Photographer Ajay Lalu is donating proceeds from A Mountain Divides, his book about Cape Town's famous ' Klopse' minstrel parade, to shoot4purpose, an initiative empowering women through photography.
To mark the end of 2025, The Women's Library was 'fully booked' with a big fat Book Swap and the back stories of a brace of book babes in the publishing biz. Happy listening - and happy holiday reading!
The Smallest Ones (Penguin Random House) is a personal account of survival in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo of the early 2000s. Captured by rebel soldiers, Popina Khumanda, and many others were captured tortured and raped. Amazingly, Popina and her older sister managed to escape, and find their way to South Africa. But their nightmare was not over. Popina writes about this journey with unflinching honesty in a testament to the power of hope and resilience.
Through a campaign called #Doekwithadifference, the Cancer Alliance https://canceralliance.org.za/ wants every woman to know that whilst it can be a killer, Cervical Cancer is also 100% preventable. In the first in a series of Story Cafe's and in partnership with Woman Zone and Artscape, they share the info.
Author and founder of the hugely popular victim-focused podcast series True Crime South Africa, NICOLE ENGLEBRECHT speaks to Beryl Eichenberger about the making of the series and about her fourth book, BARE BONES: Cold Cases from True Crime South Africa (Jonathan Ball).
In this heritage month, with our thoughts on legacy, what better legacy we felt, than to pass on a love of reading. So our two Guest Authors this month have both turned their hands to writing for children. Listen here to poet Diana Ferrusand actor Bianca Flanders.
Law, Life and Langenhoven was the title of Dominique Malherbe's event at 'Nave Narratives', the first ever book festival in Stanford in the Western Cape. But author of two memoirs and a book called 'Searching for Sarah', Dominique offered much more - primarily about her life 'in writing'.
Among the many literary legends attending the Open Book Festival this year, was literary activist Goretti Kyomuhendo from Uganda. Her latest novel Promises (Catalyst Press) straddles Kampala and London and took her fifteen years to complete. But co-founder of FEMRITE in 1995, she has many stories to tell, including here, a little of her own.
Ode to Sara is a short documentary produced by filmmaker Nomandla Vilakazi as part of her Master's thesis at the University of Cape Town. It features the story of 19th Khoisan woman Sarah Baartman, with whom Nomandla's own journey is inextricably linked. It also features the poem written by Diana Ferrus on the repatriation of Sara's remains and will be followed by a second doccie called simply Bones. Nomandla spoke to Theresa Smith of Woman Zone as part of the Artscape Women's Humanity Festival.
Arts
The title Deep Blue: Why we love the sea (Jonathan Ball) says it all. But for journalist, writer, communications specialist and diver Veruska De Vita, there is so much more, and the book is not just her own story. 'Water is primordial. It represents hope and renewal.' Veruska will be a speaker at the Open Book Festival in Cape Town from Sept 5th to the 7th, but you can get a taste of Deep, right here...
As part of this years Artscape Women’s Humanity Festival, we held a special WZ Book Club – a sort of double bill about women and apartheid. We spoke to literary activist Xolisa Guzula, one of the co-authors of a book called Together Apart: The Story of Living in Apartheid (Jacana) and to artistactivist Sue Williamson, a Festival icon whose retrospective exhibition at the Iziko SA National Gallery is called There’s Something I Must Tell You. Take a listen here to what they had to say.
Chickens and curry, khannas, community police, children, church clocks and chardonnay are all part of the mix that journalist and author Vanessa Govender serves up in The Village Indian (Jacana), her memoir about life for a mixed-race family in a small rural town in the Western Cape.
'Growing up in Ziyabuya township, Nomandla battles poverty, racism, and her own mental health.' Braids & Migraines is a debut novel that tells Nomandla's story, but author Andile Cele knows exactly what she's talking about. Hear her as Guest Author of the Month in conversation with Maryam Adams.
British writer, playwright and champion of women's writing, Kate Mosse is a prolific author and co-founder of the Women's Prize for Fiction. She's well known for her historical fiction, not least the Joubert Family Chronicles which have brought her back to Franschhoek many times. Following this years Literary Festival in that town, Beryl Eichenberger spoke to her at The Women's Library at Artscape.
'You are what you eat', so the saying goes. But how does food affect your health and wellbeing? For Zambian-born Dietician, Performance Nutritionist and author of Food for Menopause Dr Linda Patel, food has been life changing. Join her here for the journey.
While there's a serious side to Juliette's own story, the humour in her book If The Dead Could Talk (Kwela), and in her interview with Beryl Eichenberger at The Women's Library at Artscape, is irrepressible! Join this new princess of 'cosy crime' as she sets the scene.
With ten published novels to her name, a radio book show and an online Book Club with 23,000 members, Paige Nick is the quintessential book person. Unsurprising then her latest title is called Book People ( Pan Macmillan). At the Woman Zone Book Club, she spoke to Beryl Eichenberger, about its origins, as well as her own.
For a change we heard a story, not from an author this time, but from an actor. Erika Breytenbach came along to The Women’s Library at Artscape, to talk about the one-woman play I Can Buy Myself Flowers that tracks the all-too-familiar, tragi-comic lives of six city women. Written by Mike van Graan, and co-produced with Unlikely Productions, it's opening March 28 2025 at The Wave in Cape Town - with a countrywide run ahead.
Included in the many important social messages internationally- acclaimed artist Sue Williamson shares in her 50 year retrospective exhibition at the Iziko National Gallery, are the voices of women calling for, amongst other things, Peace.
Sharing her stories and baring her soul, former international supermodel and photographer Josie Borain was recently at The Alma Cafe in Rosebank, in conversation with Nancy Richards of Woman Zone.