanza holds law degrees from Cornell University and the University of Zambia, and an MA and PhD in International Relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. In addition to her work at the Foundation, Mwanza serves on the Supervisory Board of Care International and on the Board of Directors of World Wildlife Fund US.
Sewela Langeni is an author and the owner of Book Circle Capital, an independent bookshop focusing on African Literature based at 27 Boxes in Melville, Johannesburg. She is passionate about literacy, especially in children. She is a Marketing Manager at one of South Africa's leading insurance companies. Her academic background spans from Journalism, Communication Sciences and Marketing. She holds a Master's degree in Strategic Marketing and Consulting from the University of Birmingham, UK. Sewela is an avid reader and reviewer of local books for adults and kids. In her role at Book Circle Capital, she also facilitates conversations on books with authors.
NewPodcastAlert #AfricanLiterature #LegalThriller #GenderEquality #ZambianAuthors #PodcastSeries #BookCircleCapital #BookPodcast #Fiction
Join David Gorin as he sits down with Don Ross to discuss The Gambling Animal, a compelling exploration of human behaviour and risk-taking. Discover the psychology behind gambling, its societal impacts, and why we’re wired to take chances. Tune in for an insightful conversation.
More about the book:
Evolution is a series of bets, and no animal gambles the way humans do. This has led us to unprecedented ecological dominance, via the steepest odds and unlikeliest of outcomes, but our winning streak cuts both ways: the secret to our success may yet be our downfall.
The Gambling Animal offers a revelatory retelling of the human story. Drawing on
their unique research into the risk psychology of humans and other animals - including our most impressive rivals, elephants - Don Ross and Glenn Harrison reveal the hidden logic of our rise.
Even before the dawn of civilisation, we bet the Earth on our ability to keep doubling down. But with an ecological crisis on the horizon, how long will our winning streak continue?
More about Don and David:
Don Ross is an experimental economist and philosopher of science, based at University College Cork in Ireland since 2016, the University of Cape Town in South Africa since 1997, and Georgia State University in Atlanta, USA since 2010. Born in Winnipeg, Canada, and growing up mostly in Ontario, he earned his PhD at the University of Western Ontario in 1990. Since then he's published many academic articles and books on a range of topics and has done policy consulting for public and corporate clients, including the World Bank, the South African National Roads Agency, the US Department of Commerce, and the Government of Namibia. He currently lives in Cork, Ireland.
Dave Gorin is a former accountant, then an advertising strategist, and now a writer and observer of human nature, with a particular interest in history. As a book lover he has written over 200 reviews for a spectrum of South African publications.
TheGamblingAnimal #DonRoss #DavidGorin #HumanBehavior #RiskTaking #Psychology #GamblingInsights #BookInterview #SouthAfrica #Elephants
This week on Pagecast, Beverley Roos-Muller sits down with Gavin Evans to discuss his thought-provoking new book, White Supremacy: A Brief History of Hatred.
Tune in for a deep dive into the complex and often disturbing history of white supremacy, and explore how its legacy continues to shape our world today. Don't miss this important conversation! 🎧
More about the book:
White supremacy is on the rise in the world once again, often finding expression in acts of extreme violence by young white men.
Gavin Evans explores the roots of this ideology, traced back to the 19th century to Charles Darwin and Francis Galton’s race-based theories. He examines the spread of eugenics and the rise of Nazism and Apartheid.
Evans further investigates the 21st-century evolution of ‘Great Replacement’ ideas, their spread through alt-right forums, and their influence on young men with access to weapons. White Supremacy reveals the connections between mainstream and extremist ‘Replacement Theory’ and the ongoing promotion of race science by both far-right and establishment figures, highlighting the dangerous legacy of eugenics.
More about Gavin and Beverley:
Gavin Evans has practised as a journalist in South Africa and the UK and is the author of 10 books of non-fiction. He lectures at Birkbeck College, University of London, and is a member of the Royal Institution’s ‘Challenging Pseudoscience’ group. Evans lives in the UK and frequently travels to South Africa.
Dr Beverley Roos-Muller is a former academic lecturing in humanities at the University of Cape Town. In her early years she was a journalist on the Cape Argus, and remains a broadcaster and writer on social, political and literary matters. She was an anti-apartheid activist in the 1980s, including as spokesperson for the multi-organisational Open City campaign opposing the Group Areas Act, and was a delegate to Lusaka with the Five Freedoms Forum in 1989. She is the author of Bullet in the Heart and Hunting the Seven.
Pagecast #SouthAfricanLiterature #NewBookRelease #WhiteSupremacy #SocialJustice #BookLovers #PodcastRecommendations #SouthAfricanPodcasts #BookDiscussion #GavinEvans #BeverleyRoosMuller #MustListen #HistoryBooks #NonFiction #SocialCommentary"
This week on Pagecast, Michele Magwood is in conversation with John Stewart about his book, the first complete and comprehensive biography of Sir Herbert Baker.
More about the book:
Architect Sir Herbert Baker left an indelible mark on South Africa and much of the British Empire in the first half of the 20th century. This is the first full biography from childhood and was written with full cooperation from his family and with access to his archive and private papers.
After a Victorian architectural apprenticeship in London, Sir Herbert Baker went on to become the most prolific architect of his age in South Africa, where he designed numerous public buildings, churches, schools and private houses, including the Union Buildings, St George’s Cathedral and Groote Schuur. Thereafter, he worked in India, Kenya and England where, among many other projects, he designed South Africa House.
He was an intimate friend of many fascinating men of his age, including Cecil Rhodes, T. E. Lawrence, John Buchan and Jan Smuts. Lavishly illustrated, this biography offers a compelling picture of an architect whose buildings contribute greatly to South Africa’s rich history.
More about John and Michele:
John Stewart is an award-winning architect, architectural historian and author who, prior to his retirement, was the leader of one of the UK’s largest multi-disciplinary architectural practices. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Royal Society of Arts and was twice selected as one of the best 40 Architects under Forty in the UK. He has been writing and lecturing full-time since 2015 and has written six books. John was educated at the Mackintosh School of Architecture, the Oxford School of Architecture and Henley Management College and lives in Buckinghamshire outside London.
Michele Magwood is an award-winning journalist and the former Books Editor of the Sunday Times. She has worked in television and broadcasting, and now edits and writes.
#SirHerbertBaker #JohnSteward #SouthAfricanHistory #ArchitecturalHeritage #CapeDutchArchitecture #HistoricalBuildings #SouthAfricanPodcast #HistoryLovers #HeritageConservation #ColonialArchitecture #ArchitectsOfHistory #JohannesburgHistory #CapeTownArchitecture #UnionBuildings #SouthAfricanCulture #SouthAfricanPodcast
This week on Pagecast, Ndizwanga Nemanashi is in conversation with Dudu Nhlabathi-Madonsela about her book, The Dating Playbook. You can look forward to hearing Dudu answer all your burning questions about dating, love and desire.
MORE ABOUT THE BOOK:
Dating is an extreme sport and no one survives it unscathed. But to find The One, you must get back in the game and keep at it. And like other extreme sports, the odds get better if you find the right coach.
The Dating Playbook is a sobering, matter-of-fact guide to navigating the dating scene, or mjolo as it is colloquially called. Known as the Peaceful One on TikTok, popular dating coach Dudu Nhlabathi-Madonsela is no stranger to teaching people how to win at mjolo and at love.
Dudu’s teachings include advice on online dating etiquette, practical flirting and seduction techniques, as well as tips for measuring your progress. She also explains how location, politics, socioeconomic issues and upbringing inform who and how we date.
With an emphasis on understanding yourself first and being honest about what you want at various stages of your life, Dudu helps readers face the harsh realities of modern-day dating and shows them how to find their footing in the dating scene. In an era where you can be exposed to anything from a hobosexual to a high-value narcissist, she can safely say your mother’s advice just won’t do.
Whether you are dating or in a relationship, Dudu’s considered advice will show you the way.
MORE ABOUT DUDU AND NDIZWANGA:
Dudu Nhlabathi-Madonsela also known as ‘The Peaceful One’ on social media, is a witty and straight-talking dating coach who tackles social issues, particularly relating to relationships and black family dynamics. She provides regular commentary on local radio and TV stations on relationship matters.
Dudu holds multiple degrees and pivoted from being a banker to a healthcare strategist with an MBA in healthcare innovation. She aims to build one black family at a time by fostering deep conversations about how our history as a country, social issues, and social conditions impact our interpersonal relationships.
Ndizwanga Nemanashi is the marketing manager at Jonathan Ball Publishers, where she spends her days creating campaigns that connect readers to books they will enjoy. She is a professional bookworm with a deep love for people, good food, great music, and the perfect cup of tea.
SupportLocalAuthors #BookLovers #BookDiscussion #PodcastForReaders #SouthAfricanAuthor #southafricanpodcast #podcastseries #Dating #newepisode #DatingAdvice #LoveTalk #RelationshipGoals
This week on Pagecast, Qarnita Loxton is in conversation with Shameez Patel about her latest book, a geeky romantic comedy called Playing Flirty.
MORE ABOUT THE BOOK:
For Rose Marie Jones, risks are a hard no–except for Game Night. For one precious evening a week, Rose can forget about her demanding boss and her lackluster love life and focus on beating the pants off her friends. But none of them brings out her hyper-competitive side quite like William Ashdern.
Her best friend’s half-brother, William is the paragon of a sexy nerd. The tall, dorky, and handsome game designer is Rose’s playing nemesis. But when Rose decides to enter a contest with the board game she’s secretly invented, there’s only one person who can help her win.
Now what has always been a game between Rose and William is getting a lot more serious. And after spending her entire life trying not to lose, Rose might finally be ready to risk it all–and play to win.
MORE ABOUT SHAMEEZ AND QARNITA:
Shameez Patel was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. She lives there with her husband, child, and two cats named Turbo and Charger. During the day, she juggles her time between parenting her daughter and working as an engineer, but at night, she escapes to new worlds that always have someone to fall in love with. Shameez became obsessed with fiction, especially fantasy fiction, at a young...
Qarnita Loxton was born in Cape Town, where she still lives with her family. She has practised as an attorney, studied psychology and worked as an executive coach. Her first novel, Being Kari, was longlisted for the 9mobile Prize for Literature in 2018 and shortlisted for the 2018 Herman Charles Bosman Prize. Being Lily, Being Shelley and Being Dianne followed, concluding the series. In 2021 Qarnita was awarded the Philida Literary Award for an oeuvre of literary successs. She is a co-author of Chasing Marian, published in 2022. Her most recent novel What's Wrong With June? was published in 2024.
RomanticComedy #SouthAfricanAuthor #RomanceBooks #BookPodcast #SouthAfricanFiction #RomanticFiction #BookRecommendations #LoveStories
RomanticReads #SupportLocalAuthors #BookLovers #BookDiscussion #PodcastForReaders #SouthAfricanBooks #FunnyBooks #CapeTownPodcast
In this episode of Pagecast, we dive deep into the challenges of menopause and the powerful role your diet can play. Suzy Brokensha is in conversation with Dr Linia Patel about her authoritative cookbook, Food For Menopause. They share real insights on how food choices can make a huge difference in managing menopause naturally.
If you’re going through perimenopause or menopause or you just want to support someone who is, this episode is for you! 🌿
MORE ABOUT THE BOOK:
Food for Menopause by Dr Linia Patel is packed with 80 super tasty, appealing recipes – perfect for busy lives. You might already know a bit about menopause
symptoms or you might believe it’s something to think about some time in the future. But studies show that there’s lots you can do from your thirties to make your menopausal years easier.
MORE ABOUT LINIA AND SUZY:
Dr Linia Patel is a leading dietitian and sports nutritionist with a PhD in Public health & Epidemiology. She has worked extensively in high performance sport and is particularly passionate about women’s health. She spends her clinical time working with women helping them to better understand the powerful connection between how their body works and how to achieve optimal health.
Suzy Brokensha is a writer, editor, and trend-spotter who has had a distinguished and varied career in media. Currently editor in chief of FAIRLADY, HOT and LOSE IT magazines, she has a unique understanding of her readers and how to reach them.
Menopause #MenopauseDiet #HormoneBalance #NutritionForMenopause #HealthyAging #MenopauseSupport #Perimenopause #MenopauseRelief #MenopauseJourney #WellnessTips #WomenHealth #HealthyDiet #BookPodcast #BookRecommendations #SouthAfricaReads #AfricanAuthors #BooksInAfrica #BookLovers #BookDiscussion #BookCommunity #ReadingSouthAfrica #BookClubSA #LiteraryPodcast
“Comrade president, Stellenbosch is ’n groot probleem. Ons weet jy is na aan Stellenbosch … ons het Stellenbosch nie tot die parlement verkies nie. Ons het nie die Ruperts verkies nie.” – Die EFF-leier Julius Malema aan President Cyril Ramaphosa
Daar word bitsig na hulle as die “Stellenbosch-Mafia” verwys en baie reken die klub van miljardêrs wat in en om dié Bolandse dorp woon, is die ergste voorbeeld van witmonopoliekapitaal. Hul kritici kla oor hul invloed op die staat en die ekonomie, maar wie is hierdie groep ongelooflike ryk Afrikaanssprekende individue en hoeveel mag het hulle werklik?
Die skrywer en joernalis Pieter du Toit het ondersoek gaan instel op Stellenbosch, een van die welvarendste dorpe in die land, wat deur talle as ’n hoeksteen van die Afrikanerdom beskryf word. Hierdie dorp is immers die geboorteplek van talle Afrikanerintellektuele, politieke leiers, asook vele sakemanne en hul sakeryke.
Du Toit kyk krities na hierdie klub van miljardêrs: Wie is hulle en belangriker nog, hoe is hulle onderling verbind? Watter netwerke het ontstaan danksy gedeelde direksies, alliansies en familieverbintenisse? Hy bied ’n intieme blik op Johann Rupert se sakeryk en beskryf ook die opkoms van Markus Jooste en die impak wat die Steinhoff-skandaal op Stellenbosch gehad het.
Welcome to Pagecast, the podcast by Jonathan Ball Publishers that brings books to life! This festive season, we’re stepping into the world of booksellers to uncover the stories behind the stories. Join us as we explore Johannesburg’s literary scene, hearing directly from the experts – the booksellers themselves – about their top recommendations for the holidays. Whether you're searching for the perfect gift or your next great read, we've got you covered. Let’s dive into the world of words and wonders!
Welcome to Pagecast, the podcast by Jonathan Ball Publishers that brings books to life! This festive season, we’re stepping into the world of bookstagrammers to uncover the stories behind the stories. Bookstagram is a community of book lovers on social media that share their love for all types of reads! Whether you're searching for the perfect gift or your next great read, we've got you covered. Let’s dive into the world of words and wonders!
The definitive account of Commando: A Boer Journal of the Anglo-Boer War, published word-for-word as Reitz first wrote it; edited and annotated by historian and Anglo-Boer War expert, Professor Fransjohan Pretorius.
In 1899, Deneys Reitz, then aged seventeen, enlisted in the Boer army to fight the British. He had learnt to ride, shoot and swim almost as soon as he could walk. He made full use of these skills and the endurance he had acquired in the next three years of the war, during which he fought with the Boer commandos.
He was involved in major actions, like the battle of Spioen Kop, and he interacted with prolific political and military figures of the time, such as President Paul Kruger, Boer generals Piet Joubert, Louis Botha, Koos de la Rey, Christiaan Beyers, Jan Smuts and British commander Lord Kitchener. He even met the young Winston Churchill as a prisoner-of-war in Pretoria.
Reitz forged a strong personal and political friendship with General Jan Smuts after the war, built on reciprocal respect.
Commando is more than a historical document; it is a literary masterpiece that transcends time. With prose that captures both the brutality and the beauty of war, Reitz weaves a narrative that resonates with authenticity and passion.
As relevant today as when it was first penned, Commando has become a South African classic and stands as a testament to the indomitable human spirit in the face of adversity.
In this episode of Pagecast, Professor Fransjohan Pretorius. is interviewed by CapeTalk Afternoon Drive Presenter, John Maytham.
Enjoy
What happens when we die? How are some people able to see or communicate with spiritual worlds beyond our own? Can they offer answers to some of our most burning questions about life and death?
Sarah Bullen, who has had a life-altering near-death experience herself, explores these mysteries as she gathers riveting stories of people from South Africa and beyond – people who have crossed to the ‘other side’ or those who can contact it. This book offers original interviews with a fascinating collection of teachers with special abilities, individuals who have gone through near-death experiences and those who can communicate across worlds using mediumship, gifts, trance and plants.
Meet and learn from a man who woke up on a stretcher on the way to the morgue, a spiritual teacher who survived two near-death experiences on an operating table, a psychic rabbi, an influencer who communicates with the departed, a former corporate executive-turned-sangoma who runs a traditional clinic, and shamans and neo-shamans from across the continent. With her keen observation skills and insights gleaned from her own experience, Bullen offers a fresh way of looking at the world.
‘You only need to win a game by one point.’ – Jacques Nienaber after South Africa’s tournament opener against Scotland in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Little did the coach know that it would take three one-point games to propel the Springboks into the history books as four-time winners of the Webb Ellis Cup.
In 2017 the Boks looked punch-drunk as Jacques Nienaber and Rassie Erasmus watched them being overpowered by Ireland. The following year, the coaching duo took up the reins little more than 18 months before the 2019 RWC in Japan. And so began a journey that was to end in victory in the Stade de France six years later.
Twice the Glory goes deep inside the Bok story of that historic era.
Filled with drama, cheers and tears, it will have you on the edge of your seat as you relive each nail-biting moment. It’s all here: the Covid disruption, Siya Kolisi’s rise to the captaincy, Rassie in hot water over that video, injury blows and the emergence of new talent as they head off to France. The book also includes penetrating analysis and insights from the self-effacing Nienaber into how this team became the finest the world has seen.
A recurring theme is the friendship between Jacques and Rassie that goes all the way back to their university days, and why they decided to come home to South Africa to ‘turn things around’.
In this episode of pagecast, Sports Broadcaster Cato Louw sits down with authors Lloyd Burnard and Khanyiso Tshwaku.
Choas unleashed.
A student's death in Stellenbosch mountain wasn't an accident.
A former special forces soldier killed as a message. To someone: "Keep your trap shut."
A corrupt politician's body found in the bunker on the sixtreenth green of the Arabella golf estate. With a mysterious message written in the sand.
A sensual game ranger, recruited as a honey trap for the biggest dollar heist in the country's history. And dark froces lurking in the halls of power trying to sabotage Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido's every move.
You need a cool head to untangle this web of deceit, to manage the incessant pressure. You have to be calm and focused. And sober.
But Benny Griessel's head isn't cool. He's worried. Anxious. And a little bit scared. Because he is getting married on 12 June, a date roaring down on him like a bullet train. And he isn't remotely ready for it.
Chaos is coming.
In this episode of Pagecast, Deon is in conversation with true-crime podcaster, freelance writer, and audiobook narrator Nicole Engelbrecht. Enjoy!
Facing internal rebellion and the threat posed by German troops on South Africa’s borders, Prime Minister Louis Botha and his deputy, Jan Smuts, led the Union Defence Force during the First World War.
Botha, Jan Smuts and the First World War by Antonio Garcia and Ian van der Waag is a first-of-a-kind volume that investigates the wartime roles of these two legendary yet divisive historical figures.
In this episode of Pagecast, Antonio and Ian are in conversation with historian and author Karen Horn.
Enjoy!
The First Murder on Mars
This is the story of the first human being born on Mars: Rose Fuller, who saw a better future than the one that came to pass. And Dylan Ward, a woman raised in the vast wilderness of the frontier, who will find her way back to it. It’s a story about a man who went missing, and the man who wants to find out what he knew. It’s a story about what makes us human – and how we might live once we leave our home.
The story of the first murder on Mars, by Sam Wilson.
In this episode of Pagecast, Sam is in conversation with author Lauren Beukes
Enjoy!
Paris, 1936. Dora Maar, a talented photographer and painter, meets Pablo Picasso and is instantly drawn to his intense creativity. Their passionate relationship, marked by love, sadism, and Picasso's infidelities, pushes Dora to the edge.
The Paris Muse, by Lousa Trejar is a fictional retelling of Dora's journey, set against the backdrop of Paris and the French Riviera. As Picasso paints Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, their relationship darkens. With World War II approaching and the Nazis invading, Dora suffers a breakdown and is hospitalized.
Atmospheric and powerful, The Paris Muse sheds light on Dora's life, ensuring she is no longer a forgotten figure in Picasso’s story.
In this episode of Pagecast, Louisa is in conversation with writer, editor, literary critic and publisher, Karina Szczurek.
Actor and musician Ian Roberts is something of a South African icon, renowned for his roles as the rugged Boer fighter Sloet Steenkamp in the TV series Arende and as Boet in the immortal and immensely popular Castrol advertisements.
His book, Nomad Heart, offers a highly entertaining glimpse of how actors make the magic happen, whether on a theatre stage or before the TV cameras.
In this episode of Pagecast, Ian is in conversation with the Books Editor at Netwerk24, Jo Prins.
Enjoy!
Professor. Pundit. Public nuisance. In his columns, books and on social media, Jonathan Jansen is prolific, and he likes to speak his mind about schools and universities, race, politics and our complex South African society.
He has brought incisive analysis, compassion and a sense of humour to some of the most controversial issues in our country for many years. And now, in this memoir, Jansen goes back to his early years: growing up in a loving, fiercely evangelical family on the Cape Flats, being put on the road to purpose by an inspiring school teacher and becoming the first of his generation to go to university.
In this episode of Pagecast, Prof Jansen is in conversation with award-winning journalist Rebecca Davis
In Beeld 50 samesteller Erika de Beer, vertel dié geliefde koerant se joernaliste hoe hulle juis dit gedoen het deur die dekades en wat hulle steeds bybly van daardie ervaring.
“Nooi, ek praat nie met julle nie. Julle lieg van bladsy een tot die
einde . . . maar ek is nie so seker van die sport nie.”
– “Kommandant-generaal” Fritz Meyer van die Wenkommando aan Carolien Saayman van Beeld
Die afgelope halfeeu het meer as 15 000 uitgawes van Beeld verskyn met derduisende stories in woord en beeld. Regdeur hierdie 50 jaar is ’n mantra in die redaksie: “Slaan die groot storie hard.” In Beeld 50 vertel dié geliefde koerant se joernaliste hoe hulle juis dit gedoen het deur die dekades en wat hulle steeds bybly van daardie ervaring.
Die boek neem die leser op ’n reis deur van die grootste nuusgebeure sedert 1974 en weerspieël die geskakeerde leefwêreld van die Afrikaanse gemeenskap in die noorde van die land. Beeld is die Suid-Afrikaanse dagblad wat al die meeste as die mooiste aangewys is – daarvan getuig die foto’s, voorblaaie, spotprente en grafika op dié blaaie. Tog is dit nie ’n beste-voetjie-voorsit-soort boek nie, want dis in die eerste plek joernaliste wie se stemme jy hier hoor.
Op die ou end is die belangrikste element die leser. Soos Pieter du Toit in 2014 as nuusredakteur gesê het: “Ons lojaliteit lê by die briefskrywer wat ons kapittel oor ’n onbesonne hoofberig, die intekenaar wat kla oor sy nat koerant op die grasperk en die leser wat dankie sê vir die nuwe Saterdag-Beeld.”
The ANC has ruled South Africa for three decades during which time the country has gone from the promise of the Rainbow Nation to disfunction and despair. In The Super Cadres, bestselling author Pieter du Toit examines this legacy from the early halcyon days through to the disappointment of the Ramaphosa presidency.
Du Toit asks key questions before coming to a critical observation and a damning conclusion:
What was the state of the ANC when it took power?
Was ANC failure inevitable? Did they inherit a country so stricken by apartheid that success was impossible?
When did the first signs of misrule and corruption occur?
How did each of the presidencies perform, from Mandela to Ramaphosa? What role did each play in the road to failure?
What was President Cyril Ramaphosa doing to stop state capture while he was deputy president?
Du Toit concludes that at the very centre of ANC - and thus state - failure is 'cadre deployment' which the ANC adopted as official party policy under President Thabo Mbeki. He shows how, over time, the appointment of cadres at every level of government inevitably led to the (con)fusion of party and state, the spread of incompetence, and the dire corruption that ate into every part of the country once Jacob Zuma took over.
In this episode of Pagecast, Pieter is in conversation with CapeTalk radio presenter John Maytham.
In this episode of Pagecast at Open Book Cape Town, we’re excited to dive into the vibrant world of the Open Book Festival—a celebration of South African literature within an international context. Each year, the festival brings together a diverse range of voices, offering readers and writers alike the opportunity to connect with thought-provoking stories, groundbreaking ideas, and inspiring authors.
In this special episode, Jonathan Ball Publishers' Publicity Manager, Jean-Marie Korff, sits down with Mervyn Sloman, the owner of the beloved indie bookshop, The Book Lounge, and the director of Open Book. Mervyn shares insights into the festival's journey, its role in cultivating a thriving literary community, and the challenges and triumphs that have shaped Open Book into one of the most anticipated events on the literary calendar.
Join us as we explore the festival’s evolution, its impact on South African literature, and the powerful narratives that continue to captivate audiences. Whether you're a longtime festival attendee or a first-time visitor, Open Book Cape Town offers an unforgettable literary experience, bringing stories that shape the world closer to home.
Welcome to Pagecast at Open Book Cape Town, a special edition of the regular podcast brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers. Usually, we explore the latest in literature year-round, but today, we're coming to you straight from the heart of the Open Book Festival—Cape Town's annual celebration of South African literature in an international context. In these festival-exclusive episodes, we sit down with some of the most inspiring voices in literature to delve into their stories, insights, and the powerful narratives that shape our world. Let's dive into the pages together!
In this episode, we are joined by the acclaimed Niq Mhlongo, born in 1973 in Soweto. Niq’s debut novel, Dog Eat Dog, was published by Kwela in 2004 and later translated into Spanish as Perro Come Perro in 2006, earning the Mar des Lettras prize. Beyond his novels and short stories, Niq has contributed as a screenwriter for the animated children’s TV series Magic Cellar and created scripts for the comic magazine Mshana, which debuted in 2007. His most recent novel, The City is Mine, was published in 2024.
Join us as we explore Niq’s incredible body of work, his creative journey, and the storytelling that continues to resonate with readers around the world.
Welcome to Pagecast at Open Book Cape Town, a special edition of the regular podcast brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers. While we usually explore the latest in literature throughout the year, in this episode we're broadcasting directly from the Open Book Festival—Cape Town's annual celebration of South African literature in an international context. In these festival-exclusive episodes, we sit down with some of the most inspiring voices in literature to dive deep into their stories, insights, and the powerful narratives that shape our world. Let's journey into the pages together!
In this episode, Jonathan Ball Publishers Publicity Manager Jean-Marie Korff sits down with the phenomenal Qarnita Loxton.
After studying law at the University of Cape Town and graduating in 1997, Qarnita worked as an attorney, primarily in the financial services sector. More recently, she transitioned into the field of executive coaching, bringing a fresh perspective to her work.
Qarnita's literary career began in 2017 with the release of her debut novel, Being Kari. She followed it with Being Lily, Being Shelley, and Being Dianne, captivating readers with her nuanced storytelling. She is also the co-author of Chasing Marion, written alongside Amy Heydenrych, Pamela Power, and Gail Schimmel. Her most recent novel, What’s Wrong with June, was published in 2024.
Join us as we explore Qarnita’s writing journey, the evolution of her characters, and the themes that resonate through her work.
Welcome to Pagecast at Open Book Cape Town, a special edition of the regular podcast brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers. While we usually explore the latest in literature throughout the year, in this episode we're broadcasting directly from the Open Book Festival—Cape Town's annual celebration of South African literature in an international context. In these festival-exclusive episodes, we sit down with some of the most inspiring voices in literature to dive deep into their stories, insights, and the powerful narratives that shape our world. Let's journey into the pages together!
In this episode, Jonathan Ball Publishers Publicity Manager Jean-Marie Korff sits down with Lesedi Molefi, a Soweto-born writer, documentary filmmaker, photographer, and entrepreneur. Lesedi’s work spans multiple disciplines, capturing the essence of South African stories through various mediums. As a storyteller with a unique perspective, he uses his creative talents to shine a light on the complexities and beauty of everyday life in South Africa.
Join us as we explore Lesedi’s creative journey, his approach to storytelling across different forms, and the narratives that have shaped his remarkable career.
Welcome to Pagecast at Open Book Cape Town, a special edition of the regular podcast brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers. Usually, we explore the latest in literature year-round, but in this episode, we're coming to you straight from the heart of the Open Book Festival—Cape Town's annual celebration of South African literature in an international context. In these festival-exclusive episodes, we sit down with some of the most inspiring voices in literature to delve into their stories, insights, and the powerful narratives that shape our world. Let's dive into the pages together!
In this episode, Jonathan Ball Publishers Publicity Manager Jean-Marie Korff sits down with the talented Shubnum Khan, a South African author and artist. Her debut novel, Onion Tears, was shortlisted for both the Penguin Prize for African Writing and the University of Johannesburg Debut Prize for Writing in English. Shubnum holds a Master’s degree in English and has earned several prestigious literary fellowships, including the Octavia Butler Fellow at Jack Jones Literary Arts and the Mellon Fellowship at Stellenbosch University. When she’s not travelling, Shubnum resides in Durban, where she writes and draws for a living.
Join us as we explore Shubnum's literary journey, creative process, and the stories that have shaped her remarkable career.
Welcome to Pagecast at Open Book Cape Town, a special edition of the regular podcast brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers. Usually, we explore the latest in literature year-round, but in this episode, we're coming to you straight from the heart of the Open Book Festival—Cape Town's annual celebration of South African literature in an international context. In these festival-exclusive episodes, we sit down with some of the most inspiring voices in literature to delve into their stories, insights, and the powerful narratives that shape our world. Let's dive into the pages together!
In this episode, we chat with the phenomenal Gothataone Moeng, author of the short story collection Call and Response. Gothataone was interviewed by Nompumelelo Mgidlana, Publicist at Jonathan Ball Publishers. Join us as we explore the powerful themes and voices that define her work.
“Dis politici wat oorlog verklaar, nie ons nie. Ons het gedoen wat ons geglo het ons moes doen en hulle [die vyand] ook . . .” - Marco Caforio, ouddienspligtige
Op 10 Junie 1980 gedurende 'n eindelose dag van bloedige gevegte onder die Angolese son is 13 lede van die Suid-Afrikaanse Weermag dood en etlike beseer toe 61 Gemeganiseerde Bataljon Groep 'n kompleks van Swapo-basisse in die suide van Angola aangeval het.
Gedurende Operasie Sceptic het tweede luitenant Paul Louw sy peleton in vier Ratels na die slagveld by die doelwit Smokeshell gelei. In die chaos wat daardie dag gevolg het, is 12 dienspligtiges in sy peleton van 44 noodlottig gewond en hy is self ook beseer. Een van sy troepe, die 18-jarige HP Ferreira, is met 'n 14,5 mmmasjiengeweer deur sy pelvis geskiet en hy is ook deur etlike AK-47 koeëls getref. Hy het wonderbaarlik oorleef.
Louw, nog met die bloed van sy manne aan sy klere, en 'n handjievol ander soldate het die aand deurgebring in 'n Ratel wat deur 'n RPG-vuurpyl getref is. Hulle was heeltemal afgesny van die res van die aanvalsgroep en het nie geweet of hulle die son sou sien opkom nie.
In Bloedbroers vertel van die oorlewendes van hul ervarings tydens die geveg. Dit werp ook lig op wat met soldate gebeur nadat die laaste skote afgevuur is en volg die veterane toe hulle vier dekades ná die operasie vir die eerste keer na die slagveld teruggekeer het.
Thank you for tuning into this episode of Pagecast, presented by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today's episode is an incredibly special one, as the Mayor of Cape Town - Geordin Hill Lewis is in conversation with South African award winning documentary filmmaker, naturalist, and founder of the Sea Change Project - Craig Foster.
Craig’s latest book - Amphibious Soul: Finding the Wild in a Tame World is a thrilling memoir of a life spent exploring the most incredible places on Earth—from the Great African Seaforest to the crocodile lairs of the Okavango Delta—
Craig reveals how we can attend to the earthly beauty around us and deepen our love for all living things, whether we make our homes in the country, the city, or anywhere in between.
Enjoy!
Thank you for tuning into this episode of Pagecast, presented by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today's episode features Killer Stories - Conversations with South African serial murderers!
‘If you made me angry, for that anger to go away, I have to get hold of you . . . I have to do something to you.’
These chilling words were spoken by one of South Africa’s most feared serial killers during an interview with Brin Hodgs-kiss in one of the country's most secure prisons.
Hodgskiss earned his doctorate in psychology through a study based on interviews with thirteen serial killers. His recordings remained untouched until recently, when top true-crime podcaster Nicole Engelbrecht discovered his paper online. This led to the creation of Killer Stories.
Killer Stories intertwines the killers' accounts, the true-crime events behind them, and Hodgskiss's own journey as a psychologist, leading to a profound understanding of these complex minds.
In this episide Brinn and Nicole chat to one another regarding their love of True Crime, psychology and the process that went into creating this book.
Enjoy!
Thank you for tuning into this episode of Pagecast, presented by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today's episode features We Were Perfect Parents Until We Had Children
by Vanessa Raphaely and Karin Schimke
Having kids is a baffling endeavour beset with sulk, meltdowns, anxiety and disappointment and that’s just the parents! When you get that call to the principal’s office? When the school acceptances don’t come? When the bedroom door slams and you hear your child sobbing behind it? All awful but it’s also a precious time, both hellishly challenging and full of joy. The trick? To find a way to enjoy our families, love our children and believe in them. And laugh . . .
In this book, Vanessa Raphaely and Karin Schimke have gathered together experiences and insights from The Village members. These are the gems and remedies from the real parenting experts, the parents to help you raise your family in your own perfectly imperfect way.
In this episide Vanessa is in conversation with CapeTalk radio host and parent of two, Lester Kiewit.
Enjoy!
Thank you for tuning into this episode of Pagecast, presented by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today's episode features Crash and Burn by Glenn Orsmond.
This insider’s tale, narrated by Glenn Orsmond, chronicles the South African airline industry over the past thirty years, highlighting the dramatic collapse of Comair in 2022.
Orsmond, twice the CEO of Comair and founder CEO of 1time, guides readers through the fiercely competitive low-cost airline sector that surged after the 1990s. Comair, operating Kulula and British Airways, and 1time led this wave, transforming domestic flying and tourism.
Despite a 75-year profit history, Comair fell due to the pandemic, regulatory issues, and poor management decisions. Expect stories of industry legends, innovations, fierce competition, pilot-accountant conflicts, union-boss disputes, and shareholder-director battles.
In this episode, Glenn engages in a captivating conversation with David O'Sullivan, Broadcaster, Writer and Media Consultant.
Enjoy!
Thank you for tuning into this episode of Pagecast, presented by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today's episode features Rhodes and His banker by Richard Steyn.
Rhodes and his Banker is an account of the remarkable friendship between a larger-than-life historical figure and a modest, unassuming banker, both of whom were personally involved in all the major political and financial developments in Southern Africa during the closing decades of the 19th century.
Intertwining dual narratives of Cecil John Rhodes as rapacious entrepreneur with the Standard Bank under Sir Lewis Michell tiptoeing in his wake to become the biggest bank in Africa, Steyn recounts how colonialism and capitalism took root in South Africa and Rhodesia.
In this episode, Richard engages in an lovely conversation with strategist, media specialist and writer, David Gorin.
Enjoy!
Thank you for tuning into this episode of Pagecast, presented by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today's episode features Gaslight by Femi Kayode.
In this follow-up to Kayode's "action-packed and spirited debut" Philip Taiwo returns to solve a missing-persons case, and in so doing, uncovers dark secrets the church has worked tirelessly to hide.
From the very first chapter, Femi Kayode’s Gas Light immerses you in a world brimming with drama, psychological twists, and intrigue. Kayode's storytelling is both thrilling and imaginative, leaving readers eagerly anticipating each turn. The novel explores the paradox of a Forbes-celebrated pastor-bishop who operates in the nexus of old and new wealth, yet faces severe public scrutiny. As tensions rise and suspicions grow, the question remains: in a world where so many feel uneasy, who or what is truly to blame?
In this episode, Femi engages in an lovely conversation with Dr Wamuwi Mbao — writer, essayist and English Lecturer at Stellenbosch University.
Enjoy!
High Times is the true story of Michael Medjuck, whose taste for weed, women and the good life led him from late-1960s Johannesburg to notoriety as one of the biggest hash and weed smugglers in North America.
From his base in Vancouver, Michael built up a smuggling network that supplied dealers in scores of cities across Canada and the United States. The proceeds of smuggling afforded this former King David High School pupil a lifestyle of hedonistic excess – the finest wines, the most glamorous hookers, the best weed in the world.
In 1991, Michael was nabbed by US federal agents while smuggling an enormous shipload of Afghani hash into the West Coast of Canada. Put on trial as the scheme’s mastermind, Michael was convicted and sentenced to 24 years behind bars. His US prison experiences, from dingy county lock-ups to brutal federal penitentiaries, are the stuff of legend. Eventually, a chance remark to his lawyer led to his early release and return to Canada.
After barely a year of freedom, Michael was again arrested – this time in Spain for an ill-judged cocaine-smuggling venture – and sentenced to another prison term of nine years.
This is Michael’s extraordinary story, as told to fellow South Africans Roy Isacowitz, author and journalist, and the late Jeremy Gordin, award-winning journalist, editor and author.
Roy Isacowitz is an author and journalist, now retired in Tel Aviv.
The late Jeremy Gordin is an award-winning journalist, editor and author.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Todays episode features the phenomenal Justin Fox chatting about his latest book - The Wolf Hunt.
The Wolf Hunt is the second book in the thrilling Jack Pembroke series, each of which is a stand-alone story.
In this book - Lieutenant Jack Pembroke moves from England to South Africa, where he commands an anti-submarine flotilla in Cape Town. He must quickly prepare his men for Nazi U-boats threatening the vital Cape convoy route during World War II. With Rommel's forces active in North Africa, this sea route is crucial for Allied supplies. The enemy, led by kapitan Wolfgang Brand, also carries a South African spy intent on sabotage. Jack's mission to escort a convoy to Durban while evading U-boats becomes a tense cat-and-mouse game, pushing him and his men to their limits in "The Wolf Hunt."
In this episode, Justin is in conversation with novellist and lecturer Dr Ronald Irwin.
Enjoy!
In this episode of Pagecast, Cato Pedder, author of Moederland: Nine Daughters of South Africa, is in conversation with Maryam Adams, Publicist at Jonathan Ball Publishers.
About the book:
Moederland: Nine Daughters of South Africa is a fascinating, unflinching and forensic work of non-fiction by Cato Pedder, the great-granddaughter of Jan Smuts, the South African prime minister responsible for heralding the age of apartheid.
Moederland is a courageous and modern appraisal of what it means to be descended from the people who created the ultra-racist apartheid system in South Africa.
Illuminating its turbulent history through the lives of her female ancestors, it is a history of South Africa like no other, told from the perspective of women long silenced in the historical narrative.
It asks, what were they doing while white supremacy was constructed?
In Moederland, Pedder travels the centuries from the 1600s, when Cape Town was a remote outpost of the Dutch East India Company, to the kraal of a Zulu king in the 1800s before doubling back to Europe and then culminating with the English Quaker aunt who defies apartheid to marry across the colour line. As anti-racist campaigners call out the statue of Jan Smuts in Parliament Square, Cato painstakingly excavates the long-forgotten life stories of the women of her prehistory, unpacking the legacy of her Afrikaans heritage and bringing their collective shame into the light.
Moederland brilliantly sits at the borderline between personal history and memoir, and shares themes with The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal, The Wife’s Tale by Aida Edemariam and Maybe Esther by Katja Petrowskaja, both of which use unknown forebears to throw new light on the troubled past. It will also appeal to readers of Damon Galgut’s Booker Prize winning novel, The Promise.
About the author:
Cato Pedder was born into the Quaker Clark shoe family and is a former newspaper reporter with 15 years of experience in South Africa and the UK, including at the Johannesburg Star and The Sun. She graduated from Cambridge University in English Literature and holds further degrees in African Studies from SOAS and Creative Writing from Kingston University, where she won the academic prize. She is a published poet, was born in California and brought up in England. She has lived in South Africa and returns there regularly.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Todays episode features the phenomenal Kobby Ben Ben chatting about - No One Dies Yet.
A genre-breaking novel from a powerful new African voice.
- The Year of the Return. It has been exactly 400 years since the first slave ships left Ghana for America. Ghana has now opened its doors to Black diasporans, encouraging them to return and get to know the land of their ancestors.
Elton, Vincent, and Scott arrive from America to visit preserved sites from the transatlantic slave route, and to explore the country's underground queer scene. Their activities are narrated by their two combative guides: Kobby, their guide to Accra’s privileged circles; and Nana, the voice of tradition and religious principle. The pair's tense relationship sets the tone for what becomes a shocking and unsettling tale of murder that is at times funny, at times erotic, yet always outspoken and iconoclastic.
In this episode, Kobby is in conversation with Lethabo Mailula, an academic at law, society and politics commentator and a cultural production critic
Enjoy!
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today’s episode features the the remarkable Cecelia Ahern - speaking about her book In a thousand different ways.
Alice Kelly’s been given a gift, though if you were to ask Alice about it, she wouldn’t describe it as a gift….she’d call it a curse.
Since the age of 8 years old, Alice has been able to see people’s feelings.
That is the basis of Cecelia Ahern’s latest wonderful offering….
In this epsiode of Pagecast, Cecelia is in conversation with Samanthan Herbst, Writer. Editor. Content Creator.
Enjoy!
In this captivating discussion, Pagecast host Nompumelelo Mgidlana engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Amy Heydenrych, the talented author behind the thrillers Shame on You and The Pact, and co-author of Chasing Marian. Her latest novel, Bad Luck Penny, was released just last month and promises to be another thrilling read.
Join us as we delve into Amy's literary journey and explore her latest release, Bad Luck Penny. Amy shares her insights on what makes stories literary, a topic she will be discussing on one of her panels at this year's festival. We also discuss the significance of festivals like Kingsmead for authors and the local literary community.
Don't miss this enlightening episode as we uncover the gripping narratives and creative process behind Amy's work.
Enjoy!
In this captivating discussion, Pagecast host Kelly Ansara engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Koleka Putuma, a multi-award-winning theatre practitioner, writer, and poet. Koleka's work fearlessly tackles themes such as sexuality, gender, race, and politics. Her bestselling debut poetry collection, Collective Amnesia, garnered prestigious accolades, including the Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry, and was recognized as one of the best books of the year by The Sunday Times and Quartz Africa. In 2022, Putuma made history by receiving the Standard Bank Young Artist Award – the first time this award was given for poetry.
Join us as we delve into Koleka's literary journey and explore her latest collection, We Have Everything We Need to Start Again. This inspiring collection invites readers to embark on a journey of self-discovery and embrace their true selves.
Don't miss this enlightening episode as we discuss the profound impact of Koleka's work on the literary community and the importance of festivals like Kingsmead in fostering local talent and dialogue.
Enjoy!
In this captivating discussion, Pagecast host Kelly Ansara engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Bronwyn Williams, a renowned futurist, economist, and business trends analyst. Bronwyn earns her living as a ‘court jester,’ consulting to clients in both the public and private sectors worldwide. As a partner at Flux Trends and an associate at Futurist.com, her research delves into how macro socio-economic trends and emerging technologies will shape businesses, industries, and nations in the short and long term.
Join us as we explore her latest book, The Future Starts Now - Expert Insights into the Future of Business, Technology and Society, co-authored by Theo Priestley. Bronwyn shares her perspectives on the state of our nation, especially in the context of the upcoming elections, and offers a glimpse into how society and business will evolve in the coming years.
Don't miss this enlightening episode as we discuss the future of business, technology, and society, and the critical insights Bronwyn provides.
Enjoy!
In this captivating discussion, Pagecast host Kelly Ansara engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Justin Fox, the prolific author behind more than twenty books, including The Cape Raider, Whoever Fears the Sea, and Secret Cape Town. Together, they delve into the intriguing world of his latest release, The Wolf Hunt, the second book in the thrilling Jack Pembroke series.
Join us as we explore the gripping narrative of The Wolf Hunt - Nazi Terror in South African Waters, and gain insight into the creative process behind this standalone adventure. Discover the significance of literary festivals like Kingsmead to authors and the local literary community, and get a sneak peek into what Justin Fox is reading next.
Don't miss this enlightening episode as we uncover the rich storytelling and historical depth that defines Justin Fox's work.
Enjoy!
In this captivating discussion, Pagecast host Maryam Adams engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Farai Mudzingwa, a talented freelance writer. Farai's short fiction has been published by Weaver Press, Kwani?, and Enkare Review II, while his longform articles and reporting have appeared in Chimurenga Chronic, The Mail & Guardian, The Johannesburg Review of Books, Africa Is A Country, This Is Africa, The Africa Report, and New Humanitarian. He has been recognized with several prestigious nominations and awards, including the Miles Morland Writing Scholarship shortlist (2019) and the Short Story Day Africa competition shortlist (2019).
Join us as we explore Farai's latest book, Avenues by Train. Farai shares insights into the themes and inspirations behind his work and discusses the significance of literary festivals like Kingsmead for authors and the local literary community.
Don't miss this enlightening episode as we delve into Farai's creative process and what’s next for him in his literary journey.
Enjoy!
In this captivating discussion, Pagecast host Maryam Adams engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Wisani Mushwana. Wisani is a talented writer and researcher who holds an MA in Creative Writing (with distinction) from the University of Cape Town and is currently completing his PhD in English Studies at the same university. His debut novel, A Soft Landing, has already made waves in the literary community.
Join us as we explore Wisani's journey in writing his first novel, A Soft Landing. Wisani shares the creative process behind the book and gives us an inside look into its themes and inspirations. We also discuss his experience at the Kingsmead Book Festival and what it means to him as an emerging author.
Don't miss this enlightening episode as we delve into the world of literature and what’s next for Wisani Mushwana.
Enjoy!
In this captivating discussion, Pagecast host Bradley Lotz engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Hendrik Hancke. Hendrik is a journalist at the Sunday Times in Johannesburg, with a rich background as a performing poet, playwright, and artist manager. During his time at Rapport, Hendrik won two Legend24 awards in 2017 for Investigative Journalist of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year. He also developed a passion for sports writing, particularly rugby.
Join us as we explore Hendrik's latest book, ONKANT, a rugby love story that captures his deep appreciation for the sport. Hendrik shares insights into his writing journey and discusses the themes and inspirations behind his new book.
Don't miss this enlightening episode as Hendrik talks about his participation in the panel, The Winning Kant, where he joins Dylan Rogers, Lloyd Burnard, and David O’Sullivan to celebrate the glory of rugby and discuss defending the Rugby World Cup.
Enjoy!
In this captivating discussion, Pagecast host Maryam Adams engages in a thought-provoking conversation with the remarkable Ryan Blumenthal. Ryan is a seasoned forensic pathologist with over twenty years of experience in the field, based in South Africa. His book, Autopsy: Life in the Trenches with a Forensic Pathologist in Africa, published by Jonathan Ball Publishers in August 2020, became a non-fiction bestseller in South Africa. Ryan also gained widespread recognition through his eight-part documentary, Lightning Pathologist, which aired on People’s Weather (Channel 180) on DStv, attracting over 2.2 million viewers.
Join us as we explore Ryan's latest book, Risking Life for Death, which delves into Locard’s Exchange Principle and the daily dangers faced by forensic pathologists. Ryan shares his experiences and insights from his fascinating career.
Don't miss this enlightening episode as Ryan discusses his participation in the panel, When the Dead Speak, with Sunday Times Books online editor Mila De Villiers and fellow forensic expert Hestelle van Staden. They provide a unique glimpse into the world of forensic pathology and what it’s like to see dead people.
Enjoy!
In this thrilling discussion, Pagecast host Nompumelelo Mgidlana engages in a thought-provoking conversation with the phenomenal Nozibele Mayaba! Nozibele is a renowned HIV activist, internationally recognized podcaster, speaker, and TV host. She recently partnered with Jacaranda FM and East Coast Radio to launch a youth podcast, Don’t Hold Back, Say It Loud. Her TV show, #YesIHaveHIV on HONEY, DStv channel 173, has empowered many to disclose their HIV statuses to their loved ones. The show is now in its second season.
Join us as we explore Nozibele's latest brave account of living with HIV, Positively Me. Nozibele shares the inspiration behind her new book and discusses the gut-wrenching honesty with which she narrates her journey of living and loving beyond HIV.
Don't miss this enlightening episode as Nozibele speaks about her participation in the panel on The Mother Wound, where she will discuss parent-related pain alongside Colleen Higgs, Moshitadi Lehlomela, and Lisa Lazarus.
Enjoy!
In this discussion, Pagecast host Kelly Ansara engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Barbara Boswell, a distinguished writer and scholar from Cape Town. Barbara draws much of her inspiration from her vibrant hometown. As an Associate Professor of English Literary Studies at the University of Cape Town, she has authored notable works including Grace: A Novel, which won the UJ Prize for Debut Creative Writing, And Wrote My Story Anyway: Black South African Women’s Novels as Feminism, and Lauretta Ngcobo: Writing as the Practice of Freedom.
Join us as we delve into Barbara's latest book, The Comrade's Wife. Barbara shares her inspirations and the compelling narrative behind this new release. We also explore the significance of literary festivals like Kingsmead for authors and the local literary community.
Don't miss this enlightening episode as Barbara discusses her participation in a panel on life and death, alongside Sewela Langeni and Barry Gilder, where they will explore the trials of the liberation struggle.
Enjoy!
In this discussion, Pagecast host Michael Ward engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Lloyd Burnard, the sports editor of News24.com and the author of Miracle Men and Insights into the Rugby World Cup. Lloyd's 2024 book, Twice the Glory: The Making of the Greatest Bok Team in History, delves into the fascinating story behind South Africa's most successful rugby team.
Join us as we explore the current state of sports in our nation and the unique power of sports to unite South Africans. Lloyd shares insights from his latest book, Twice the Glory, offering a detailed look at what makes this Bok team truly the greatest in history.
Don't miss this enlightening episode as we discuss the unifying spirit of sports and the compelling narratives behind South Africa's rugby success.
Enjoy!
In this episode, Pagecast host Maryam Adams engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Sven Axelrad, who burst onto the literary scene in 2023 with his magical and quirky debut, Buried Treasure. An accountant by profession, Sven is an avid reader (devouring 65 books a year), a tattoo enthusiast, guitar player, and dog lover. His second novel, God’s Pocket, has just been released.
Join us as we explore Sven's remarkable transition from the world of accounting to the literary world. Sven shares his journey, discusses his literary muses, and gives us an inside look into his latest book, God’s Pocket, including the inspiration behind it. We also get a sneak peek into his plans for book number three.
Don't miss this enlightening episode as we delve into the creative mind of Sven Axelrad and his captivating storytelling.
Enjoy!
In this captivating discussion, Pagecast host Maryam Adams engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Jonathan Ancer, an award-winning journalist known for his diverse career as a reporter, features writer, and crossword columnist. Jonathan is the author of notable biographies on Craig Williamson and Pravin Gordhan. His latest book, Bullsh*t: 50 Fibs That Made South Africa, delves into the intriguing and often surprising fabrications that have shaped the nation's history.
Join us as we explore Jonathan's literary journey and uncover some of the most fascinating fibs from his latest book. Jonathan shares his insights on the importance of literary festivals like Kingsmead and their impact on the local literary community. We also discuss his favorite fibs, some that didn't make it into the book, and what he plans to cover next.
Don't miss this enlightening episode as we delve into the stories and fabrications that have shaped South Africa.
Enjoy!
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today’s episode features the the remarkable Beverley Roos-Muller - speaking about her latest book Hunting the Seven.
Never have seven people been so hunted. By assassins. By journalists, lawyers and activists in search of the truth and TRC investigators wanting justice for the victims’ families.
In 1986, seven young men were shot and killed by police in Gugulethu in Cape Town. The nation was told they were a ‘terrorist’ MK cell, which was plotting an attack on a police unit. An inquest followed, then a dramatic trial in 1987 and another inquest in 1989. Finally, the fact that Eugene de Kock’s Vlakplaas unit plotted and drove the operation was revealed at the Truth and Reconciliation ten years after the murders, but Vlakplaas’s real agenda remained shrouded in mystery.
In Hunting the Seven, Beverley Roos-Muller tells the story of the Gugulethu Seven and the hunt for the truth of their deaths. She reveals that it was Vlakplaas’s only operation in the Western Cape and was an elaborate, deadly scheme designed to keep the money rolling into the death squad’s slush fund.
In this epsiode of Pagecast, Beverley is in conversation with Award-winning journalist, Beauregard Tromp, the Africa editor of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
Enjoy!
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today’s episode features the phenomenal Nozibele Mayaba, who bares it all in the her memior, Postively Me - Daring To Live And Love Beyond HIV, co-authored with Sue Nyathi.
Born in Qgeberha in the 1990s, popular Aids activist Nozibele Mayaba’s upbringing was one of struggle and strife. She was raised by the tough hand of her mother in the confines of a strict Christian household. Nozibele strove to be the “good girl” that everyone adores to win her mother’s approval and the affection of her absent father.
She lived by the book and was steered by her faith. Hers becomes a life of firsts. She is the first person in her family to travel overseas. The first to graduate from university. It is also her first love, with his infectious smile that infected her with HIV.
This diagnosis throws her life into disarray. Fearing stigma and feeling the need to maintain her “good girl” image, she kept her status a secret. However, she soon succumbed to depression. It is in the aftermath, when she picks up the broken pieces of her life that she finds purpose in all the pain she has endured.
She went public with her story in a video that when viral and launched her onto a new path. Nozibele, who has since gotten married and recently became a mother, has made it her mission to hold open conversations about her journey living with HIV.
Told with gut wrenching honesty, Nozibele is at her most vulnerable in this brave account about what it means to live and love beyond HIV.
In this epsiode of Pagecast, Nozibele is in conversation with seasoned media practitioner Sebenzile Nkambule.
Enjoy!
After state capture, South Africa is (f*cked) not in a good place. The system is down. How do we reboot?
We are not the first country to find itself in a difficult spot. China, India, South Korea, Vietnam and many others have gone from being economic basket cases to powerhouses, lifting millions out of poverty. So how can we pick ourselves up and fix things? In this book, Roy Havemann argues that right now we need to focus on six basic ‘E’s: Eskom, Education, Environment, Exports, Ethics, and Equality.
Havemann lays out how we can practically bring in lessons from other countries and learn from their achievements and mistakes, for example, how China, Greece and Colombia solved loadshedding, how different South American countries are dealing with inequality and how Brazil and Kenya are upgrading their education systems.
He shows that we are slowly moving in the right direction. Our own ‘Operation Vulindlela’ delivery unit, which is a joint initiative of the Presidency and the Treasury, is implementing change where it’s needed but more can be done to accelerate reforms to make South Africa a success. Sometimes the solutions to our problems are right here in our very own country – all that is needed is for us to recognise and harness them.
*Foreword by Tito Mboweni
Roy Havemann has consulted to the SA Presidency, the Treasury, the World Bank and private companies among others. After lecturing macroeconomics, Havemann joined the National Treasury in 2002 and rose through the ranks to be head of the Western Cape budget office and Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni’s speechwriter.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
From award-winning non-fiction writer Hedley Twidle comes Show Me the Place, an essay collection searching through history, memory and literature to find glimmers of utopia. The collection is a book of elsewheres; in it, the author charts a journey to find other liveable places and spaces in a troubled world.
Whether embarking on a bizarre quest to find Cecil Rhodes’s missing nose (sliced off the bust of the Rhodes Memorial) or bike-packing the Scottish islands with a couple of squabbling anarchists; whether learning to surf (much too late) in the wild, freezing waters off the Cape Peninsula or navigating the fraught politics of a Buddhist retreat centre – the author explores forgotten utopias, intentional communities and islands of imagination with curiosity, hope and humour.
Threaded through the pieces in this collection are questions of friendship and human community, of environmental destruction and repair, of landscape and memory.
In this episode, Hedley is in conversation with Mila de Villiers - Sunday Times Books digital editor.
Enjoy!
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today’s podcast features the Jonathan Ancer and his latest book Bullshit: 50 Fibs That Made South Africa.
An outrageous miscellany of lies, myths, untruths, fibs and fabrications that tell the woeful history of South Africa. Aimed at offending and entertaining everyone in equal measure, this will have South Africans sniggering and spluttering into their porridge. It will also pique their curiosity.
The lies come thick and fast, like a burst sewerage pipe. Way, way back the Europeans ‘discovered’ southern Africa and found a land that was largely uninhabited. Um, no. On the other hand, Africa was a paradise before the settlers pulled in. Not quite!
Back in the darkest of ages (the 1970s!), citizens were told that there were Satanic messages if you played The Beatles songs backwards. During the civil war in Angola, there were no South African troops in that country. National icon Hansie Cronje was a paragon of virtue and integrity … until he wasn’t. President Nelson Mandela told us that we, as a nation, were ‘special’. Turns out we aren’t.
Jonathan Ancer has written, after consulting with historians and barflies, a fascinating and witty collection of the lies we’ve been told – and the lies we tell ourselves.
In this episode, Jonathan is in conversation with Rebecca Davis, Senior Journalist at the Daily Maverick and author.
Enjoy!
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today’s podcast features the remarkable Karen Horn speaking about Prisoners of Jan Smuts
Equally skilled in different trades than in the art of love, the Italian prisoners-of-war who were incarcerated in South Africa during the Second World War are a source of great fascination to this day.
The first Italian POWs arrived in the Union of South Africa in early 1941, most of them being held in Zonderwater Camp outside Cullinan or in work camps across the country. The government of Jan Smuts saw them as a source of cheap labour that would contribute to harvesting schemes, road-building projects such as the old Du Toit’s Kloof Pass between Paarl and Worcester and even to prickly-pear eradication schemes.
Prisoners of Jan Smuts recounts the stories of survival and shenanigans of the Italian POWs in the Union through the eyes of five prisoners who had documented their experiences in memoirs and letters.
Many opted to remain in South Africa once the war had ended, forging quite a legacy. These included sculptor Edoardo Villa, who left an important mark in the local and international art world, and businessman Aurelio Gatti, who built an ice-cream empire whose gelato was to delight generations of South Africans.
In this episode, Karen is in conversation with Monique Verduyn author and literary reviewer.
Enjoy!
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today’s podcast features the phenomenal Margie Orford, speaking about her latest book - Love and Fury, a compelling and intimate account of the life, loves and furies.
In this brave memoir, the renowned South African crime writer divulges some of the harrowing experiences that have shaped her life and influenced her writing. Through sexual assault, divorce, depression and personal loss, Orford illuminates the trauma she has navigated. Tender and courageous chapters vividly recall memories of what she has been through as a woman, mother, wife, feminist and ambitious writer.
Love and Fury shows why trauma in our past can have such an enduring and debilitating effect on women’s lives. It also unpacks the healing power of love, creativity, courage and self-reflection, ultimately offering a profound message of hope and joy for any woman who has ever questioned themselves, their trauma and who they are in the world. This book is every woman’s love and fury.
In this episode, Margie is in conversation with Barbara Boswell, feminist literary scholar and Associate Professor of English at the University of Cape Town.
I promise its a chat you will never forget.
Enjoy!
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today’s podcast features Keith Barnes, co- author of Birds of Greater Southern Africa.
This spectacular field guide includes all resident, breeding and migrant species found in Greater Southern Africa.
Comprising South Africa, Lesotho, eSwatini, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, Greater Southern Africa is a vast region and home to a truly extraordinary diversity of avifauna.
This book describes all 1,170 regularly occurring species that are likely to be encountered in the region, from the Wandering Albatross to the Pennant-winged Nightjar. Featuring 272 colour plates by three of the world’s leading bird illustrators.
Fully illustrated throughout, this is an essential reference guide for anyone visiting or living in this wildlife-rich area.
In this episode of Pagecast Keith is in conversation with Christian Boix, Author at Africa Geographic.
Enjoy the chat!
The thrilling story of the conservationist who pioneered the use of dogs in combating poachers to protect wildlife in South Africa’s game reserves. Barely out of his teens, one of Conraad’s first brushes with the reality of life at the frontline of conservation was when he shot the leader of a poaching gang during an ambush in Windy Ridge game reserve.
Much of Conraad’s work involving dogs is a continuous struggle against industrial-scale bushmeat poachers, who strangle game in snares, an even greater threat to wildlife than rhino horn poachers as the overburdened courts seem interested only in endangered species. He also works to catch poachers of critically endangered pangolins, the most trafficked animal in the world.
Conraad decided to use his almost telepathic rapport with dogs to tackle the poaching crisis sweeping South Africa. His first anti-poaching dog, a Weimaraner named Zingela, became an inseparable companion. Zingela saved Conraad’s life on numerous occasions – once when Conraad was about to be assassinated by two fellow rangers hired by poachers. Conraad’s story is an epic of modern-day African wildlife conservation, spiced with adventure, courage and romance.
Conraad De Rosner was born and schooled in Gqeberha, then Port Elizabeth. He studied nature conservation before starting work, in 1993, at Windy Ridge Game Park in KwaZulu-Natal. In 2009, he was appointed assistant antipoaching manager at SabiSands game reserve. In 2011, he formed his company, K9 Conservation, at Thanda Game Reserve. In 2015, he moved to his base training farm in Hoedspruit, where for the past six years and more, he has developed and expanded his training of rangers and dogs.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers. This episode features Author Adam Welz, speaking about his latest book - The End of Eden Wild Nature in the Age of Climate Breakdown.
Typically, discussions on climate change highlight the adverse effects on human societies due to storms, droughts, and sea level rise. Yet, it's the natural world, facing a sixth mass extinction due to ecosystem disruptions and rising temperatures, that bears the brunt of climate breakdown. This has endangered countless species, signalling a rapid loss of the natural world.
"The End of Eden" navigates this narrative by offering a unique perspective on the struggles of wild species across diverse ecosystems globally. Through a mix of natural history, firsthand accounts, and modern research, Welz introduces us to the intimate struggles of several species against climate breakdown. This book stands out for its deep research and beautiful prose, aiming to foster a deeper human-nature connection and urging action to protect the natural world.
In this episode of Pagecast Welz is in conversation with CapeTalk Afternoon Drive host, John Maytham.
Enjoy the episode!
Welcome to another episode of Pagecast brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers. This episode delves into Mike Martin’s latest book - How to Fight a War
Has any war in history gone according to plan? Monarchs, dictators and elected leaders alike have a dismal record on military decision-making.
This not only wastes the lives of civilians, the enemy and one’s own soldiers, but also fails to achieve geopolitical objectives.
Conflict scholar and former soldier Mike Martin takes the reader through the hard, elegant logic of fighting a conclusive interstate war that solves geopolitical problems and reduces future conflict.
In cool and precise prose, he outlines how to orchestrate military forces, from infantry to information, and strategy to tactics.
It has been described as “An indispensable guide to understanding modern warfare, especially the decisions made by politicians and generals — both good and bad.”
In this episode of Pagecast Mike is joined by Abel Esterhuyse, author and head of the Department of Strategic Studies in the Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University,
Enjoy the chat!
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, featuring the inspiring Nadine Aisha Jassat speaking about her latest book - The Stories Granma Forgot.
Twelve-year-old Nyla’s dad died when she was four, or that’s what she’s been told. So when Grandma Farida insists she saw him in the supermarket, Nyla wonders if she is ‘time-travelling’ again – the phrase she uses when Grandma forgets.
But when Grandma asks Nyla to find her dad and bring him home, Nyla promises that she will.
As Nyla sets out on her journey, she hopes that uncovering the past will help her to understand the mystery at the heart of her family … and to work out who she is.
In this episode of Pagecast Nadine is in conversation with children's bookseller extraordinaire Veruska Louw.
Enjoy the episode!
What if you could feel more in control of your stress levels?
Stress, anxiety and depression have become a sign of our times. We continue to face global crises like climate change and war or threats of war in parts of the world that affect us all through our shared humanity and the global economy. Then there is the continuation of a modern, fast-paced, highly competitive lifestyle to contend with, which can affect young and old alike.
How have your stress levels been lately? Maybe stress has left you feeling depleted and tired, or moody and irritable. International bestselling and award-winning author, Noa Belling has put together a tried and tested, scientifically backed and power-packed toolkit to help you. It targets different ways that stress can show up in our lives, which might leave some of us depleted and depressed and others wired and anxious.
Noa is in conversation with Award-winning radio host, acclaimed MC and voice-over artist, Sean Loots.
Enjoy the chat!
After four months of only speaking over the intercom, when air traffic controller Pippa Edwards finally meets pilot Andrew Boyce-Jones face-to-face, they discover they've got much more in common than simply working at the same airport.
In fact... they both need a date. Tired of every relationship ending before it's even begun, Pippa wants to evade the inevitable questions at her dreaded ten-year school reunion in Cape Town. Andrew needs to get his well-meaning family off his back about settling down. The solution seems simple. A pact - a fake dating pact - for as long as it's mutually beneficial. It's perfect. Or at least it would be if their very real attraction wasn't about to make Pippa question everything she thought she wanted...
Jo Watson is a bestselling author of romantic comedies, including Love to Hate You which has sold over 100,000 copies. She's a two-time Watty Award winner with over 50 million reads on Wattpad and 85,000 followers. Love at First Flight is her latest book.
In this episode of Pagecast Jo is in conversation with author Gail Schimmel.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
In this episode News24 Books Editor Shaun de Waal is in conversation with Author Siphiwo Mahala about Blame Me On History by Bloke Modisane.
Feeling an exile in the country of his birth, the talented journalist and leading black intellectual Bloke Modisane left South Africa in 1959. It was shortly after the apartheid government had bulldozed Sophiatown, the township of his childhood. His biting indictment of apartheid, Blame Me on History, was published in 1963 – and banned shortly afterwards. Modisane offers a harrowing account of the degradation and oppression faced daily by black South Africans. His penetrating observations and insightful commentary paint a vivid picture of what it meant to be black in apartheid South Africa. At the same time, his evocative writing transports the reader back to a time when Sophiatown still teemed with life. This 60th-anniversary edition of Modisane’s autobiography serves as an example of passionate resistance to the scourge of racial discrimination in our country and is a reminder not to forget our recent past.
Thanks for tuning in, enjoy the chat!
Thank you for joining us on this episode of Pagecast, a podcast series presented by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
In this episode, we're joined by Sewela Langeni, the owner of Book Circle Capital, a bookstore specialising in African Literature. She sits down with Magogodi oaMphela Makhene, the author of the novel Innards, for an engaging discussion.
Set in Soweto, the urban heartland of South Africa, Innards tells the intimate stories of everyday black folks processing the savagery of apartheid. Rich with the thrilling textures of township language and life, it braids the voices and perspectives of an unforgettable cast of characters into a breathtaking collection flush with forgiveness, rage, ugliness and beauty.
Relax and immerse yourself in this compelling conversation, enjoy it!
Welcome to the Pagecast Festive Special!
Join us in this episode as Hanlie Theron from Bargain Books shares her top picks for holiday reading and recommendations for your reading list.
Tune in for a delightful conversation and a joyous holiday period!
Welcome to the Pagecast Festive Special!
Join us in this episode as we drop by the Exclusive Books Sandton staff to discover their top picks for holiday reading and recommendations for your reading list.
Tune in for a delightful conversation and a joyous December!
Welcome to the Pagecast Festive Special!
Join us in this episode as co-producer of Pagecast Maryam Adams chats with Sewela Langeni about her holiday reading!
Sewela is the owner of Book Circle Capital, an independent bookshop focusing on African literature based at 27 Boxes in Melville, Johannesburg.
Tune in for a delightful conversation and a joyous December!
Welcome to the Pagecast Festive Special!
Join us in this episode as we drop by the Exclusive Books Cavendish staff to discover their top picks for holiday reading and recommendations for your reading list.
Tune in for a delightful conversation and a joyous December!
In the latest episode of Pagecast, Batya Bricker, General Manager of Books and Brand at Exclusive Books, engages in a fascinating conversation with the world-renowned classicist, Professor Mary Beard, about her new book, "Emperor of Rome."
This book offers a unique take on the lives of Roman emperors, challenging traditional chronological storytelling. Professor Beard examines the true nature of imperial power, the actual dynamics within the Roman palace, and the lives of those surrounding the emperor, including his family, rivals, and the general populace.
Her insightful narrative provides a fresh perspective on Roman history and its enduring influence on modern society.
Tune in for an intriguing discussion!
In today's episode of Pagecast, join legendary broadcaster Jenny Crwys-Williams as she interviews Beverley Roos-Muller, the author who vividly brings to life the experiences of the Muller brothers during the Boer War.
‘. . . it is nine months this evening since I last saw the light in my own house, when I had to tear myself away from all that is dear to me. And today is also my little son’s birthday. Oh, how I long for home.’
So wrote Michael Muller in 1901 as he gazed at the lights of Cape Town from a ship bound for Bermuda, after months of internment in a British POW camp in Simon’s Town. The camps were full, so Boer prisoners were being sent to other parts of the empire. Michael’s brothers, Chris and Pieter, were exiled to Ceylon, while Lool was held in the Green Point camp in Cape Town.
Remarkably, three of the brothers kept diaries – the only known instance of this happening in the Boer War. They recorded their intimate thoughts and turbulent emotions, and the diaries gave them agency. The scrawled notes of Chris on the evening after the legendary Magersfontein battle, the rain-dashed pages written by Lool in Colesberg, and the angry words penned by Michael about his treatment at Surrender Hill, have the urgency of men determined to go on record.
When Beverley Roos-Muller first began to explore writing about the Boer experience of the war, she read the tiny war diary of Michael, grandfather of her husband, Ampie Muller. It led her to the discovery of the other diaries and many more documents. She also records the brothers’ difficult return home and examines the consequences for South Africa of the bitterness this strife invoked.
This is a beautifully told account of the fellowship of four brothers in war, their capture and their eventual recovery.
Thanks for tuning Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers. In today's episode Joanne Lefson and Brandon de Kock chat about Pigcasso - The Painting Pig That Saved a Sanctuary.
When Joanne Lefson took on a piglet at her animal shelter, the young sow proceeded to eat everything in her stable but a paint brush. In a flash of inspiration, Joanne attempted to introduce the pig to the art of painting - and thus Pigcasso was born.
Starting out with a humble canvas on the sanctuary wall, Pigcasso's paintings are now owned by the likes of George Clooney, she has a Swatch watch design partnership, a wine label, and has eclipsed the previous world record holder for animal art. She's been commissioned by Nissan and has had exhibitions in Cape Town, Munich, and Amsterdam. More than that, Pigcasso's art funds the food and veterinary services for all the animals at the sanctuary.
Pigcasso is the story of this unique pig and of the circumstances that brought her and Joanne together to take the art world by storm and form a unique and unbreakable bond.
Enjoy the chat!
Thanks for clicking play on this episode of Pagecast. In today's chat, Mark Gevisser, editor of 'The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated,' is in conversation with activists Mark Heywood and Kumi Naidoo, two of the contributors to the book.
Written from the maxim “it takes a lawyer, an activist, and a storyteller to change the world", The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated shows how the law and social movements can reinforce each other in the struggle for justice and freedom.
In these vibrant narratives, 25 of the world’s most accomplished movement lawyers and activists become storytellers, reflecting on their experiences at the frontlines of some of the most significant struggles of our time. In an era where human rights are under threat, their words offer both an inspiration and a compass for the way movements can use the law – and must sometimes break it – to bring about social justice.
The contributors here take you into their worlds: Jennifer Robinson frantically orchestrating a protest outside London’s Ecuadorean embassy to prevent the authorities from arresting her client Julian Assange; Justin Hansford at the barricades during the protests over the murder of Black teenager Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri; Ghida Frangieh in Lebanon’s detention centres trying to access arrested protestors during the 2019 revolution; Pavel Chikov defending Pussy Riot and other abused prisoners in Russia; Ayisha Siddiqa, a shy Pakistani immigrant, discovering community in her new home while leading the 2019 youth climate strike in Manhattan; Greenpeace activist Kumi Naidoo on a rubber dinghy in stormy Arctic seas contemplating his mortality as he races to occupy an oil rig.
The stories in The Revolution Will Not Be Litigated capture the complex, and often-awkward dance between legal reform and social change. They are more than compelling portraits of fascinating lives and work, they are revelatory: of generational transitions; of epochal change and apocalyptic anxiety; of the ethical dilemmas that define our age; and of how one can make a positive impact when the odds are stacked against you in a harsh world of climate crisis and ruthless globalization.
Contributors: Phelister Abdalla, Alejandra Ancheita, Joe Athialy, Baher Azmy, Pavel Chikov, Ghida Frangieh, Njeri Gateru, Mark Gevisser, Robin Gorna, Justin Hansford, Mark Heywood, Benjamin Hoffman, David Hunter, Ka Hsaw Wa, Julia Lalla-Maharajh, Kumi Naidoo, Nana Ama Nketia-Quaidoo, Katie Redford, Jennifer Robinson, Ayisha Siddiqa, Eimear Sparks, Klementyna Suchanov, Marissa Vahlsing, Krystal Two Bulls, David Wicker, Farhana Yamin and JingJing Zhang.
Athlete. Icon. Activist.
In this episode of Pagecast, Sias du Plessis, a media and communications consultant, chats with the phenomenal Caster Semenya.
Aged eighteen, Semenya shot to fame on the global sporting stage for her blistering speed. But shrouding her monumental win were fierce rumours about her physical body rather than her phenomenal performance. Called ‘a threat to the sport’ and ‘not woman enough’, she found herself at the centre of the debate around the newly drawn line between gender and sport.
Throughout the intense speculation, harmful rumours and long legal battle she has remained quiet, letting her running do the talking until she was banned from competing and defending her Olympic title in 2020. Now, Caster is ready to own her story and tell it in full. In this book, Caster speaks openly about growing up in a loving family and community that never regarded her as different, just Caster; of her early years understanding her agency, sexuality and athletic ability; and of her infectious spirit and tenacity to be the best.
Told with conviction and humour, The Race To Be Myself is the story of a life lived in the spotlight, a manifesto for acceptance and change for all. This is the unforgettable story of one of the most recognisable athletes in the world, and of a woman’s journey to run free.‘
A story that makes us all interrogate our humanity and the world we build with our actions every day.’ Trevor Noah
At once epic and deeply personal, the second novel from prize-winning author Jennifer Makumbi is an intoxicating mix of Ugandan folklore and modern feminism that will linger in the memory long after the final page.
As Kirabo enters her teens, questions begin to gnaw at her - questions that the adults in her life will do anything to ignore. Where is the mother she has never known? And why would she choose to leave her daughter behind? Inquisitive, headstrong, and unwilling to take no for an answer, Kirabo sets out to find the truth for herself.
Her search will take her away from the safety of her prosperous Ugandan family, plunging her into a very different world of magic, tradition, and the haunting legend of 'The First Woman'.
Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi is a Ugandan novelist and short story writer. She has a PhD from Lancaster University. Her first novel, Kintu (Oneworld, 2018), won the Kwani? Manuscript Project in 2013 and was longlisted for the Etisalat Prize in 2014. She was awarded the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize for 'Let's Tell This Story Properly', which featured in her first collection, Manchester Happened (Oneworld, 2019). She was awarded the prestigious Windham-Campbell Prize for Fiction 2018 and lives in Manchester, where she lectures in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. In 2020, she was selected as one of 100 Most Influential Africans of 2020 by New African magazine.
When seven-year-old Jedza witnesses a tragic incident involving a train and the death of his close boyhood friend in his hometown Miner’s Drift, he is convinced that his life is haunted. Now in his mid-20s, Jedza is a down-and-out electrician, moving to Harare in the hopes that he will escape the darkness and superstitions of the small town. But living in the shadowy restless atmosphere of the Avenues with its mysterious pools of water rising under musasa trees, he is tormented by the disappearance of his sister and their early encounters with ancestral spirits, the shapeshifting power of the njuzu and a vengeful ngozi. To move forward, he must stop running away and confront the trauma of his past.
An eclectic, experimental novel, Avenues By Train is a brash and confident debut by an exciting new voice.
At the very dawn of the country’s brave new democracy, Cape Town was at war. Pagad, which started as a community protest action against crime, had mutated into a sinister vigilante group wreaking death and destruction across the city. Between 1996 and 2001, there were more than 400 bombs – most famously at the popular Planet Hollywood restaurant at the V&A Waterfront – and there were countless targeted hits on drug lords and gang bosses.
The police were at their wits end. The new ANC government was alarmed. The citizens of Cape Town were living in fear.
Mark Shaw tells the incredible tale of how the police’s response pulled together former foes – struggle cadres and the apartheid security apparatus – to break the Pagad death squads. It is a story that has never been told in full and was not possible until recently, when many were released from prison or had retired and were finally willing to talk openly about this revealing chapter in South Africa’s recent history.
Mark Shaw is the author of Hitmen for Hire and Give Us More Guns. He is also director of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Shaw was previously the National Research Foundation Professor of Justice and Security at the University of Cape Town and worked for ten years at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. He has held a number of positions in the South African government and civil society, where he worked on issues of public safety and urban violence in the post-apartheid transition.
Thinking of moving to the UK but don’t know where to start? Overwhelmed by the information coming at you after a Google search? Baffled by visa requirements? Worried about how your kids and your beloved pet iguana would handle it?
Fear not! Written by a seasoned mover who's been there, done that and even brought back the tea towel, Sam Beckbessinger will hold your hand in this end-to-end guide to moving from South Africa to the land of tabloids, tweed, and terrible weather.
Inside, you'll find helpful tips, funny anecdotes and thorough to-do lists to keep you on track. This guide covers everything from the practicalities of finding a job and a place to live to the cultural quirks of British life (yes, they really are obsessed with tea), equipping you with everything you need to know about fitting in on this weird, adorable island.
Sam Beckbessinger is the author of the bestselling Manage Your Money Like a F*cking Grownup and the novel Girls of Little Hope (co-authored with Dale Halvorsen). Her interactive story about climate change, Survive the Century, was featured in New Scientist and Gizmodo. She teaches creative writing at Bath Spa University, writes kids’ TV and picture books, once wrote for Marvel and is weirdly obsessed with spreadsheets. She grew up on a farm near Durban with a pet donkey named Mr Magoo but now lives in London.
In this episode, author of the book - Sam Beckbessenger chats with the hilarious Jenna Berkowitz - Content and Social Media Specialist and recent expat.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Pagecast, brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Today's book- Coloured by Tessa Dooms and Lynsey Chutel has been selected at News24's book of the month.
Coloured as an ethnicity and racial demographic is intertwined in the creation of the South Africa we have today. Yet often, Coloured communities are disdained as people with no clear heritage or culture — ‘not being black enough or white enough.’
the book Coloured challenges this notion and presents a different angle to that narrative as it delves into the history of Coloured people as descendants of indigenous Africans and a people whose identity was shaped by colonisation, slavery, and the racial political hierarchy it created.
Although rooted in a difficult history, this book is also about the culture that Coloured communities have created for themselves through food, music, and shared lived experiences in communities such as Eldorado Park, Eersterus, and Wentworth. Coloured culture is an act of defiance and resilience.
Rugby is een van my passies, een van my liefdes. – Gcobani Bobo, oud-Springbok
Het jy al ooit gewonder hoe dit moet voel om vir die Springbokke gekies te word of hoe 50 000 ekstatiese ondersteuners op die pawiljoen klink?
Met die Rugbywêreldbeker om die draai, het Hendrik Hancke die land deurkruis om met oud-Springbokke en ander rolspelers, insluitend breiers en’n skeidsregter, te gesels oor hul liefde vir rugby. Hulle deel oomblikke in die kleedkamer, persoonlike oorwinnings en voorheen ongepubliseerde stories oor wat van die veld af en op toer gebeur.
Schalk “Schalla” Brits verduidelik waarom dit so noodsaaklik vir ’n Springbok is om ’n spanspeler te wees, terwyl Gcobani Bobo aangrypend vertel van sy reis met rugby van King Williamstown tot Nieu-Seeland. Frik du Preez verklap weer hoe hy en ’n voormalige Nobelpryswenner mekaar gevind het oor hul gedeelde afkeer van Brusselse spruite en Jean de Villiers gesels oor die hoogtepunte en uitdagings van Springbok-kaptein wees.
As jy Saterdagmiddae kliphard vir die televisie skree of op die sypaadjie sal slaap vir ’n kaartjie na ’n groot wedstryd, dan is dié boek vir jou!
In this installment of Pagecast, we explore the behind-the-scenes process of creating Jonathan Ball Publishers' inaugural audiobook, "Children of Sugarcane" by Joanne Joseph.
Bringing this compelling narrative to life is the talented South African actress and storyteller, Roshina Ratnam, who serves as the narrator. In our discussion, Joanne and Roshina provide insights into the audiobook's production journey and delve into the creative techniques Roshina employed to vividly convey the story's essence.
About the book:
Vividly set against the backdrop of 19th century India and the British-owned sugarcane plantations of Natal, written with great tenderness and lyricism, Children of Sugarcane paints an intimate and wrenching picture of indenture told from a woman’s perspective.
Shanti, a bright teenager stifled by life in rural India and facing an arranged marriage, dreams that South Africa is an opportunity to start afresh. The Colony of Natal is where Shanti believes she can escape the poverty, caste, and troubling fate of young girls in her village. Months later, after a harrowing sea voyage, she arrives in Natal only to discover the profound hardship and slave labour that await her.
Spanning four decades and two continents, Children of Sugarcane demonstrates the life-giving power of love, heartache, and the indestructible bonds between family and friends. These bonds prompt heroism and sacrifice, the final act of which leads to Shanti's redemption.
Thanks for clicking play on this episode of Pagecast, as we wind back the clock and chat about the south African way of war.
In "20 Battles," historians Evert Kleynhans and David Brock Katz explore South Africa's evolving way of war over 100 years. They trace the development of the defence forces' doctrine and structure, uncovering historical continuity and lessons from past battles and operations.
The book, and this chat, also highlights significant milestones, including their first deployment during the 1914 Industrial Strike, involvement in both world wars, large-scale cross-border operations during the Border War, and the recent, infamous Battle of Bangui.
In this episode of pagecast Evert Kleynhans and David Katz chat with historian Archive Henderson. Enjoy the episode!
In this episode of Pagecast, Nicole Engelbrecht, True Crime Author and Podcaster, sits down with Ryan Blumenthal regarding his latest book, Risking Life for Death.
About the book:
Locard’s Exchange Principle underpins all forensic science and holds that the perpetrator of a crime will bring something to the crime scene and leave with something from it.
Forensic experts use this principle daily to catch murderers and assailants. In Risking Life for Death, South African forensic pathologist Ryan Blumenthal offers a master class in this singular forensic technique based on real-life case studies. With more than twenty years’ experience in the field, Blumenthal explains how to look for clues and traces, and how what he does not find at autopsy is often more important than what he does find. In other words, the absence of evidence can sometimes be of greater value than the presence of evidence.
His account also highlights the dangers forensic pathologists are exposed to daily. As they try to unravel the puzzle of someone’s death, forensic pathologists often face life-threatening infections, toxic gases and the hazards associated with high-profile cases – in effect, risking their life to solve someone else’s death.
An understanding of Locard’s Exchange Principle can help you become a medical detective in your own life, can help you be a happier person and can even provide you with a better philosophy for growing older, Blumenthal argues.
About the author:
RYAN BLUMENTHAL is a forensic pathologist with more than twenty years’ experience in the field, and he is based in South Africa. His book Autopsy: Life in the Trenches with a Forensic Pathologist in Africa, which was published by Jonathan Ball Publishers in August 2020, became a non-fiction bestseller in South Africa. His eight-part documentary Lightning Pathologist was aired from 9 to 20 November 2020 on People°s Weather (Channel 180) on DStv. It was viewed by over 2,2 million people.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup in France begins on September 8th and ends on October 28th.
All eyes are on the Springboks, winners of the 2019 World Cup. Can they win again?
Join Nick Mallett, a renowned coach and commentator, as he delves into the tournament's core questions.
The book, "Insights into the Rugby World Cup," is a must-read for everyone, whether a sports fan or not.
In this Pagecast episode, Nick Mallett discusses the book with co-author Lloyd Burnard, also the Sports Editor of News24.
Enjoy the conversation, and let's hope the Springboks lead us to victory!
In this episode of Pagecast, business author and journalist T.J. Strydom chats with Michael Vlismas regarding his latest book Elon Musk: Risking it all.
About the book:
Often in the news for his entrepreneurial exploits and his controversial tweets, Elon Musk is one of the richest and best-known people on earth. In 2022 he made headlines worldwide with his bid to buy Twitter. Who is this boundary-pushing billionaire with grand plans of inhabiting Mars, and what lies at the heart of his vision? Why is he so utterly unafraid of risk?
As an awkward Pretoria schoolboy who loved comics and science fiction, Musk’s early years and singular family background were crucial in forming his stellar ambitions. Journalist and author Michael Vlismas, who attended the same high school as Musk, knows well the environment that shaped him and offers new insights into Musk’s development, including his troubled relationship with his father.
Tracing his remarkable life, from his South African childhood to his move to Canada at 17 and then to the US – where Musk made millions out of PayPal and built Tesla and SpaceX into two of the world’s most famous companies – this is the story of a man driven to preserve the optimism he sees in humanity and find a future for humans ‘out there among the stars’
About Michael:
Michael Vlismas is an award-winning journalist and author of six books, including biographies with Gary Player, Schalk Burger Snr and Tim Noakes. He lives in Somerset West near Cape Town with his wife and two sons.
In this episode of Pagecast, international speaker, entrepreneur, naturalist and adventurer Quinton Coetzee chats with Author, Conservationist, Social Entrepreneur and Wildlife Educator Grant Fowlds regarding The Buck That Buries its Poo!
Is a zebra black with white stripes or white with black stripes?
And why do flamingos stand on one leg while bats hang upside down?
Did you know that a chameleon’s tongue can shoot out at five times the acceleration of a fighter jet?
In The Buck That Buries its Poo, naturalist Quinton Coetzee answers these and many other intriguing wildlife questions. He also dispels countless myths and elucidates some of the legends that surround creatures in the South African bush we thought we knew all about.
For example, bats do not get tangled in people’s hair (because they are far too adept at flying) and elephants are not afraid of mice (but they do fear bees!). Other tall tales you might hear around the campfire are that lions roll in animal dung, entrails or carcasses to disguise their scent, and that rhinos have a predilection for stamping out fires. What is true, though, is that hyenas are more closely related to cats than to dogs.
This handy guide is based on Coetzee’s own research and that of others, and his experience gleaned over decades living close to nature and wildlife. It seeks to unravel the mysteries of nature in Africa – from mammals and birds to arthropods and plants – with fascinating information and fun trivia. It is a book that will enlighten and entertain. PS: Zebras are black with white stripes!
In this episode of Pagecast, Michael Morris, Head Of Media at South African Institute of Race Relations speaks with author Anthea Jeffery regarding her latest book,
Countdown to Socialism.
About the book:
The National Democratic Revolution (NDR) is the policy blueprint of the governing ANC/SACP alliance, who have been implementing it in different spheres for more than two decades. It is intended to provide ‘the most direct route’ to a socialist South Africa and is the key to understanding events in the country since the 1994 transition.
Although many important steps towards Expropriation without Compensation and other NDR objectives have already been taken or are well in train, most South Africans have never been informed about the NDR and its destructive goals. With growth stalling, joblessness at crisis levels, and governance unravelling, people cannot fathom why the ANC does not implement meaningful reforms. Understand the NDR, however, and its underlying priorities become apparent.
If South Africa’s mainly capitalist economy was thriving, with high growth, low unemployment, and rising living standards, the ANC could not justify expanding state ownership or control. By contrast, with joblessness and destitution at unprecedented levels, the call for state provision and control becomes far more compelling – and even patently harmful policies such as Expropriation without Compensation seem justifiable.
When Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance was discovered below the Antarctic ice in March 2022, 106 years after it sank, the world thrilled anew with one of the greatest survival stories of all time.
Acclaimed South African writer Darrel Bristow-Bovey has a deeply personal relationship with the story of Endurance and in this lyrical journey into past and present, into humanity and the natural world, above and below the Antarctic ice, he revisits the famous story wondering why it seems to mean more today than ever before.
Drawing on literature, natural history, personal memoir and the thrilling epics of polar adventure, this is a celebration of the human spirit. If this story tells us anything, it’s that in the face of a self-inflicted natural disaster, we can still pull off a miracle or two.
Darrel sat down with South African author Mphuthumi Ntabeni at the book lounge in Cape Town to delve into one of the greatest stories of all time. Enjoy this episode of Pagecast!
CEOs can build up a business from nothing or turn around a company that is on the verge of bankruptcy. Inspiring with their relentless drive, strong leadership and innovation that can turn whole industries on their heads, they are the dynamos of our economy.
What is the X factor that ensures a CEO’s success? KC Chesaina seeks to uncover the unique personality traits, business acumen and leadership values that have turned CEOs into captains of industry.
Based on extensive research and focused interviews with the leaders of some of South Africa’s top companies, including Vodacom, Bidvest, Capitec Bank, RMB, Dis-Chem, Discovery Health, Nedbank, Sanlam, Momentum, Curro, Exxaro, Harmony Gold and MTN, Chesaina’s book takes you to the heart of corporate South Africa.
In this episode of Pagecast, we have the pleasure of listening to KC in conversation with Rolland Simpi Motaung, avid reader, book reviewer, founder, educator, and facilitator at Trymph Education.
Enjoy this episode!
Welcome to Pagecast, the book-centred podcast series presented by Jonathan Ball Publishers. In this episode, international best-selling South African author Lauren Beukes chats with Sam Beckbessinger and Dale Halvorsen, co-authors of Girls of Little Hope.
Three girls went into the woods. Only two came back, covered in blood and with no memory of what happened. Or did they? Being fifteen is tough – tougher when you live in a boring-ass small town in 1996.
Donna, Rae and Kat keep each other sane with the fervour of teen friendships, zine-making and some amateur sleuthing into the town's most enduring mysteries: a lost gold mine, and why little Ronnie Gaskins burned his parents alive a decade ago. Their hunt will lead them to a hidden cave from which only two of them return alive.
As the police investigate, Rae and Donna will have to return to the cave where they discover a secret so shattering that no-one who encounters it will ever be the same.
SAM BECKBESSINGER is the author of the bestselling Manage Your Money Like a F*cking Grownup Grownup (over 70 000 copies sold). She’s also a cartoon scriptwriter, has published three picture books for young children, and wrote for Marvel’s Jessica Jones: Playing with Fire on Realm. Sam gets way too excited about gross body fluids and spreadsheets. She lives in London.
DALE HALVORSEN is a writer and internationally award-winning book cover designer for authors like Lauren Beukes and Nnedi Okorafo. He is the co-creator of the Vertigo original horror series Survivors’ Club together with Lauren Beukes and artist Ryan Kelly. It is currently in development as a TV series. Dale lives in Cape Town.
In this episode, CEO of Jonathan Ball Publishers, Eugene Ashton, chats with Author and Historian Charles van Onselen regarding Three Wise Monkeys.
In some settings, such as Ireland, contiguous Catholic and Protestant states are often not conducive to good relations or neighbourliness. In colonial and imperial southern Africa, formal inter-state arrangements took place at the expense of a third party – subjected African peoples.
Three Wise Monkeys explores some of the contradictions, silences and oversights, and working misunderstandings that arise when an emerging Anglophone, Protestant, industrial and urbanising state – South Africa – develops side by side with Mozambique – a Lusophone, Catholic, commercial, rural colony.
In three volumes, Charles van Onselen examines the intertwined relations between South Africa and Portugal’s chronically weak east coast colony, as expressed through the migrant labour system, the tourist trade, the rise and fall of LM Radio and the extraordinary tale of the Lourenço Marques Lottery.
These areas constituted zones of cross-cultural, transnational interaction that both states were reluctant to acknowledge formally, choosing instead to ‘see no evil, speak no evil and hear no evil’ for much of the 20th century.
Three Wise Monkeys presents a startling new way of viewing the entangled, often hidden, economic, political and social dynamics that informed the rise of 20th-century South Africa, often at the expense of neighbouring Mozambique.
Welcome to Pagecast, the book-centred podcast series presented by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
In this episode. Tecla Ciolfi, the Founder & Editor of Texx and the City, will be chatting with Coco Mellars, the incredible author of the captivating novel Cleopatra and Frankenstein!
For readers of Modern Lovers and Conversations with Friends, an addictive, humorous, and poignant debut novel about the shock waves caused by one couple's impulsive marriage.
'A tender, devastating and funny exploration of love and friendship and the yearning for self-evisceration. Coco Mellors is an elegant and exciting new voice' PANDORA SYKES, author of How Do We Know We're Doing It Right
New York is slipping from Cleo's grasp. Sure, she's at a different party every other night, but she barely knows anyone. Her student visa is running out, and she doesn't even have money for cigarettes. But then she meets Frank. Twenty years older, Frank's life is full of all the success and excess that Cleo's lacks. He offers her the chance to be happy, the freedom to paint, and the opportunity to apply for a green card. She offers him a life imbued with beauty and art-and, hopefully, a reason to cut back on his drinking. He is everything she needs right now.
Cleo and Frank run head-first into a romance that neither of them can quite keep up with. It reshapes their lives and the lives of those around them, whether that's Cleo's best friend struggling to embrace his gender identity in the wake of her marriage, or Frank's financially dependent sister arranging sugar daddy dates after being cut off. Ultimately, this chance meeting between two strangers outside of a New Year's Eve party changes everything, for better or worse.
Cleopatra and Frankenstein is an astounding and painfully relatable debut novel about the spontaneous decisions that shape our entire lives and those imperfect relationships born of unexpectedly perfect evenings.
Coco Mellors was raised in London and New York City. She completed her MFA in Fiction at New York University, where she was a Goldwater Fellow. Cleopatra and Frankenstein has been translated into over ten languages and is being developed for television by Warner Bros. She lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband.
Welcome to Pagecast, the book-centred podcast series presented by Jonathan Ball Publishers. In this episode, Shaun de Waal, News24 Books Editor, interviews South African writer Jonny Steinberg about his latest book, "Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage."
In this captivating book, Steinberg explores the marriage between Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. As Mandela spent years in prison, his love for Winnie grew, portraying her in his letters as an idealized version of his wife, frozen in time like young lovers. However, Winnie, who was his political equal, became increasingly distant from her husband's political beliefs.
Behind Mandela's back, Winnie attempted to orchestrate an armed seizure of power, a path that he feared would lead to an endless war. Jonny Steinberg narrates the compelling story of this extraordinary marriage, delving into its desires, obsessions, and betrayals, while also weaving it into the political tapestry of South African history.
"Winnie and Nelson" is a modern epic that demonstrates how the trauma within a marriage can reverberate throughout an entire nation. It also resembles a Shakespearean drama, intertwining themes of love, commitment, and timeless questions about revolution, such as seeking retribution versus pursuing a negotiated peace.
With powerful and tender emotional insight, Steinberg reveals the extent to which these inseparable leaders would go for each other, as well as the boundaries they set. Ultimately, they understood that their union was not just a marriage, but a struggle to define the policies of anti-apartheid.
Thank you for listening, and enjoy this episode of Pagecast.
About Jonny Steinberg:
Jonny Steinberg is the author of several books about everyday life in the wake of South Africa’s transition to democracy. He is a two-time winner of South Africa’s premier non-fiction prize, the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award, and an inaugural winner of the Donald Windham-Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes. Until 2020, he was professor of African studies at Oxford University, and he currently teaches part-time at Yale and is visiting professor at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (Wiser).
Thanks for clicking play on Pagecast, a book-centred podcast series brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
In this episode, author and historian Mphuthumi Ntabeni chats with Sharon Dodua Otoo, regarding her latest book Ada's Realm!
In a small village in West Africa, in what will one day become Ghana, Ada gives birth again, and again the baby does not live.
As she grieves the loss of her child, Portuguese traders become the first white men to arrive in the village, an event that will bear terrible repercussions for Ada and her kin.
Centuries later, Ada will become the mathematical genius Ada Lovelace; Ada, a prisoner forced into prostitution in a Nazi concentration camp; and Ada, a young, pregnant Ghanaian woman with a new British passport who arrives in Berlin in 2019 for a fresh start.
Ada is not one woman but many, and she is all women - she revolves in orbits, looping from one century and from one place to the next.
A true crime classic about Daisy de Melker in ragtime Joburg –a city of murder, mayhem and gold.
In this episode, Nicole Engelbrecht, True Crime Author and Podcaster sits down with Ted Botha to discuss his latest book, Daisy De Melker - Hiding amongst killers in the city of gold.
Ted Botha takes the reader into the underbelly of Johannesburg in the 1920s and 1930s as he traces the fascinating story of the mysterious Daisy de Melker, who was hanged for poisoning her son. Many also believed she poisoned two husbands for their life insurance money.
In the shadow of ever-growing mine dumps, she went about her business quietly and unnoticed–the most unlikely of killers. Even though people close to her kept dying, no one suspected a thing for twenty years. When someone finally spoke up, it led to one of South Africa’s most sensational trials.
De Melker’s story unfolds in tandem with those of colourful Johannesburg characters of the same period such as the Foster Gang, Herman Charles Bosman, the dashing conman Baron von Veltheim and a Bonny-and-Clyde-style couple, Dicky Mallalieu and Gwen Tolputt. Some cross paths with each other and also those of famous writers of era such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sarah Gertrude Millin.
Thanks for clicking play on Pagecast, a book-centred podcast series brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
In this episode the wonderful Danielle Weakley, Brand builder, editor and writer is in conversation with Jo Watson, regarding her latest romantic comedy titled What Happens on Vacation...
Two rivals. One holiday and A trip they will never forget.
Watson returns with a hilarious and heartfelt new enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity rom-com!
It's the book you won't want to go on holiday without!
Enjoy this episode of Pagecast, thanks for tuning in!
About Jo Watson:
Jo Watson is a bestselling author of romantic comedies, including Love to Hate You which has sold over 100,000 copies. She's a two-time Watty Award winner with over 50 million reads on Wattpad and 85,000 followers. Jo is an Adidas addict and a Depeche Mode devotee. She lives in South Africa with her family.
Visit her website www.jowatsonwrites.co.uk for exclusive extras, and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @JoWatsonWrites.
In this episode, journalist and author, Andrew Harding interviews Justice Malala about his new book – The Plot to Save South Africa.
Today it seems as if the defeat of apartheid was inevitable, but Chris Hani’s assassination on the Easter Weekend of 1993 nearly tipped the country into all-out war. Now, bestselling Justice Malala tells the story of the week that followed the ANC firebrand’s murder by Janusz Waluś in riveting, cinematic fashion.
In this meticulously researched new book, the reader is taken into the thought processes and consequential actions of the key players – from Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk, the police investigating the murder, dangerous right-wingers like Clive Derby-Lewis, and leaders such as Cyril Ramaphosa, Bantu Holomisa and Tokyo Sexwale. On the 30th anniversary of Hani’s death, this book tells us just how close South Africa came to civil war and how Mandela and De Klerk – despite provocation and despite their own fears, failures and doubts – chose the path of peace.
We hope that you enjoy the episode.
Thanks for clicking play on Pagecast, a book-centred podcast series brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
In this episode author and historian Bill Nasson chats with author, and member of palriment, Michael Cardo regarding his comprehensive biography of Harry Oppenheimer.
In the first, full-scale biography of Oppenheimer, based on unrestricted access to his subject’s private papers and extensive interviews with family members and close associates, Michael Cardo eschews both the corporate hype and the political propaganda to produce a vivid, fully-rounded portrait.
He brings to life the places, people, events and relationships that shaped Harry Oppenheimer’s long and rich career at the intersection of business and politics. Cardo also tackles thorny questions of legacy and Oppenheimer’s complicity with the oppressive racial order of the past.
We hope that you enjoy the episode.
Chris Hani’s assassination in 1993 gave rise to one of South Africa’s greatest political questions: if he had survived, what impact would he have had on the ANC government?
On the 30th anniversary of his murder by right-wing fanatics, this updated version of the best-selling Hani: A Life Too Short reevaluates his legacy and traces his life from his childhood in rural Transkei to the crisis in the ANC camps in Angola in the 1980s and the heady dawn of South Africa’s freedom.
Drawing on interviews and the recollections of those who knew him, this vividly written book provides a detailed account of the life of a hero of South Africa’s liberation, a communist party leader and Umkhonto we Sizwe chief of staff, who was both an intellectual and a fighter.
In this episode of Pagecast, CapeTalk presenter and journalist Lester Kiewit chats with Janet and Beauregard regarding this best-seller.
About the authors:
JANET SMITH is a former newspaper editor and the author of Patrice Motsepe. She was also a co-author of The Coming Revolution: Julius Malema and the Fight for Economic Freedom and The Black Consciousness Reader. Award-winning journalist
BEAUREGARD TROMP is the Africa editor of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. He has also worked for the Mail & Guardian and The Star newspaper.
On Monday 20 March 2023, amidst a National Shut Down in South Africa, local author Mphuthumi Ntabeni met up with Simon Sebag Montefiore, in a quiet nook of the Book Lounge in Cape Town, to discuss Simon’s exquisite new book - The World.
The world is a fresh and original history of humanity, unlike any previous world history: it uses family, the one thing all humans have in common, to tell the story. In his new book, Simon(or Montefiore, whatever feels best) steers us through an interconnected world via palace intrigues, love affairs and family lives, linking grand themes of war, migration, plague, religion, medicine and technology to the people at the heart of the human drama. It features a cast of extraordinary span and diversity.
The World is both a celebration and an indictment that takes the human story, from caves to drones, in a single narrative by a master storyteller.
We hope that you enjoy this episode of Pagecast.
Thanks for clicking play on Pagecast, a book-centred podcast series brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
In this episode, Sewela Langeni of Book Circle Capital is in conversation with Lesley Mofokeng, author of The Man Who Shook Mountains
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.
Enjoy the episode!
In this episode, author Amy Heydenrych chats with author scriptwriter and script editor Pamala Power about her latest book - My Year of Not Getting Shit Faced.
The title says it all – this is an honest, fun and humorous look at a grown woman’s love-hate relationship with alcohol. In My Year of Not Getting Sh*tfaced, Pam takes a hard look at her drinking habit and realises that although she does not need to find an AA group immediately, she might be a serial binge drinker and needs to take back control.
Set against the backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic that pushed most of us to the limits. Pam and her family are no exception, they face several challenges including financial woes and uncertainty about the future of SA.
While other sober curious books are often dry and portray sobriety as the only answer, Pam finds a sweet spot between total sobriety and binge drinking - moderation.
Through her, we experience all the frustration, the discomfort of the withdrawals and the reaction from friends and family to her decision to go dry. With the alcohol bans in South Africa and the national outrage that followed, Pam’s experiences are very relatable and coloured by her cheeky larger-than-life personality.
About Pamela
Pam is a television scriptwriter and script editor who has worked on the television shows Top Billing, Generations, Rockville and Uzalo, and is currently the script editor at Muvhango. She has two children and one husband and lives in Johannesburg.
In this episode of Pagecast, critic and football fan Dave Gorin interviews co-authors of Red on Red, Phil McNulty and Jim White.
The untold story of the most contested fixture in world football
Liverpool and Manchester. Two gloriously independent-minded, eclectic, culturally vibrant places. Yet the inhabitants dislike each other with a passion that is visceral. It is a divide that spans generations across class, gender and ethnicity. And it has grown over the years, largely driven by one thing: football.
The dark, malignant loathing shared by the followers of Liverpool and Manchester United has seeped into every aspect of life in the two cities. Football is not a barometer of disdain, as it is in places like Glasgow or Istanbul or Moscow. In northwest England, it is the engine of animosity.
How did it come to this? Why did things turn so nasty? And what does it say about the two cities in which the clubs are based?
Written by a Scouser and a Manc in a rare collaboration, Red on Red addresses the divide by talking to those involved in ten seminal football matches. It speaks to the characters who patrolled and provoked the rivalry: Alex Ferguson, Kenny Dalglish, Steven Gerrard and Gary Neville, among many others. Also questioned are the fans, the administrators, the referees, the police, and politicians. And through each legendary game, its authors tell the full story of the most extraordinary division not just in football, but in modern Britain.
This is Red on Red, a rivalry like no other.
Thanks for clicking play on Pagecast, a book-centred podcast series brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
In this episode, Highly qualified and experienced Information specialist and Historian Graham Dominy chats with respected historian and author John Laband regarding his latest book The Boer Invasion of the Zulu Kingdom.
This invasion in 1837, of the Zulu kingdom by Boers migrating from the British Cape Colony, and the massacres, battles and civil war that ensued as the Zulu resisted the settlers was a critical moment in South African history.
Changing perceptions in a post-colonial world requires the reassessment of wars of colonial aggression, but there is no book in English that engages with the war between the Boers and Zulu in its entire context or takes the Zulu evidence into proper account.
This work attempts to do so.
Enjoy the episode!
In this episode, Pagecast co-producer Nicola Bruns interviews Bobby Palmer, author of Isaac and the Egg!
Isaac and the Egg, is "a story about love, friendship and baked beans", a parable about learning to live again. A story of a broken man's transformative journey into the woods.
A young man walks into the woods on the worst morning of his life and finds something there that will change everything. It's a tale that might seem familiar. But how it speaks to you will depend on how you've lived until now. Sometimes, to get out of the woods, you have to go into them. Isaac and the Egg is one of the most hopeful, honest and wildly imaginative novels you will ever read.
About Bobby Palmer
Bobby is a freelance journalist who writes for publications including Time Out, GQ, Men's Health and Cosmopolitan. Isaac and the Egg is his debut novel.
Thanks for clicking play on Pagecast, a book-centred podcast series brought to you by Jonathan Ball Publishers.
In this episode, Avid runner, school teacher and MC Sean Robson chats with co-author and long-time running coach Eric Orton about Born to Run 2 - The Ultimate Training Guide.
This book teaches every runner, new or experienced, how to master humankind's first true superpower and tap into hidden reserves of strength and stamina. With chapters dedicated to the Free Seven - Food, Fitness, Form, Focus, Footwear, Fun and Family - we learn exactly how to change our biomechanics, clean up our diets, heal our injuries, adapt to healthier footwear, and prepare for our dream challenge.
Enjoy the episode!
CapeTalk's Pippa Hudson interviews Cariad Lloyd regarding her book 'You Are Not Alone'.
Inspired by her award-winning podcast, Griefcast; You Are Not Alone is Cariad Lloyd's frank, funny and compassionate exploration of grief.
When Cariad Lloyd lost her father at the age of fifteen, people didn't talk about death. Years later, when she created Griefcast, it started a conversation that people didn't realise they needed until it was there about one of the most significant events in a person's life: its end.
In You Are Not Alone, Cariad shares all that she has learned from Griefcast. She reflects on her own grief, the grief of others, and the psychology and science behind how our society deals with death and loss. Funeral thoughts, therapy, coping with anniversaries, bad friends, good friends, birthdays, weddings, missing them, not missing them - this is grief in all its sad, surprising, awkward, tender and sometimes funny forms.
You Are Not Alone is a road map for all of us: for anybody who has ever felt lost in grief, who would like to help someone they know through theirs, or who just wants to understand life a little better.
About Pippa Hudson
Pippa Hudson hosts the lunchtime show on radio station Cape Talk, which includes a mix of news and lifestyle content, from food, travel and parenting advice to health, legal, environmental and consumer content.
As avid reader, Hudson loves inviting authors to join her in the daily feature profile slot ‘On the Couch’ and in her weekly Book Club segment.
The show was a winner in 2019 of a Titanium Award for Best Health Media Coverage, and a Diageo Award. In 2020 Hudson was the recipient of the Petco media award for coverage of recycling, waste management and environmental issues. Her show has also been a finalist in the Best Daytime Show category at the annual Radio Awards, for the last 4 consecutive years (2018-2021 inclusive).
Co-producer of Pagecast, Nicola Bruns, chats with Dame Prue Leith regarding her latest cookbook, Bliss on Toast.
About the book:
What's more comforting and satisfying than toast? And if you top it with a few cleverly paired ingredients, it can be a full meal, not to mention pure bliss. These 75 recipes for things on toast will help you make quick, delicious and versatile meals year-round - for working-from-home lunches and cosy Sunday suppers, to light bites, indulgent treats or impressive canapes. Recipes include:
Avocado, summer tomatoes & tapenade rocket on olive bread
Bubble & squeak with hollandaise on fried bread
Falafel, edamame & red pepper hummus on flatbread
Grilled chicken tikka with yoghurt on naan
Smoked salmon, wasabi & avocado on granary bread
Bliss on Toast is as much a toolkit for quick fridge-raids as it is inspiration for seasonal delights. With 82 years' experience of good eating and 60 years of cooking, writing about and judging food, there is no-one who better knows what makes a meal bliss than Dame Prue Leith.
About Prue:
Prue’s varied career and achievements has seen her recently honoured with a Damehood. Known for revolutionising food and restaurants in London early in her career, she is now a judge on The Great British Bake Off, presented Prue’s Great Garden plot and co-hosted Clever Cook, Waste Less. She is a published author of eight novels. Her experience in directing companies, chairing the School Food Trust, and campaigning has equipped her with endless knowledge in so many areas from broadcasting, business and charity.
Welcome to the final day of Pagecast's Year in Review.
It's Pagecast’s holiday season! This December, we’re looking back and reflecting on all the incredible books published in 2022. We’ve asked a few special guests to review their top pick of the year; and to give us a taste of what they’ll be reading this holiday and in the new year.
In this episode, author and feminist researcher Joy Watson takes us on a ride of her year in books. She chats about the ones that she enjoyed reading most over the last year.
Joy's standout books for 2022 are:
-Eye of the Beholder by Margie Orford
-Madwoman by Louisa Treger
-I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Enjoy the episode!
Welcome to day 11 of Pagecast's Year in Review.
It's Pagecast’s holiday season. This December, we’re looking back and reflecting on all the incredible books published in 2022. We’ve asked a few special guests to review their top pick of the year; and to give us a taste of what they’ll be reading this holiday and in the new year.
In this episode, media and communications expert Sonja van der Westhuizen takes us on a ride of her year in books. She chats about the ones that she enjoyed most and those she recommends as holiday reads!
Sonja's stand-out book for 2022 is Lady Joker, Volume by Kaoru Takamura, and she plans to read a few books over the festive season, including:
-The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
-The Last Chairlift by John Irving
-Dark Music by David Lagercrantz
-The Furies by John Connolly
Enjoy the episode!
Welcome to day 10 of Pagecast's Year in Review.
It's Pagecast’s holiday season. This December, we’re looking back and reflecting on all the incredible books published in 2022. We’ve asked a few special guests to review their top pick of the year; and to give us a taste of what they’ll be reading this holiday and in the new year.
In this episode, the host of CapeTalk's Lunch Show, Pippa Hudson, takes us on a ride of her year in books. She chats about the ones that she enjoyed most and those she recommends as holiday reads!
Pippa's stand-out book for 2022 is A Terrible Kindness by Joe Browning Wroe, and she plans to read several books over the festive season, including:
-A Pocketful of Happiness by Richard E. Grant
-Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
- Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
- The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
- The Winners by Fredrik Backman
- Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer
- Dawlands by Philippa Gregory
Enjoy the episode!
Welcome to day 9 of Pagecast's Year in Review.
It's Pagecast’s holiday season. This December, we’re looking back and reflecting on all the incredible books published in 2022. We’ve asked a few special guests to review their top pick of the year; and to give us a taste of what they’ll be reading this holiday and in the new year.
In this episode, Books Editor at Farmers Weekly, Patricia McCracken, takes us on a ride of her year in books. She chats about the ones that she enjoyed most and those she recommends as holiday reads!
Patricia's stand-out book for 2022 is Don’t Upset ooMalume by Hombakazi Mercy Nqandeka, and she plans to read a few books over the festive season, including:
-Whatever Next: Lessons from an Unexpected Life by Anne Tennant, and Baroness Glenconner
- The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith
Enjoy the episode!
Welcome to day 8 of Pagecast's Year in Review.
It's Pagecast’s holiday season. This December, we’re looking back and reflecting on all the incredible books published in 2022. We’ve asked a few special guests to review their top pick of the year; and to give us a taste of what they’ll be reading this holiday and in the new year.
In this episode, Phyllis Green, Bookseditor at SARIE magazine, takes us on a ride of her year in books. She chats about the ones that she enjoyed most and those she recommends as holiday reads!
Phyllis's stand-out book for 2022 is The Eye of the Beholder by Margie Orford, and she plans to read a few books over the festive season, including:
-Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
- The Milky Way Smells of Rum and Raspberries: ...And Other Amazing Cosmic Facts by Jillian Scudder
- ANC Billionaires by Pieter Du Toit
- No Country for Girls by Emma Styles
- Little Nothings by Julie Mayhew
Enjoy this episode!
Welcome to day 7 of Pagecast's Year in Review.
It's Pagecast’s holiday season. This December, we’re looking back and reflecting on all the incredible books published in 2022. We’ve asked a few special guests to review their top pick of the year; and to give us a taste of what they’ll be reading this holiday and in the new year.
In this episode, Paige Nick, South African novelist, columnist and advertising copywriter takes us on a ride of her year in books. She chats about the ones that she enjoyed most and those she recommends as holiday reads!
Paige's stand-out book for 2022 is Forever Home by Graham Norton, and she plans to read three books over the festive season, including:
-Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
-Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel
Enjoy this episode!
Welcome to Pagcast’s holiday season. This December, we’re looking back and reflecting on all the incredible books published in 2022. We’ve asked a few special guests to review their top pick of the year; and to give us a taste of what they’ll be reading this holiday and in the new year.
In this episode, Jennifer Plattk, Books Editor for Sunday Times takes us on the journey of her year in books, the ones that she enjoyed most and those she recommends as holiday reads!
Jennifer has two book picks for 2022 including:
Booth - Karen Joy Fowler
Verity - Colleen Hoover
Jennifer Plans to read several books over the festive season, including:
I’m Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy
Revenge - Tom Bower
Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing - Matthew Perry
Enjoy this episode!
Welcome to day 5 of Pagecast's Year in Review.
It's Pagecast’s holiday season. This December, we’re looking back and reflecting on all the incredible books published in 2022. We’ve asked a few special guests to review their top pick of the year; and to give us a taste of what they’ll be reading this holiday and in the new year.
In this episode editor, content creator and cohost of
@thegreatequalizerpodcast takes us on a ride of her year in books. She chats about the ones that she enjoyed most and those she recommends as holiday reads!
Samantha's stand-out book for 2022 is Witches by Brenda Lozano, and she plans to read three books over the festive season, including:
-Floor Sample by Julia Cameron
-I Came All This Way to Meet You by Jami Attenberg
-I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
-Healing Through Words by Rupi Kaur
Enjoy this episode!
Welcome to day 4 of Pagecast's Year in Review.
It's Pagecast’s holiday season. This December, we’re looking back and reflecting on all the incredible books published in 2022. We’ve asked a few special guests to review their top pick of the year; and to give us a taste of what they’ll be reading this holiday and in the new year.
In this episode, author, journalist, and radio host, Sue-Grant Marshall takes us on a ride of her year in books. She chats about the ones that she enjoyed most and those she recommends as holiday reads!
Sue's stand-out book for 2022 is Eye of the Beholder by Margie Orford and she plans to read three books over the festive season, including:
-Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
-Bonny and Read by Julie Walker
-The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Enjoy this episode!
Welcome to day 3 of Pagecast's Year in Review.
Welcome to Pagcast’s holiday season. This December, we’re looking back and reflecting on all the incredible books published in 2022. We’ve asked a few special guests to review their top pick of the year; and to give us a taste of what they’ll be reading this holiday and in the new year.
In this episode News24 Books Editor, Shaun de Waal, reviews his standout book for 2022, External Mission: The ANC in Exile by Stephen Ellis.
Enjoy this episode!
Welcome to day 2 of Pagecast's Year in Review.
Welcome to Pagcast’s holiday season. This December, we’re looking back and reflecting on all the incredible books published in 2022. We’ve asked a few special guests to review their top pick of the year; and to give us a taste of what they’ll be reading this holiday and in the new year.
In this episode, Editor-in-Chief of Modern (Living, Wellness, Beauty, Lux) and book lover sometimes known by her quirky handle, @doesmybooklooksmart, Dan Weakly, takes us on ride of her year in books, the ones that she enjoyed most and those she recommends as holiday reads!
Dan has several book picks for 2022 including:
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
The Maid by Nita Prose
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
The Plant Hunter by T.L Mogford.
Dan Plans to read several books over the festive season, including:
The Christmas Postcards by Karen Swan
The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
Enjoy this episode!
Welcome to day 1 of Pagecast's Year in Review.
Welcome to Pagcast’s holiday season. This December we’re looking back and reflecting on all the incredible books published in 2022. We’ve asked a few special guests to review their top pick of the year; and to give us a taste of what they’ll be reading this holiday and in the new year.
In this episode, journalist and presenter Nancy Richards reflects on her year in books and the literary journey she went on over the last year. Nancy's book pick for 2022 is JOAN by Katherine J. Chen, and she plans to spend the holidays reading The Hyacinth Girl: T. S. Eliot's Hidden Muse by Lyndall Gordon.
Enjoy!
Batya Bricker, Exclusive Books Marketing, Loyalty and Procurement – General Manager joins Michele Magwood, Contributing Books Editor of the Sunday Times and host of the Magwood on Books podcast, to chat about the Exclusive Books Christmas List.
This year’s Exclusive Books Christmas selection – The List – is the widest selection in years, making the offering truly ‘something for everyone’.
The campaign itself, Santa’s No 1 Supplier, is traditional and nostalgic, featuring Santa himself, with his trusty elves, amongst the treasure trove of bookshelves at Exclusive Books.
“This is a departure from Exclusive Books’ usual approach, where we would emphasise the general holiday aspect of the Season, rather than the particularity of Christmas. But our feeling for this year, post-covid and amidst our current challenging times, was that we all needed a bit of Festive magic and wonder, a universal need no matter how you choose to celebrate at the end of the year.” – Batya Bricker – Exclusive Books Marketing, Loyalty and Procurement – General Manager.
Enjoy!
In this week’s episode, publicist and book lover Thembela Mputamputa is in conversation with Mogau Seshoene, author of Hosting with the Lazy Makoti.
About the book:
The highly anticipated new cookbook from South Africa’s award-winning and bestselling cookbook author and chef.
“I am back with a brand-new collection of over 100 delicious, easy-to-follow recipes! In my highly anticipated new cookbook, Hosting with the Lazy Makoti, I will show you how to host any occasion with stylish and tasty food, from soul-warming one-pot dinners, irresistible easy bakes, and hearty plant-based dishes to Mzansi favourites, flavourful seven-colour meals, decadent desserts, vibrant African cuisine, and much more.”
‘Her unique characteristics and impressive enthusiasm flood the pages.’ - Abigail Donnelly
‘Mogau’s way with food puts beautiful labels on age-old foods that have been passed from generation to generation.’ - Florence Masebe
‘This is not just a cookbook, but a demonstration of what one can achieve with passion.’ - Savita K Mbuli
About the author:
Mogau Seshoene is a trained chef and award-winning cookbook author. Her previous book, The Lazy Makoti’s Guide to the Kitchen, became an instant bestseller. Mogau has received a Gourmand World Cookbook Award and a USIBA Creative and Cultural Industries Award, and was named the 2021 Luxe Restaurant Awards Culinary Media Personality of the Year. She’s featured on the Forbes Africa ‘30 under 30’ list and the Mail and Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans list.
Veteran journalist and Author Arlene Prinsloo interviews the legend that is Jeffrey Archer regarding his latest book.
About the book:
London, 1988. Royal fever sweeps the nation as Britain falls in love with the ‘people’s princess’.
Which means for Scotland Yard, the focus is on the elite Royalty Protection Command, and its commanding officer. Entrusted with protecting the most famous family on earth, they quite simply have to be the best. A weak link could spell disaster.
Detective Chief Inspector William Warwick and his Scotland Yard squad are sent in to investigate the team. Maverick ex-undercover operative Ross Hogan is charged with a very sensitive – and unique – responsibility. But it soon becomes clear the problems in Royalty Protection are just the beginning. A renegade organization has the security of the country – and the Crown – in its sights. The only question is which target is next in line…
About Jeffrey:
Jeffrey Archer, whose novels include the Clifton Chronicles, the William Warwick novels and Kane and Abel, is one of the world's bestselling authors, with sales of over 275 million copies around the world. Famous for his discipline as a writer who works on up to fourteen drafts of each book, Jeffrey also brings a vast amount of insider knowledge to his books. Whether it’s his own career in politics, his passionate interest in art, or the wealth of fascinating background detail – inspired by the extraordinary network of friends he has built over a lifetime at the heart of Britain’s establishment – his novels provide a fascinating glimpse into a range of closed worlds. A member of the House of Lords, the author is married to Dame Mary Archer, and they have two sons, two granddaughters and three grandsons. He splits his time between London, Grantchester in Cambridge, and Mallorca where he writes the first draft of each new novel.
About Arlene:
Arlene Prinsloo is a veteran journalist, who has worked for Netwerk24, Rapport, Die Burger and Beeld in a career spanning 30 years. She has covered royal news as a blogger for Sarie and Netwerk24. Prinsloo lives in Cape Town.
This episode is brought to you in collaboration with CapeTalk 567.
CapeTalk Presenter Pippa Hudson is in conversation with authors of Mad Honey, Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan.
About the book:
Olivia fled her abusive marriage to return to her hometown and take over the family beekeeping business when her son Asher was six. Now, impossibly, her baby is six feet tall and in his last year of high school, a kind, good-looking, popular ice hockey star with a tiny sprite of a new girlfriend.
Lily also knows what it feels like to start over - when she and her mother relocated to New Hampshire it was all about a fresh start. She and Asher couldn't help falling for each other, and Lily feels happy for the first time. But can she trust him completely?
Then Olivia gets a phone call - Lily is dead, and Asher is arrested on a charge of murder. As the case against him unfolds, she realises he has hidden more than he's shared with her. And Olivia knows firsthand that the secrets we keep reflect the past we want to leave behind - and that we rarely know the people we love well as we think we do.
About Jodi:
Jodi Picoult is the author of 25 novels, with 40 million copies sold worldwide. Her last twelve books have debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, including her most recent, THE BOOK OF TWO WAYS. Five novels have been made into movies and BETWEEN THE LINES (co-written with daughter Samantha van Leer) has been adapted as a musical. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, the Alex Award from the YA Library Services Association, and the NH Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit. She is also the co-librettist for the musical BREATHE, and the upcoming musical THE BOOK THIEF. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband.
About Jennifer:
Jennifer Finney Boylan is the author of numerous works of fiction and non fiction, including the seminal She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders (2003), which was the first bestselling work by a transgender American. She is a trans activist and a professor at Barnard College, and has appeared on reality TV shows and various US media in support of her friend Caitlyn Jenner. Her most recent book is the memoir Good Boy: A Life in 7 Dogs, published April 20 by Celadon/Macmillan US.
Historian and author of General Jan Smuts and his First World War in Africa, 1914-1917, David Katz, is in conversation with fellow author and historian Dr Evert Kleynhans.
About the book:
Jan Smuts grabbed the opportunity to realise his ambition of a Greater South Africa when the First World War ushered in a final scramble for Africa. He set his sights firmly northward upon the
German colonies of South West Africa and East Africa.
Smuts’s abilities as a general have been much denigrated by his contemporaries and later historians, but he was no armchair soldier. He first learned his soldier’s craft under General Koos de la Rey and General Louis Botha during the South African War (1899−1902). He emerged from that conflict immersed in Boer manoeuvre doctrine.
After forming the Union Defence Force in 1912, Smuts played an integral part in the German South West African campaign in 1915. Placed in command of the Allied forces in East Africa in 1916, he led a mixed bag of South Africans and imperial troops against the legendary Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and his Schutztruppen.
His penchant for manoeuvre warfare and mounted infantry freed most of the vast German territory from Lettow-Vorbeck’s grip.
General Jan Smuts and his First World War in Africa provides a long-overdue reassessment of Smuts’s generalship and his role in furthering the strategic aims of South Africa and the British Empire during this era.
About David:
David is an author and historian, who lectures at the Army and Defence Colleges of the South African National Defence Force. He completed his MMil in Military History (cum laude) and a PhD in Military Science in the Department of Military History at the Faculty of Military Science of Stellenbosch University. He is also research fellow at the Faculty of Military Science and an active member of the Andrew Mlangeni Regiment (formerly the South African Irish Regiment). Katz is the author of South Africans vs Rommel (2019).
About Evert
Dr Evert Kleynhans is a senior lecturer in the Department of Military History at the Faculty of Military Science at Stellenbosch University. He is the former head of the Records, Archives and Museums Division at North-West University. Several of his articles and chapters have been published in academic journals and books.
CapeTalk Breakfast Show host Lester Kiewit is joined by top-selling author Pieter du Toit to chat about his latest book, ANC Billionaires.
About The Book:
In September 1985 a group of white South African business leaders travelled to a game lodge in Zambia to meet with the exiled ANC leadership under Oliver Tambo and Thabo Mbeki. The group wanted to establish for themselves who and what the ANC was, and they were led by Gavin Relly, executive chairperson of Anglo American.
The Zambian visit set in motion a coordinated and well-resourced plan by big business to influence political change in South Africa. After the ANC was unbanned, their goal was to ensure the party did not turn the country into a last outpost of socialism.
In The ANC Billionaires top-selling author Pieter du Toit investigates whether secret deals were struck between capital and the liberation movement to ensure the status quo remains in terms of economic policy. He also shows how the ANC was completely unprepared to navigate the intersection between business and politics.
The book draws on first-hand accounts by major role players about the contentious relationship between capital and the ANC before, during and after the country’s transition to democracy.
It also sheds light on the millionaires and billionaires who have benefited from their relationship to the party, and with business. After 1994, a cadre of politically connected businessmen, such as Tokyo Sexwale, Cyril Ramaphosa, Saki Macozoma and Patrice Motsepe, emerged who had access to preferential empowerment deals brokered by companies like Anglo American – all became very wealthy.
The one thing these individuals have in common is the ANC - the party of government and patronage.
About Pieter du Toit:
Pieter is an award-winning journalist and assistant editor at News24. He is the author of the best-selling Stellenbosch Mafia (2019) and the co-author of Enemy of the People (2017), with Adriaan Basson. Pieter is a former editor of HuffPost South Africa and news editor of Beeld and Netwerk24.
About Lester Kiewit:
CapeTalk’s Morning show host Lester Kiewit began his broadcasting journey in 2004 as Eyewitness News intern. He soon established himself as a respected journalist, diving into the world of television in 2008 as eNCA reporter and later Parliamentary Correspondent. He was also Cape Town Bureau Chief for the Mail and Guardian newspaper. Kiewit has forged a reputation as a tough, brave reporter and talented storyteller. His uncanny ability to find, and tell, the stories that matter saw him join CapeTalk again in 2021 as host of 'The Morning Review with Lester Kiewit', before moving to the breakfast drive slot.
Pagecast Co-Producer Maryam Adams is in conversation with Scarlette Brade, author The Hive.
A feminist thriller for anyone who's ever sworn revenge on an ex. Perfect for fans of You, Clickbait and Blood Orange.
'Tense, topical and stylish' TM LOGAN
'An addictive read!' ALICE HUNTER
'Dark and gripping' CASS GREEN
Charlotte Goodwin looks directly at the camera and reveals a chilling truth to the thousands watching her Instagram Live broadcast. She has killed her ex-boyfriend's new partner in cold blood. But she is not finished yet. The viewers must now vote to decide whether he should live or die. The public display sends shockwaves rippling through the online community and the numbers of viewers skyrockets. But as Lincoln's past is revealed, how will he be judged? The Hive explores our darkest fears of the relationship between social media and mental health, but, most importantly, the strength of sisterhood against all the odds.
About Scarlette:
Scarlett Brade is the daughter of parents who migrated from the Caribbean to England in the early 1970s. She was born and educated in London, though as a child she spent her summers in Canada, where she developed her love affair with reading. When not writing Scarlett spends most of her time cooking, drinking fine wines, and entertaining family and friends. The Hive is her first psychological thriller, and she is currently writing her second.
Journalist Nancy Richards chats with author Katherine J. Chen about her latest book, Joan: A Novel of Joan of Arc.
About The Book:
Girl. Warrior. Heretic. Saint? France is mired in a losing war against England. Its people are starving. Its king is in hiding. Yet out of the chaos, an unlikely heroine emerges.
Reckless, steel-willed and brilliant, Joan has survived a childhood steeped in both joy and violence to claim an extraordinary - and fragile - position at the head of the French army. The battlefield and the royal court are full of dangers and Joan finds herself under suspicion from all sides - as well as under threat from her own ambition.
With unforgettably vivid characters and propulsive storytelling, Joan is a thrilling epic, a triumph of historical fiction, and a feminist celebration of one remarkable - and remarkably real - woman who left an indelible mark on history.
About Katherine:
Katherine J. Chen is the author of the novel Mary B. Her work has been published in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, and the historical fiction anthology Stories from Suffragette City. She received her MFA from Boston University, where she was a senior teaching fellow and awarded the Florence Engel Randall Fiction Prize.
About Nancy:
Nancy Richards is an independent journalist with a good few years experience on radio and in print. As a radio presenter, areas of specialisation included shows on literature, the environment and ‘women’s issues’. In print she’s covered environment matters, books and literature, lifestyle, travel and décor amongst other things. She has a podcast called Books Stories People and is founder of an NPO: Woman Zone and The Women’s Library at the Artscape Theatre Centre in Cape Town. She also oversees Woman Zone’s podcast series covering books by women writers and other stories. She’s authored/co-authored Beautiful Homes: as featured in Fairlady magazine; Woman Today – 50 years of South African women on radio and Being a Woman in Cape Town: Telling your story. She is a speaker, media trainer and board member of NPO Soil for Life. Born in London, she is based in Cape Town
David Attwell is in conversation with Margie Orford, author of The Eye Of The Beholder.
About the book:
An extremely sharp, well-written female revenge thriller that looks at trauma and the complicated ways in which it manifests.
WHEN DANGER LIES IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU REJECT ITS PULL?
Cora carries secrets her daughter can’t know.
Freya is frightened by what her mother leaves unsaid.
Angel will only bury the past if it means putting her abusers into the ground.
One act of violence sets three women on a collision course, each desperate to find the truth – but the people they love are not what they seem.
About Margie:
Margie Orford is an internationally acclaimed writer. Her Clare Hart novels have been widely translated and led to her being described as the ‘queen of South African crime-thriller writers’ (The Weekender). She has written a number of children’s books and several works of nonfiction, and is also an award-winning journalist who writes regularly for newspapers in the UK and in South Africa. Orford is a member of the executive board of PEN International and president emerita of PEN South Africa. She lives in London.
About David:
David Attwell joined the University of York in January 2006 as a Professor of Modern Literature. He served as Head of the English and Related Literature Department from 2007/8 to 2011/12, and from 2012/13 to 2016/17. He took his BA and BA (Honours) degrees at the University of Natal in Durban, South Africa and completed an MA by research on African literary theory and criticism at the University of Cape Town where his supervisor was J.M. Coetzee. He completed his PhD at the University of Texas at Austin where he worked with the distinguished Africanist Bernth Lindfors.
David Attwell's publications include two monographs on J.M. Coetzee, the more recent being J.M. Coetzee and the Life of Writing (2015) which was a Finalist for the Alan Paton Prize, South Africa's premier award for nonfiction. Rewriting Modernity (2005/6) is his collection of studies of African writers in southern Africa from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. With Derek Attridge he co-edited The Cambridge History of South African Literature (2012).
I forgive you.
Three simple words behind which sits an intriguing and complex concept. These words can be used to absolve a meaningless squabble or said to someone who has caused you great harm. They can liberate you from guilt, or consciously place blame on your shoulders.
Forgiveness can often be perceived as saccharine and overtly religious, something just for the spiritually superior or mentally strong. But really it is a gritty, risky concept that is so often relevant to our ordinary everyday lives. Forgiveness explores the subject from every angle, coming from a place of enquiry rather than persuasion, presenting it as an offering, never a prescription.
Marina Cantacuzino seeks to investigate, unpick and debate the limits and possibilities of forgiveness – in our relationships, for our physical and mental wellbeing, how it plays out in international politics and within the criminal justice system, and where it intersects with religious faith. Cantacuzino speaks to people across the globe who have considered forgiveness in different forms and circumstances. She talks to a survivor of Auschwitz; to someone who accidentally killed a friend; to people who have lost loved ones in acts of violence; to a former combatant in The Troubles as well as to the daughter of someone he murdered.
Through these real stories, expert opinion and the author’s experience from two decades working in this field, the reader gets to better understand what forgiveness is and what it most definitely isn’t, how it can be an important element in breaking the cycle of suffering, and ultimately how it might help transform fractured relationships and mend broken hearts.
Marina Cantacuzino's background is in journalism. Her work has appeared in most mainstream publications in the UK, plus many magazines both home and abroad. Having co-authored several books on subjects close to her heart, from HIV to disability, she is also a regular blog contributor to The Huffington Post. In 2003, in response to escalating global conflict, Marina embarked on a very personal project collecting stories in words and pictures from people who had lived through violence, tragedy or injustice and sought forgiveness or reconciliation rather than retaliation or revenge. From this she created 'The F Word' exhibition: a collection of images and personal narratives from around the world exploring forgiveness and understanding in the face of atrocity. The success of the exhibition, which launched in London in 2004, led to Marina founding The Forgiveness Project.
Fred Bridgland is in conversation with Afrikaans TV reporter and anchor Lourensa Eckard.
About the book:
As a young Reuters correspondent, Fred Bridgland revealed the secret invasion in 1975 of post-independence Angola by apartheid South Africa’s armed forces in support of UNITA rebel leader, Jonas Savimbi. At the time, Bidgland befriended Tito Chingunji, a guerrilla officer, before he became UNITA foreign secretary, who persuaded Bridgland to walk hundreds of kilometres across Angola to watch UNITA’s fighters go into combat.
Later Chingunji and Bridgland worked together on a sympathetic biography of the charismatic Savimbi – then the great hope of the ‘free West’. However, after the book’s publication, Chingunji told Bridgland how he and his family were under constant threat of death from Savimbi.
Bridgland started to uncover atrocities that revealed Savimbi not as the champion of his people, but as a murderous tyrant. Chingunji had risked his life to help Bridgland tell the true story of what was going on behind the scenes. When his friend went missing, Bridgland journeyed into the Angolan jungle to plead his friend’s case and he, himself, was put before a kangaroo court by an enraged Savimbi.
This is a personal account of the bond that developed between a guerrilla fighter and a journalist, and the terrifying challenges they faced as they revealed Savimbi’s true colours.
This episode is brought to you in collaboration with CapeTalk 567.
Host of the CapeTalk Afternoon Drive show chats with Author, Siedine Coetzee, and Nurse, Roseanne Turner regarding their experiences as nurses on the frontline during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Our nurses have witnessed the pandemic first hand, compassionately caring for patients amid war-like circumstances.
The havoc caused by the pandemic highlighted existing fault lines in the South African health system, and nurses faced shortages of staff and vital life-saving equipment. Colleagues tested positive and died. Visitors were not allowed, so nurses had to be intermediaries between patients and desperate family trying to glean information on the phone. Despite these pressures, they remained at the forefront of the fight against the deadly virus.
This book brings together deeply personal stories of caring for patients in wards and ICU, of feeling overwhelmed, and experiencing the fear of getting infected and passing Covid on to their families. There are also moving tales of personal growth and finding renewed purpose. In Our Own Words shows the extreme resilience of nurses – even in the face of adversity. And that at the core of a ‘true’ nurse remains the commitment to the patient.
In this episode of Pagecast, Kirstin Chen is in conversation with Jennifer Platt, the books editor at the Sunday Times.
About Kirstin:
Kirstin Chen is the New York Times best-selling author of three novels. Her latest, Counterfeit, is a Reese’s Book Club pick, a Roxane Gay book club pick, and a New York Times Editors’ Choice. It has also been recommended by The Washington Post, People Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, Time, Oprah Daily, Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Parade, and more. Translation rights have sold in seven languages and television rights have been optioned by Sony Pictures. Her previous two novels are Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners.
She has received fellowships and awards from the Steinbeck Fellows Program, Sewanee, Hedgebrook, Djerassi, the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, the Toji Cultural Foundation, and the National Arts Council of Singapore. Her writing has appeared in The Cut, Real Simple, Literary Hub, Writer’s Digest, Zyzzyva, and the Best New Singaporean Short Stories. She holds an MFA from Emerson College and a BA from Stanford University. Born and raised in Singapore, she lives in New York City.
About the book:
Meet Ava: rule-abiding lawyer who has ticked all of life’s boxes. She is married to a successful surgeon and has just taken an indefinite career break to raise her adorable toddler. A picture-perfect life.
Meet Winnie: Ava’s old college roommate. Once awkward, quiet and apparently academically challenged, she left Stanford in a shroud of scandal. But now, she is charismatic, wealthy and has returned to town dripping in designer accessories. An actual perfect life.
When the two women bump into one another at a local coffee shop, it seems like fate has intervened: Winnie’s new-found success is courtesy of a shady business and she needs a favour, but what starts as one favour turns into two, then three.
South African-born, debut author brings a threat-and-danger, hidden-world fantasy with touches of Suzanne Collins which fans of VE Schwab or Sarah J Maas will love.
Twenty-two-year-old Cassia's sister is dying, and she doesn't know why. Cassia wakes up in another realm to find her missing best friend, Lucas, who knows how to save her sister.
Lucas is part of a community of Reborns, people who were born on earth and after death, were reborn in this realm with magical abilities. The original beings of the realm, the Firsts, rule over them.
To keep the Reborn numbers manageable, the king of the Firsts releases a curse to cull them. Cassia needs to break the curse before her time runs out and she is trapped there forever.
Shameez Patel Papathanasiou was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. She is a civil engineer by day, fantasy author by night and a choc-chip cookie fiend somewhere in between. Her literary adventures take her to new worlds filled with magic, monsters and someone to fall in love with.
About the book
Seventeen-year-old Savannah is cursed. It's a sinister family heirloom; passed down through the bloodline for hundreds of years, with one woman in every generation destined to die young. The family call them Hella's girls, named for their ancestor Hella; the enslaved woman with whom it all began. Hella's girls are always angry, especially in the months before they die.
The anger is bursting from Savannah - at the men who cat-call her in the street, at her mother's disingenuous fiancé, even at her own loving family. Each fit of rage is bringing her closer to the edge and now Savannah has to act to save herself. Or die trying. Because the key to survival lies in the underbelly of Cape Town, where the sinister veilwitches are waiting for just such a girl.
Blood to Poison is a furious and mesmerising story about discovering magic, historical rage and love in all its guises.
About Mary Watson
Mary Watson is a South African author who won the Caine Prize in 2006 for her short story Jungfrau. Watson is the author of Moss, a collection of short stories published in 2004. Watson completed her master's degree in creative writing under André Brink at the University of Cape Town. Jungfrau originated as part of this 2001 master's thesis. After receiving a second master's degree at the University of Bristol in 2003, she returned to Cape Town to teach film studies while pursuing a PhD. Watson has lived in Galway, Ireland, since 2008. Blood to Poison is her third novel for young adults and the first rooted in her South African heritage.
About Joy Watson
Joy is a feminist researcher and writer. Her areas of specialisation are analysing public policy and service delivery, as well as tracking funding flows from the perspective of building social equity. She has many years of experience in developing feminist responses to public policy and has worked on research initiatives in South Africa as well as internationally, including for the UN Habitat’s Safer Cities programme and UN Women initiatives. Together with Amanda Gouws, she has co-edited the book, Nasty Women Talk Back: A Collection of Feminist Essays on the Global Women’s Marches (Imbali, 2018). You can find her book reviews and reflections on life and its joys and sorrows on the pages of Daily Maverick Life. Her debut novel, debut novel, 'The Other Me', published in 2022 is a gripping read about love, life and the harrowing lengths one woman will go to survive.
Enjoy this exciting, casual and funny chat between the overly talented Watson sisters.
Evert Kleynhans, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Military History at the Faculty of Military Science of Stellenbosch University, is in conversation with author of A Russian on Commando: The Boer War Experiences of Yevgeny Avgustus, Boris Gorelik and Prof Fransjohan Pretorius, an emeritus professor from the Department of Historical and Heritage Studies at University of Pretoria.
About the book: In January 1900, galvanised by the daring of the Boers in taking on imperial Britain, the young Russian officer Yevgeny Avgustus set off for the Transvaal to fight in the Anglo-Boer War. Like most of the foreign volunteers who flocked to the Boer cause, he ended up on the Natal front.
Avgustus and his companions joined the Krugersdorp Commando, and their experiences in the field are portrayed in vivid detail. The central part of this gripping account covers the Battle of the Tugela Heights in February 1900 and the Boers’ subsequent retreat. The immediacy of Avgustus’s writing captures his trepidation and excitement as he approaches the battlefield for the first time, as well as his experience of life on commando.
The keen eye of this foreign volunteer brings to life a turning point in South African history. Avgustus is a gifted writer, and his narrative offers both acute observation and thoughtful introspection.
A gripping portrayal of human frailty and courage in the face of mortal danger, A Russian on Commando highlights both the strange attraction and the absurdities of war.
In this episode of Pagecast, publicist and book lover Thembela Mputamputa is in conversation with Hombakazi Mercy Nqandeka, author of Don’t Upset ooMalume: A Guide to Stepping Up Your Xhosa Game.
Returning to the family homestead in the Eastern Cape for the holidays, and worried that your city ways and less than perfect knowledge of Xhosa culture will get you a wagging finger in the face from ooMalume – the uncles?
No need to fret. Don’t Upset ooMalume! captures the essence of Xhosa heritage and culture, and explores different aspects of village life. It covers a range of topics, from major Xhosa life ceremonies and traditional clothing, to the significance of uronta (the rondavel) and ubuhlanti (the kraal). Not forgetting the importance of traditional food, the author describes popular dishes, edible forage and even medicinal plants.
This book was born from writer and agriculturalist Hombakazi Mercy Nqandeka’s concern that aspects of Xhosa heritage will be lost to future generations. By interweaving her guide to Xhosa culture with stories from her daily life at Mqele and Bulungula villages, and lessons taught to her by her mother and her late grandmothers, she hopes to help reconnect Xhosa people to their roots.
Akukho nto imnandi ngathi kukungeqiwa ziindaba xa kuncokolwa ngesiXhosa esintsokothileyo nesineziqhulo. Bathi bezincokolela abantu abadala bexuba nakwintetho yokuhlonipha ube usiva yonke into abayithethayo. Oko kubonisa ukuzingca nokuzingomba isifuba ngolwimi lakho lesiXhosa.
Le ncwadi yenzelwe abantu abasithandayo isiXhosa nabafuna ukufunda nzulu ngolwimi nenkcubeko yesiXhosa. Ungabadanisi ooMalume, lola isiXhosa sakho ngale ncwadi.
About Hombakazi Mercy Nqandeka:
Mercy is an agriculturalist and a writer with an unquenchable passion for Xhosa heritage and culture. Mercy has a double Masters degree in Agriculture Climate Change Transition from the National University of Ireland and the University of Montpellier SupAgro in France. She has published two books, The Dissonant Rainbow (2019) and To My Young Self (2020). She currently lives in Bulungula on the Wild Coast, where she works for an NGO to provide rural schools with access to clean water and sanitation. In her spare time, she beads stethoscopes with the help of local women.
Ingrid Kluckow delves into Avril Kenny's magical writing world to discover the story behind the story.
Ingrid is an avid reader, writer, actress, yoga instructor and marketing coordinator.
Averil Kenny is a writer from Queensland. She writes women's fiction with an evocative flair, featuring strong, sassy heroines.
The Girls of Lake Evelyn is an irresistible story of love, family, women, secrets and mystery set in the lush region of tropical north Queensland. For readers of Lucinda Riley and Kate Morton.
You cannot force me to marry him. I need to be free, to figure out what I want. For once, please let me choose…
- When It-girl Vivienne George flees on the eve of her wedding she seeks refuge in a scheduled lodge surrounded by the lush rainforest of tropical North Queensland. There, she is relieved to find that the small farming town couldn't be further from the high society she's left behind.
Now, Vivienne spends her days swimming in the beautiful Lake Evelyn where she befriends the larger-than-life Josie. But all is not as it seems in this quiet, close-knit community.
Vivienne soon learns that over a decade earlier, Celeste Starr, a beautiful actress, died tragically in the lake's dark waters, spawning a curse that has plagued the girls of the town ever since.
Fascinated by Celeste's tale, Josie decides to stage a play about her death, with Vivienne in the lead role, setting off a chain of disturbing events . . .
Can the girls of Lake Evelyn be freed from the curse as Vivienne escapes her past?
Refilwe Moloto yanks the blockchain with Steven Boykey Sidley and Simon Dingle, authors of Beyond Bitcoin: Decentralised Finance and the end of Banks.
Simon Dingle is an author, broadcaster and entrepreneur with extensive experience in cryptocurrency. He has been on the founding teams of several fintech firms, including Luno. He published In Maths We Trust in 2018 and has co-authored his second book with Steven Boykey Sidley, Beyond Bitcoin: Decentralised Finance and the End of Banks, releasing in 2022.
Steven Boykey Sidley has worked extensively in technology and finance and is an award-winning novelist, playwright and columnist. He co-authored, Beyond Bitcoin – Decentralised Finance and the End of Banks, with Simon Dingle, which will release in South Africa early in 2022. This is his sixth book.
Refilwe Moloto is a strategic and economic advisor with 15 years’ financial services experience in Emerging Markets research, broking and asset management in Johannesburg, New York and Cape Town. She currently serves as an External Expert Advisor on Eskom Pension & Provident Fund’s Strategic Investment Committee. She is also a Fellow of the 11th Class of the Africa Leadership Initiative, a regional chapter of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.Moloto is also a commentator and thought leader on strategic economic & financial market development in Africa, invited to speak at global technical conferences and in the media. She currently anchors the morning show, Breakfast with Refilwe Moloto, which airs on CapeTalk.
Jenny Crwys-Williams teleports to 19th century Natal with Joanne Joseph, author of the historical novel Children of Sugarcane, which conjures the world of and female indentured migrant from India.
Children of Sugarcane is Joanne Joseph’s first work of fiction. Joseph is an established South African media personality and bestselling author, with over 20 years of experience. She has hosted prominent radio and television shows for major broadcasters, including the South African Broadcasting Corporation and Primedia House. Her book Drug Muled sold over 10,000 copies.
Jenny Crwys-Williams has been identified with books, reading and authors for most of her career. For 27 years Jenny featured books, fiction and non-fiction, on her daily Radio 702 show, covering, as she says, ‘every topic under the sun. I have been enveloped by the richness and knowledge I’ve gained through reading and being immersed in the book world’. A further 4 years at Kaya959 broadened her reading, mostly on African topics.
Pippa Hudson chats with Dr Emmanuel Taban (The Boy Who Never Gave Up), who is Daily Maverick’s Africa Person of the Year. He walked from war-torn Sudan to JHB, survived torture and kidnapping, and then became a pioneering pulmonologist.
In 1994, the 16-year-old Emmanuel Taban walked out of war-torn Sudan with nothing and nowhere to go after he had been tortured at the hands of government forces, falsely accused of spying for the rebels, until he finally managed to escape.
When he arrived in Johannesburg, he had only five years of education behind him. Today this former MEDUNSA student is a highly qualified pulmonologist, with a European Diploma in adult respiratory medicine. During 2020, he was at the forefront of the treatment of Covid19 patients in ICU in Johannesburg. Dr Taban released his first book, The Boy who Never Gave Up in 2021.
Pippa Hudson hosts the lunchtime show on radio station Cape Talk, which includes a mix of news and lifestyle content, from food, travel and parenting advice to health, legal, environmental and consumer content.
As avid reader, Hudson loves inviting authors to join her in the daily feature profile slot ‘On the Couch’ and in her weekly Book Club segment.
The show was a winner in 2019 of a Titanium Award for Best Health Media Coverage, and a Diageo Award. In 2020 Hudson was the recipient of the Petco media award for coverage of recycling, waste management and environmental issues. Her show has also been a finalist in the Best Daytime Show category at the annual Radio Awards, for the last 4 consecutive years (2018-2021 inclusive).
Did Thabo Mbeki set the table for state capture? Mark Gevisser’s prize-winning Thabo Mbeki: A Dream Deferred has just been published in an updated and revised edition, and Ferial Haffajee tackles him on Mbeki’s legacy.
Mark Gevisser is one of South Africa’s foremost writers. He is the author of five works of non-fiction, including Thabo Mbeki: A Dream Deferred, Lost and Found in Johannesburg and The Pink Line (2020). His journalism has been widely published in South Africa and he frequently writes for the Guardian, The New York Times, Granta, and many other publications.
In 2022 a brand new edition of Thabo Mbeki: A Dream Deferred will be released, including a detailed epilogue exploring Mbeki’s legacy since he fell from power 15 years ago.
Mark has been a Writing Fellow at the University of Pretoria and at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER). Since 2018, he has been a judge on the Gerald Kraak Award for writing on gender, human rights and sexuality in Africa. He lives in Cape Town.
Ferial Haffajee is a recipient of the 2014 International Press Freedom Award, Ferial Haffajee is one of South Africa’s most trusted and respected journalists. She is known for her clear-cut political analysis and her unwavering dedication to the truth. Haffajee has worked in numerous print and online newsrooms including holding the positions of editor at City Press and the Mail and Guardian before joining Daily Maverick as Associate Editor. Her new book Days of Zondo will be published by Maverick 451 in 2022.
Wamuwi Mbao talks to Yewande Omotoso about her new novel An Unusual Grief, whose protagonist outlives her daughter – and then rediscovers her.
Wamuwi Mbao is an essayist and cultural critic. He writes on literature, pop culture, and politics and is a literary reviewer for the Johannesburg Review of Books. His short story ‘The Bath‘ was named as one of the 20 best short stories written during the two decades of South Africa’s democracy.
Yewanda Omotoso’s 2022 book An Unusual Grief is her third novel. She is an architect and holds a Creative Writing MA from the University of Cape Town. Her debut novel, Bom Boy, won the SA Literary Award First Time Author Prize. Her short stories include How About The Children and Things Are Hard. Her second novel The Woman Next Door was shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award and longlisted for the Baileys Women’s Literature Prize.
After several years of serving on opposing sides of the law, former National Prosecutor, Bulelani Ngcuka and former Constitutional Court judge, Albie Sachs reconnect and reflect on Ngcuka’s story - Bulelani Ncuka – The Sting in the Tale. by Marion Sparg.
“Highly relevant today as prosecutors deal with the aftermath of State Capture. Fascinating from the first page to the last.” - Albie Sachs, Former Justice, Constitutional Court.
In this sweeping biography, based on many hours of interviews with Ngcuka, author Marion Sparg uncovers the roots of his fearless activism and tells his side of the story. She goes back in time to his modest beginnings in the Eastern Cape, to his lawyering years with the formidable Griffiths Mxenge, his various periods of detention, exile, and his homecoming.
Dr Pumla Dineo Gqola joins internationally acclaimed Tsitsi Dangarembga (Nervous Conditions, The Book of Not & This Mournable Body) – to discuss her stellar writing career, her life in Harare, and the choices of women besieged by patriarchy.
Tsitsi Dangarembga is a Zimbabwean novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Her debut novel, Nervous Conditions (1988), which was the first to be published in English by a Black woman from Zimbabwe, was named by the BBC in 2018 as one of the top 100 books that have shaped the world. In 2020, her novel This Mournable Body was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Dr Pumla Dineo Gqola is a feminist writer and Professor of Literary and Cultural Studies. She is the SARChl Chair in African Feminist Imagination at Nelson Mandela University. Her publications include, What is Slavery to Me?, A Renegade called Simphiwe, Alan Paton Award Winner Rape: A South African Nightmare and Reflecting Rogue. Her latest book, Female Fear Factory, the much anticipated follow up to Rape, was released in May 2021.
Karina M. Szczurek talks to Orange Prize winner Lionel Shriver (Should We Stay Or Should We Go) and her knack for exploring social and cultural fault-lines.
Lionel Shriver is a journalist and author of 14 novels. Born in North Carolina, she divides her time these days between London and New York. A regular columnist for the Spectator in Britain and Harper’s Magazine in the United States, Shriver has also written commentary for the New York Times, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal, among other publications. Shriver’s 2003 novel, We Have to Talk About Kevin, sold more than 2 million copies, won the prestigious Orange Prize, and was made into a movie. She was also a finalist for the National Book Award in 2010 with her novel, So Much for That, a contemplation about the American health care system.
Shriver’s latest book, Should We Stay or Should We Go, imagines a parade of possible outcomes when a healthy couple in their early 50s decide that when they reach their 80s, they will commit suicide.
KARINA SZCZUREK VIEW [ 2022 ] EVENTS WITH KARINA SZCZUREK | | |
Karina M. Szczurek is a writer, editor and literary critic based in Cape Town. Most recently, she has co-edited the 2015 SSDA anthology Water: New Short Fiction from Africa (with Nick Mulgrew) and published her memoir, The Fifth Mrs Brink (2017). She reviews books for the Cape Times and LitNet.
A look into South Africa's gangs
Author Jonathan Ancer is in conversation with Liz McGregor, Mark Shaw and Caryn Dolley for this episode of Pagecast.
The episode delves into the lastest books by Liz, Mark and Caryn, which all touch on the role that gangs play in South Africa, personal dealings with gangs and the operations within.
Unforgiven, by Liz McGregor, tells a story seldom told: what happens to a family when one of their own is murdered? In a country where, year upon year, tens of thousands of people lose a loved one to violence. Where restorative justice is preached but not practiced. Where prisons are universities of crime. What would it take to achieve redemption? For the victim, the perpetrator and the country?
Give us more Guns, by Mark Shaw, is based on hundreds of interviews with police, experts and the gangsters themselves, telling the story of this callous crime for the first time. Shaw explores how the guns get into the hands of South Africa's crime bosses and describes the bloodshed that ensues. He also uncovers accounts of rampant corruption within the police and in the state's gun-licensing system, probing the government failure that has been instrumental in arming the country's gangsters.
To The Wolves: How Traitor Cops Crafted South Africa’s Underworld, by Caryn Dolley, tells the true-life story of how South Africa’s underworld came to be, what continues to fuel it today and how the deception and lies go all the way to the top.
Enjoy the episode!
A deliciously witty romance with a closing twist that will take your breath away, Impossible deploys all the suspense and craft of Lotz's bestselling thriller The Three in a gleefully unpredictable tale of two strangers looking for love.
This isn't a love story. This is impossible.
Nick: Failed writer. Failed husband. Dog owner. Bee: Serial dater. Dress maker. Pringles enthusiast.
One day, their paths cross over a misdirected email. The connection is instant, electric. They feel like they've known each other all their lives. Nick buys a new suit, gets on a train. Bee steps away from her desk, sets off to meet him under the clock at Euston station.
Think you know how the rest of the story goes? They did too... but this is a story with more twists than most. This is impossible.
“Liz McGregor has always been a great journalist but only South Africa could have wrung out of her this single-minded account of the murder of her beloved father. The book is an indescribable duty, exquisitely done.” – Peter Bruce
“An enthralling account of the journey by a daughter to meet with those convicted of her father’s murder.” – Trevor Manuel
A searing, intimate memoir tracing the author’s attempt to find out the truth about her father’s murder.
Robin McGregor, an older man who has recently moved into a small town outside Cape Town, is brutally murdered in his home. Cecil Thomas is convicted for the crime, but his trial leaves more questions than answers. As much as his daughter Liz McGregor tries to move beyond her grief – she finds new work, she even discovers love – she still wants answers. What drove Thomas to torture and kill a complete stranger?
The author meets the murderer’s family and discovers that he comes from a loving, comfortable home. He is educated and skilled, there is no apparent reason for his descent into delinquency. After protracted obstruction from the prison authorities, she finally gets to confront him but not without putting herself in danger. She finds answers, but not the answers she is looking for.
Unforgiven tells a story seldom told: what happens to a family when one of their own is murdered? In a country where, year upon year, tens of thousands of people lose a loved one to violence. Where restorative justice is preached but not practiced. Where prisons are universities of crime. What would it take to achieve redemption? For the victim, the perpetrator and the country?
A simple mistake at an indoor climbing gym sentenced 28-year-old Robby to a year in a wheelchair, shattering his aspirations of becoming a mountaineer. In the months that followed, Robby faced depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and a complete loss of his sense of identity.
But from somewhere deep inside him, he summoned up the strength to keep going even when all seemed lost; he embarked on a monumental journey, a feat of mental and physical strength. His weakness became his power. This story is more than a biography or an account of a mountaineering expedition – it showcases the human spirit and shows us all how it is possible to rewrite the definition of what is possible.
From those dark days, Robby has become the embodiment of perseverance and possibility, overcoming the odds to join the handful of people who have summited Mount Everest.
Wie vandag se ANC, sy beleid en regeerstyl wil verstaan, moet feitlik ’n eeu terug begin delf. ’n Deel van die antwoord lê in sy verhouding met die Suid-Afrikaanse Kommunistiese Party (SAKP) en die invloed van die kommunisme, asook die ANC/SAKP se optrede in ballingskap, skryf die politieke kommentator en historikus Leopold Scholtz.
In Terreur en bevryding toon hy aan hoe die SAKP reeds in 1928 opdrag van die Kremlin ontvang het om die ANC te infiltreer. Die doel was om mettertyd die partyleiding oor te neem as deel van ’n beoogde revolusie in twee fases: ’n nasionaal demokratiese revolusie – ’n konsep wat steeds deel is van ANC-beleid – gevolg deur ’n Marxisties-Leninistiese “diktatuur van die proletariaat”. Volgens Scholtz sou dit ’n immorele stelsel met beperkte vryheid meebring.
Dit was ook die SAKP wat die dryfveer agter die gewapende stryd was.
Scholtz plaas die kollig op die dodelike kombinasie van erge interne intoleransie en onbekwaamheid binne die ANC/SAKP in ballingskap, die korrupsie deur ’n deel van die leierskorps en die ernstige menseregtevergrype in die ANC se buitelandse kampe. Hy voer aan dat dit wat tans in Suid-Afrika op al drie regeringsvlakke gebeur ’n voortsetting is van ’n kultuur wat al tydens die alliansie se jare in ballingskap gevestig is.
An optimistic vision of the future after Covid-19 by a leading professor of globalisation at the University of Oxford.
We are at a crossroads. The wrecking-ball of Covid-19 has destroyed global norms. Many think that after the devastation there will be a bounce back. To Ian Goldin, Professor of Development and Globalisation at the University of Oxford, this is a retrograde notion.
He believes that this crisis can create opportunities for change, just as the Second World War forged the ideas behind the Beveridge Report. Published in 1942, it was revolutionary and laid the foundations for the welfare state alongside a host of other social and economic reforms, changing the world for the better.
Ian Goldin tackles the challenges and opportunities posed by the pandemic, ranging from globalisation to the future of jobs, income inequality and geopolitics, the climate crisis and the modern city. It is a fresh, bold call for an optimistic future and one we all have the power to create.
Told in alternate voices by the award-winning author of The Joyce Girl, and with recipes that leap to life from the page, The Language of Food by Annabel Abbs is the most thought-provoking and page-turning historical novel you’ll read this year, exploring the enduring struggle for female freedom, the power of female friendship, the creativity and quiet joy of cooking and the poetry of food, all while bringing Eliza Action out of the archives and back into the public eye.
On this episode of Pagecast pioneering South African journalist, magazine editor, radio and television presenter, Jennifer Crwys-Williams chats with author Annabel Abbs about her latest novel.
England 1835. Eliza Acton is a poet who dreams of seeing her words in print. But when she takes her new manuscript to a publisher, she’s told that ‘poetry is not the business of a lady’. Instead, they want her to write a cookery book. That’s what readers really want from women. England is awash with exciting new ingredients, from spices to exotic fruits. But no one knows how to use them
Eliza leaves the offices appalled. But when her father is forced to flee the country for bankruptcy, she has no choice but to consider the proposal. Never having cooked before, she is determined to learn and to discover, if she can, the poetry in recipe writing. To assist her, she hires seventeen-year-old Ann Kirby, the impoverished daughter of a war-crippled father and a mother with dementia.
Over the course of ten years, Eliza and Ann developed an unusual friendship that crossed social classes and divides – and, together, they broke the mould of traditional cookbooks and changed the course of cookery writing forever.
Sukhjeet Kaur "Sukh" Ojla is an English stand-up comedian, novelist, playwright and comedy writer. On this episode of Pagecast she chats with fellow author Sara Nisha Adams.
Sunny is the queen of living a double life. To her friends, she's the entertaining, eternally upbeat, single one, always on hand to share hilarious and horrifying date stories. But while they're all settling down with long-term partners and mortgages, Sunny is back in her childhood bedroom at thirty, playing the role of the perfect daughter. She spends her time watching the Sikh channel, making saag and samosey with her mum, hiding gins-in-a-tin in her underwear drawer and sneaking home in the middle of the night after dates, trying but failing to find 'the one'.
She juggles both lives perfectly . . . on the outside, at least. But when her mum sees a guy dropping Sunny home one evening, Sunny's life gets a little complicated. Now her mum wants to know about the life she's hidden from her for so long.
Sunny is well versed in lying to her friends, her family, and, above all, herself. But how long can she keep it up for? Or is it finally time to start being honest?
SUNNY by Sukh Ojla is a relatable, moving, and life-affirming novel. It is warm and full of honesty, exploring family, love and mental health. Perfect for fans of Grown-Ups by Marian Keyes and Olive by Emma Gannon.
TWO CULTURES. TWO FAMILIES. TWO PEOPLE.
Established South African media personality and bestselling author Joanne Joseph chats with Monica Ali about this exquisite gorgeous, layered and immersive tale of a Bengali Muslim family.
Yasmin Ghorami has a lot to be grateful for: a loving family, a fledgling career in medicine, and a charming, handsome fiancée, fellow doctor Joe Sangster.
But as the wedding day draws closer and Yasmin's parents get to know Joe's firebrand feminist mother, both families must confront the unravelling of long-held secrets, lies and betrayals.
As Yasmin dismantles her assumptions about the people she holds most dear, she's also forced to ask herself what she wants in a relationship and what a 'love marriage' actually means.
Love Marriage is a story about who we are and how we love in today's Britain - with all the complications and contradictions of life, desire, marriage and family. What starts as a charming social comedy develops into a heart-breaking and gripping story of two cultures, two families and two people trying to understand one another.
‘Reminds me of Khaled Hosseini, poignant and heartwarming… Simply a beautiful story that had me reading until 3:30 in the morning’ Sarah, NetGalley
‘I am a friend of the bees. Like you.’ ‘So, you have been waiting for me?’ ‘The forest has been waiting for you.’
Pakistan, 1974: The secret-wreathed trees of Harikaya have always called to Hassan. He knows if he doesn’t find the last beekeeper and salvage a precious jar of his mythical black honey before the floods come, his mother will lose her sight.
But then he wins a scholarship to study with the state governor in Karachi amidst a brewing storm of political turmoil and simmering espionage.
His entire world is turned upside down when he meets Maryam, the governor’s niece visiting from London.
All the while the fate of his mother and his promise to the bees calls him back to the forest, and so he must decide: Maryam or the beekeeper, England or Pakistan, his head or his heart.
One of the most exciting debuts of 2021, this is a lyrical historical novel of family, friendship, and self-discovery exploring the power of choice in a changing world and love in communion with nature. Perfect for fans of Christy Lefteri, Yann Martel, and Monique Roffey.
‘An author with great skill in crafting a gripping and soul-searching story’ Leah Fleming
Cape Town-based radio presenter and book lover Pippa Hudson is in conversation with author Barbara Mutch about her latest book 'The Fire Portrait'.
About the book: When Englishwoman Frances McDonald sets up home in a remote hamlet in South Africa in the 1930s, she is regarded with suspicion by the community. Confined by a marriage of convenience, she seeks an outlet by learning the local language, teaching art, and exhibiting her paintings of the stunning veld landscape. Soon the spectre of war threatens to divide not only the country but the town itself and scupper Frances’ hard-won acceptance.
When she reunites unexpectedly with a former love and her husband leaves to fight for the Allies, she gains a child but loses her home in a moment that will change her life and send her on a journey from the arid veld to the bright lights of London and beyond.
About the author: Barbara Mutch was born and brought up in South Africa, the granddaughter of Irish immigrants. Before embarking on a writing career, she launched and managed a number of businesses both in South Africa and the UK. She is married and has two sons. For most of the year the family lives in Surrey but spends time whenever possible at their home in the Cape. When not writing, Barbara is a pianist, a keen enthusiast of the Cape's birds and landscape or fynbos.
The best-selling author Sara-Jayne Makwala King is in conversation with Sue Nyathi, editor of When Secrets Become Stories.
About Sue: Sukoluhle ‘Sue’ Nyathi is a writer by passion and an investment analyst by profession. Sue has written three novels – The Polygamist (2012), The GoldDiggers (2018) and A Family Affair (2020). The GoldDiggers was longlisted for the Barry Ronge Fiction Award and the Dublin Literary Award, while A Family Affair has been longlisted for the Humanities and Social Sciences Award. She also contributed to Black Tax: Burden or Ubuntu? (2019) and Hair: Unpicking and Weaving stories of Identity (2019). Sue lives in Johannesburg.
About Sara-Jayne: Sara-Jayne King is a South African journalist and author, whose career spans more than a decade and has taken her across the globe in search of extraordinary people with remarkable stories.
About When Secrets Become Stories: She was asking for it. She should have known better. Bekezela (persevere), she was told. It’s because I love you, he said. It’s not that bad, she told herself.
In sharing their experiences from girlhood to the boardroom, from Cape Town’s suburbs to the hills of KwaZulu-Natal, women from different walks of life show how chillingly common male violence against women is. Together, their voices form a deafening chorus.
Gender-based violence feeds on shame and silence but in this extraordinary collection, brave women reclaim their power and summon the courage in others to do the same. In speaking out, sharing what was once secret, shame’s hold is broken.
With contributions by Lorraine Sithole, Desiree-Anne Martin, UCT vice-chancellor Mamokgethi Phakeng, Shafinaaz Hassim, Cathy Park Kelly and Olivia Jasriel, who as a child was sexually abused by tennis star Bob Hewitt.
Heart-rending at times, it is the honesty and courage of the writing that truly inspires.
Wilderness guide Sicelo Mbatha shares lessons learnt from a lifetime’s intimate association with Africa’s wildest nature.
Black Lion begins in rural South Africa where a deeply traumatic childhood experience – he witnessed his cousin being dragged away by a crocodile – should have turned Sicelo against the surrounding wilderness. Instead, he was irresistibly drawn to it. As a volunteer at Imfolozi Nature Reserve, close encounters with buffalo, lion, elephant and other animals taught him to ‘see’ with his heart and thus began a spiritual awakening.
Drawing from his Zulu culture and his own yearning to better understand human’s relationship to nature, Sicelo has forged a new path, disrupting the conventional approach to nature with an immersive, respectful and transformative way of being in the wilderness. Both memoir and philosophical reflection, Black Lion - co-written with environmentalist Bridget Pitt - is his brilliant and profound account of life as a wilderness spiritual guide.
As humanity hurtles into the anthropogenic 21st century, Black Lion is an urgent reminder of just how much we need wilderness for our emotional and spiritual survival.
'A brave account of a natural disaster, and of achieving reconciliation with the predatoriness of life.’ Richard Mabey on Sicelo Mbatha's essay, Letting Go, commended for the Irish Moth Nature Writing Prize.
‘A smart, riveting, and deliciously refreshing debut’ LISA JEWELL
I am your maid. I know about your secrets. Your dirty laundry. But what do you know about me?
Molly the maid is all alone in the world. A nobody. She’s used to being invisible in her job at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows and wiping away the grime, dust and secrets of the guests passing through. She’s just a maid – why should anyone take notice?
But Molly is thrown into the spotlight when she discovers an infamous guest, Mr Black, very dead in his bed. This isn’t a mess that can be easily cleaned up. And as Molly becomes embroiled in the hunt for the truth, following the clues whispering in the hallways of the Regency Grand, she discovers a power she never knew was there. She’s just a maid – but what can she see that others overlook?
Escapist, charming and introducing a truly original heroine, The Maid is a story about how everyone deserves to be seen. And how the truth isn’t always black and white – it’s found in the dirtier, grey areas in between…
From the multi-award-winning author of The Bridge (BBC) and Marcella (Netflix, ITV) comes a blockbuster new thriller…
A DEAD WOLF
A DRUG DEAL GONE WRONG
A LETHAL FEMALE ASSASSIN
Hannah Wester, a detective in the remote northern Swedish town of Haparanda, finds herself on the precipice of chaos.
When human remains are found in the stomach of a dead wolf, Hannah knows that this summer won’t be like any other. The remains are soon linked to a bloody drug deal that went down just across the border in Finland. But how did the victim end up in the woods outside Haparanda? And where have the drugs and money gone?
Hannah and her colleagues are soon caught up in an increasingly complex investigation. But time is scarce and they aren’t the only ones looking.
When the secretive and deadly Katja shows up, unexpected and brutal events start to pile up. In just a few days, life in the border town is turned upside down. Not least for Hannah, who is finally forced to confront her own past.
The ultimate skincare guide for Black women
Dija Ayodele takes you through the lifetime of skin, sharing transformative essentials from how to work out your skin type to the dos and don’ts for your everyday routine. She explains the best ingredients for your skin and your budget, and the issues that Black women face: hyperpigmentation, general skin discolouration and increased dryness.
Dija examines the concept of identity, looking at the way history has shaped how Black women express themselves in beauty and skincare, and debunks common myths and misconceptions: do darker skin tones need SPF? And is there any truth to the saying ‘Black don’t crack?’
Intelligent, informed and indispensable, this is the guide that every Black woman has been waiting for.
Dija is in conversation with media personality Rozanne McKenzie.
What if you could practice and access happiness at any time?
When were you last truly happy? How did 'happy' feel? Some people find that being happy is a natural state of being, but for others, it's a constant struggle to find contentment with all of life's stresses and upheavals.
Bestselling author and psychologist Noa Belling has designed a variety of 'happiness workouts' to help you do just that. Based on scientific studies of biochemistry and neuroscience, this book teaches you how to cultivate happiness by honing specific physical skills such as strength, flexibility, fluidity, grounding and warm-heartedness—deeply rooted within your body, these skills foster resilience, confidence and creativity to help you meet life's challenges skillfully.
A happiness workout is made up of quick everyday practices, complemented by physical exercise programs designed to be accessible no matter your age or fitness level. Try it out and feel how it optimises your brain function and reliably turns things around!
The incredible Noa Belling is in chats with co-producers of Pagecast, Ingrid Klückow and Nicola Bruns.
'After years of being framed as a victim, Britney deserves to be celebrated as the fighter, inspiration and enigma she truly is.' - Jennifer Otter Bickerdike
Part biography, part social history, Being Britney pieces together a collage of stories, interviews, legends and fan experiences to construct a definitive portrait of one of the biggest stars in recent history.
In her unique narrative, acclaimed music author Jennifer Otter Bickerdike provides a sympathetic yet objective re-examination of Britney's trajectory from girl next door to woman trapped by fame. Being Britney is the compelling account of a talented, troubled and talked-about modern icon, whose life, work and individual significance will be recognised for many decades to come.
Today’s episode is hosted by Tecla Ciolfi, founder and manager of Texx and the City. Tecla has been a part of the music industry in South Africa for the last 13 years in various capacities, namely journalism, radio presenting, event curation and artist management, and most recently as the host of the #1 music podcast, Texx Talks.
Pagecast co-producers Nicola Bruns and Ingrid Klückow chat with the acclaimed Irish novelist Cecelia Ahern regarding her latest novel called Freckles.
Five people. Five chances. One woman’s search for happiness.
Allegra Bird’s arms are scattered with freckles, a gift from her beloved father. But despite her nickname, Freckles has never been able to join all the dots. So when a stranger tells her that everyone is the average of the five people they spend the most time with, it opens up something deep inside.
The trouble is, Freckles doesn’t know if she has five people. And if not, what does that say about her? She’s left her unconventional father and her friends behind for a bold new life in Dublin, but she’s still an outsider.
Now, in a quest to understand, she must find not one but five people who shape her – and who will determine her future.
Told in Allegra’s vivid, original voice, moving from modern Dublin to the fierce Atlantic coast, this is an unforgettable story of human connection, of friendship, and of growing into your own skin.
Welcome to day 6 of the Pagecast Holiday Round-up.
Cecelia Ahern was born and grew up in Dublin. Her novels have been translated into thirty-five languages and have sold more than twenty-five million copies in over fifty countries. Two of her books have been adapted as films and she has created several TV series. She and her books have won numerous awards, including the Irish Book Award for Popular Fiction for The Year I Met You. She lives in Dublin with her family.
Co-produced by Ingrid Klückow and Nicola Bruns. A special thanks to Boomhuis studios for the studio time and technical support.
Welcome to day 5 of the Pagecast Holiday Round-up.
Dr Denis Mukwege was born in the Belgian Congo in 1955. As a child and young man, he was a first-hand witness to racial prejudices, as well as to the economic and moral decay of the Democratic Republic of Congo under dictatorship. Now a world renowned gynecological surgeon, he is recognized as the world's leading expert on treating rape injuries, and his holistic approach to healing has inspired other initiatives around the world. In 2014, he was invited to the White House by Barack Obama. In Europe, he was awarded the prestigious Sakharov human rights prize award, earning him major public recognition for the first time. In 2018, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with Yazidi human rights activist and sexual violence survivor Nadia Murad.
Co-produced by Ingrid Klückow and Nicola Bruns. A special thanks to Boomhuis studios for the studio time and technical support.
Welcome to day 4 of the The Pagecast Holiday Round-up.
Jodi Picoult is the author of 25 novels, with 40 million copies sold worldwide. Her last twelve books have debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, including her most recent, THE BOOK OF TWO WAYS. Five novels have been made into movies and BETWEEN THE LINES (co-written with daughter Samantha van Leer) has been adapted as a musical. She is the recipient of multiple awards, including the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, the Alex Award from the YA Library Services Association, and the NH Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit. She is also the co-librettist for the musical BREATHE, and the upcoming musical THE BOOK THIEF. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband.
Co-produced by Ingrid Klückow and Nicola Bruns. A special thanks to Boomhuis studios for the studio time and technical support.
Welcome to day 3 of the Pagecast Holiday Round-up.
Arthur De Weduwen is associate editor of the Universal Short Title Catalogue project at St Andrews. This is his first book. Andrew Pettegree is one of the leading experts on Europe during the Reformation. He currently holds a professorship at St Andrews University where he is the director of the Universal Short Title Catalogue Project. He is the author of The Invention of News: How the World Came to Know About Itself (winner of the Goldsmith Prize) and Brand Luther: 1517, Printing and the making of the Reformation, among other publications.
Co-produced by Ingrid Klückow and Nicola Bruns. A special thanks to Boomhuis studios for the studio time and technical support.
Welcome to day 2 of the Pagecast Holiday Round-up.
Deon Meyer lives near Cape Town in South Africa. His big passions are mountain biking, music, reading, cooking and rugby. In January 2008 he retired from his day job as a consultant on brand strategy for BMW Motorrad, and is now a full time author. Deon Meyer's books have attracted worldwide critical acclaim and a growing international fanbase. Originally written in Afrikaans, they have now been translated into twenty-eight languages. THIRTEEN HOURS was shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger and won the Boeke Prize in South Africa - the first time in the prize's 16 year history that a South African book has won. His novels have also won literary prizes in the USA, France, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands, and the film rights to seven of his novels have been optioned or sold. Deon has also written two television series, and several screenplays for movies. In 2013 he directed one of his original scripts for the feature film The Last Tango.
Co-produced by Ingrid Klückow and Nicola Bruns. A special thanks to Boomhuis studios for the studio time and technical support.
Welcome to day 1 of the Pagecast Holiday Round-up.
Sonny Bill Williams (SBW) is a once in a hundred-year athlete with immense sporting talent. He has been a national and international champion across Rugby Union, Rugby League and Boxing. Williams began his career in Rugby League, and has played in the Australian NRL with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the Sydney Roosters. He has played for the Toronto Wolfpack in Super League and has played Rugby Union for Toulon in France, Canterbury, Counties Manukau, the Crusaders, the Chiefs and the Blues in New Zealand and the Panasonic Wild Knights in Japan. He has won 58 caps for the New Zealand All Blacks and was a member of the teams that won the 2011 and 2015 Rugby Union World Cups. He has also played Rugby Sevens for New Zealand, competing in the 2015-16 World Rugby Sevens Series and the 2016 Olympics. Williams has boxed professionally seven times, winning all of his heavyweight bouts. He was the New Zealand Professional Boxing Association (NZPBA) Heavyweight Champion and World Boxing Association (WBA) International Heavyweight Champion. Away from sport, Sonny Bill Williams focuses on his family, his Islamic faith and is very involved in charity work and promoting social justice.
Co-produced by Ingrid Klückow and Nicola Bruns. A special thanks to Boomhuis studios for the studio time and technical support.
Best Selling author Robin Sharma discusses his latest book, “The Everyday Hero Manifesto,” with Bongani Bingwa, host of the Breakfast show on 702.
For over twenty-five years, leadership legend and personal mastery trailblazer Robin Sharma has mentored billionaires, business titans, professional sports superstars and entertainment royalty via a revolutionary methodology that has caused them to accomplish rare-air results. Now, in this groundbreaking book, he makes this transformational system available to anyone ready for undefeatable positivity, monumental productivity, profound spiritual freedom and a life of helpfulness to many.
In The Everyday Hero Manifesto, you will discover: - The hidden habits used by many of the world’s most creative and successful people to realize their visionary ambitions - Original techniques to turn fear into fuel, problems into power and past troubles into triumphs - A breakthrough blueprint to battle-proof yourself against distraction and procrastination so that you produce the magic that dominates your domain - Pioneering insights on installing world-class routines, including rising early, achieving superhuman fitness and becoming the most disciplined person you know - Unusual wisdom knowledge to operate with far more simplicity, beauty and peace - A part memoir on a life richly lived, part instruction manual for virtuoso-grade performance and part handbook for spiritual freedom in an age of high-velocity change, The Everyday Hero Manifesto will completely transform your life. Forever.
Death is a fact of life, but the experience of grief is unique to each of us. This poignant and thought-provoking anthology gives us portraits of grief as seen through the eyes of writers and poets. The contributions range from the deeply personal: a poet chronicles her relationship with her troubled, abusive father, a World War II survivor – to the political: an investigator from the Missing Persons Task Team draws us into the ongoing search for the remains of activists who were murdered by the apartheid state between 1960 and 1994 – to the philosophical: a writer ponders the ethics of killing small animals.
Perhaps grief never truly ends but these stories transform the pain of death into something beautiful so that we can find ways to live with loss.
Featuring contributions by Sisonke Msimang, Mary Watson, Karin Schimke, Hedley Twiddle, Ishtiyaq Shukri, Dawn Garisch, Shubnum Khan, Malika Ndlovu, Toni Stuart, Stacy Hardy and more.
Producers of Pagecast, Nicola Bruns and Ingrid Klückow, chat with debut author Sara Nisha Adams regarding her novel, The Reading List.
A new chapter is just beginning…
‘The story is an absolute joy… A captivating and exquisitely crafted debut’ Sunday Times bestseller, Heidi Swain
‘Absolutely captures the magic of reading and libraries’ Louise Hare When Aleisha discovers a crumpled reading list tucked into a tattered library book, it sparks an extraordinary journey.
From timeless stories of love and friendship to an epic journey across the Pacific Ocean with a boy and a tiger in a boat, the list opens a gateway to new and beautiful worlds – just when Aleisha needs an escape from her troubles at home.
And when widower Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to connect with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha introduces him to the magic of the reading list. An anxious teenager and a lonely grandfather formed an unlikely book club of two.
Inspiring and heartwarming, The Reading List is a love letter to storytelling – its power to transport us, connect us, and remind us that a new beginning is only a page away…
A real heart-lifter… A joyful, uplifting read’ Good Housekeeping
‘A gorgeous debut novel about the power reading has to bring people together, no matter the barriers of age, culture and class’ Red.
Jeffery is in conversation with Danielle Weakley, Ed-in-Chief Modern Living and crime thriller junkie.
The "master of ticking-bomb suspense" Jeffery Deaver brings us the latest thriller featuring his most beloved protagonists. Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs are back – on the hunt for a criminal terrorising New York City
A killer without limits He comes into your home at night. He watches you as you sleep. He waits.
A city in turmoil He calls himself ‘The Locksmith’. No door can keep him out. No security system can catch him. And now he’s about to kill.
A race against time to stop him Nobody in New York is safe. Now it’s up to Lincoln Rhyme to untangle the web of evidence and catch him.
But with Lincoln under investigation himself, and tension in the city at boiling point, time is running out…
‘If Steve Biko were alive today, we would have a country that gladly embraces African culture as the dominant driving force for how society is organised ...’
In 1968, two young medical students, Steve Biko and Mamphela Ramphele, fell in love while dreaming of a life free from oppression and racial discrimination. Their love story is also the story of the founding of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) by a group of 15 principled and ambitious students at the University of Natal in Durban in the early 1970s.
In this deeply personal book, Hlumelo Biko, who was born of Steve and Mamphela’s union, movingly recounts his parents’ love story and how the BCM’s message of black self-love and self-reliance helped to change the course of South African history.
Based on interviews with some of the BCM’s founding members, Black Consciousness describes the early years of the movement in vivid detail and sets out its guiding principles around a positive black identity, black theology and the practice of Ubuntu through community-based programmes.
In spiritual conversation with his father, Hlumelo re-examines what it takes to live a Black Consciousness life in today’s South Africa. He also explains why he believes his father – who was brutally murdered by the apartheid police in 1977 – would have supported true radical economic transformation if he were alive today.
Did you know SA Cricketer, AB de Villiers and widely loved author - Jeffrey Archer, are good friends?
Pagecast's Nicola Bruns and Ingrid Kluckow chat with de Villiers and Archer regarding how they met, their aspirations and Archer's new book Over My Dead Body.
Jeffrey Archer, whose novels include the Clifton Chronicles, the William Warwick novels and Kane and Abel, has topped bestseller lists worldwide, with sales of over 275 million copies. He is the only author ever to have been a #1 bestseller in fiction, short stories and non-fiction (The Prison Diaries). A member of the House of Lords for over a quarter of a century, the author is married to Dame Mary Archer, and they have two sons, two granddaughters and two grandsons.
Investigative journalist Devi Sankaree Govender is talking with crime writer Deon Meyer regarding his latest novel Dark Flood.
'The undisputed champion of South African crime' - Wilbur Smith
One last chance. Almost fired for insubordination, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido find themselves demoted, exiled from the elite Hawks unit and dispatched to the leafy streets of Stellenbosch. Working a missing person report on student Callie de Bruin is not the level of work they are used to, but it's all they get. And soon, it takes a dangerous, alarming turn.
One last chance. Stellenbosch is beautiful, but one man has ruined its economy. When estate agent Sandra Steenberg desperately needs a big sale, Jasper Boonstra and his gigantic corporate fraud have crashed the local property market. Bringing up twins and supporting her academic husband, she is facing disaster. Then she gets a call from Jasper Boonstra, fraudster, sexual predator and owner of a superb property worth millions, even now.
For Sandra, the stakes are high and about to get way higher.
For Benny Griessel, clinging to sobriety and the relationship that saved his life, the truth about Callie can only lead to more trouble.
Taut with intrigue, murder and suspense, exploding with action and excitement, The Dark Flood is a masterpiece from the author of Trackers and The Last Hunt.
'One of the best crime writers on the planet' - Daily Mail. www.jonathanball.co.za
Released every Monday at 7 am, Pagecast Season 1 offers you insider interviews with recently published authors and their latest books. We look into the process of writing these books, explore the narratives within and provide you with the story behind the story.