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South Africa

Essay: Diary of a Hangman by Siphiwo Mahala

Writer and Imbiza Journal founder/editor Siphiwo Mahala has put out an essay on the ongoing turmoil brought about by the abuse allegations against writer and Abantu Book Festival Thando Mgqolozana. We reproduce it here in full. “Julius Caesar staggers towards his friend, appealing to him, but Brutus stabs him. Unbelieving, Caesar says, ‘Et tu Brute? […]

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South Africa

Thando Mgqolozana makes statement on abuse allegations.

South African Writer and Abantu Book Festival writer Thando Mgqolozana has come out with a statement regarding abuse allegations leveled against him by his ex-partner. On Saturday, August 23 tweets that alleged that Thando Mgqolozana was involved with intimate partner violence by his partner of many years were posted. They were deleted on the same […]

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Marketing South Africa

Sihle-isipho Nontshokweni’s “The Ultimate Book Show” debuts in Edinburgh.

 “The Ultimate Book Show” was presented by Sihle-isipho Nontshokweni at the Edinburgh Book Festival on August 20, 2021. “The Ultimate Book Show” presented by Sihle-isipho Nontshokweni is an exciting new show for those who follow the African literary scene. First introduced to the African literary community by our friends at Brittlepaper, the first season of […]

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Fiction New Books South Africa

Thando Mgqolozana novel “A Man Who Is Not A Man” out as e-book today.

Thando Mgqolozana’s novel A Man Who Is Not A Man, published by Cassava Republic Press, is out as an e-book today, June 17, 2020. In 2009, University Of KwaZulu-Natal Press published a novel from South African Thando Mgqolozana called A Man Who Is Not A Man. The novel had the following blurb; A Man Who […]

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Festivals

Berlin’s African Book Festival 2019 guest list unveiled.

The guest list for Berlin’s African Book Festival 2019 has been unveiled. The festival curated by writer and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga runs from April 4-7, 2019. In 2018, writers from across Africa and its diaspora converged on Berlin for the African Book Festival with Chris Abani as the headliner. The festival organised by InterKontinental and […]

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Awards Film South Africa

Thando Mgqolozana written film Inxeba gets Oscar nomination

Inxeba (The Wound), co-written by Thando Mgqolozana, is one of the nine films shortlisted for the 90th Academy Awards Foreign Language Film category. It’s been a good year for Thando Mgqolozana the South African author of A Man Who is Not A Man (2009), Hear Me Alone (2011) (our review) and Unimportance (2014) (our review). The author is also the founder […]

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Festivals South Africa

Abantu Book Festival 2017 is here!

After a year of pining away remembering the good times, South African literary scene enthusiasts are now excited as the Abantu Book Festival kicks off today. The Abantu Book Festival landed with a whoosh that has never been seen before last year. South Africa has been hosting literary festivals since freedom came in 1994 but […]

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Awards

Mgqolozana, Mabanckou, Golakai make New African’s 100 Most Influential Africans 2016 List

The New African’s 100 most influential Africans list 2016 include a healthy number of those in the book business from all corners of the continent. The fill list was done with the help of guest editor Bibi Bakare-Yusuf and includes Alain Mabankou. Hawa Jande Golakai, Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, Roye Okupe, Thando Mgqolozana, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, […]

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Festivals South Africa

Thando Mgqolozana-powered Time of the Writer 2016 set to slay

The 19th Time of The Writer festival under the theme Decolonising The Book is set to happen 14 to 19 March in Durban, South Africa. The festival organized by the UKZN Centre for Creative Arts in partnership with the eThekwini Municipality will include a change in venues and a special programme. As usual you can […]

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Festivals South Africa

The Kulture Book Fair is coming (give us your books)

So a few months ago, Thando Mgqolozana was all the rage in South African literature scene. While we all love him for his books, the reason for his sudden fame was that he had made a stand that was considered controversial at the time. He would not be attending book festivals that he considered colonial […]

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Anthologies South Africa

South African writers support their strays with new anthology

In 1985, American artists led by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie came up with a song called We Are The World to help the people of Ethiopia who were going through a horrible drought. It is still one of the best examples of artists coming together to alleviate suffering. South African writers, many of them […]

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Events South Africa

Images from #longstorySHORT with Thando Mgqolozana and Prof Keorapetse Kgositsile

The #longstorySHORT project is one that tries to bring life to literature by having some of the best storytellers told by some of those who tell stories the best. This is a partnership between word smiths and those who perform best in the business around the continent. The fourth in the series of public readings […]

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Events South Africa

Thando Mgqolozana story to be read at Long Story Short event

The fourth in the series of public readings that is the #longstorySHORT project that we love so much will be happening tomorrow at the Es’kia Mphalele Community Library in Pretoria tomorrow. The featured story will be The Weeping Willow by Thando Mgqolozana and it will be read by film, TV and theatre actor Khulu Skenjana. […]

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South Africa

Kagiso Lesego Molope weighs in on the Franschhoek Lit Fest Debacle

In the last few days, the South African literary community has been having one of those moments. It started when author Thando Mgqolozana announced that he will not be attending festivals where he feels more of an anthropological specimen and less of a literary giant. The man also offered solutions that the local publishing industry […]

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Festivals Mali South Africa Uganda Zimbabwe

A snapshot of the Time of the Writer 2015

It was all happening at the from when a whole bunch of writers converged at Durban, South Africa on 16-21 March. This bunch of writers or is it gaggle of writers or a bar of writers or wit of writers or a… Anyway these writers from all corners of the continent were joined by a […]