Showcasing African Gothic at its finest, this hypnotic novel tangles together classic texts of madness and female rebellion alongside elements of the jingoistic novels of Victorian adventurer H. Rider Haggard. The result is an extraordinary reinvention of colonial and patriarchal perspectives.The unnamed narrator spins a web back through a century of colonial possession – political, spiritual and mental – to imagine the stories of conquest and captivity, control and disruption, from the perspective of the women and men ‘half-broken’ by the stigmas attached to race and mental illness. Equally ‘half-broken’ are those dehumanised by their insane greed for dominion and treasure.With trademark compassion and complexity, Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu balances the humanity of her characters against the cruelty of empire, making for a spellbinding and literally haunting account of love and magic.

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Gabriel Laucus has lost his job and his parent’s home is about to be repossessed. Desperate and on the brink of financial ruin, he devises a risky insurance scam to salvage his crumbling life. This sets in motion a catastrophic chain of events. Soon, Gabriel and his friends have a psychopathic hitman, a ruthless drug lord, and a relentless investigator on their tail. As Gabriel navigates a world of fraud and dangerous alliances, he must outwit his pursuers and confront the harrowing repercussions of his choices. Deadly Benefits is a heart-pounding journey through the high-stakes game of survival. The price of one wrong move could mean life or death.

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When he died in 2014, author Chris van Wyk left behind an impressive literary legacy. The scope of his work was broad – poetry, children’s books, short stories and biographies. But perhaps he is best remembered for his memoir Shirley, Goodness & Mercy, which chronicles his growing up in Riverlea and introduces us to the colourful characters who helped to shape his life and inform the stories he wrote.The public persona of this witty and wise raconteur was well known, but behind it was a family man, who liked nothing better than to spend time with his two sons Kevin and Karl, his wife and childhood sweetheart Kathy, and the friends and family who were his primary sources of inspiration.Using the unique vantage point of oldest son, Kevin van Wyk’s astute observations of his father and the strong bond they enjoyed throughout Chris’s life have resulted in a memoir that is as affectionate as it is entertaining. In taking us behind the scenes into the Van Wyk household, we witness the inner workings of the mind of a storyteller, from the flowering of his father’s activism, wit and wisdom to the sources of his occasional quirky outbursts. If storytelling runs in the genes, Kevin may just be proof that his father’s spirit lives on.

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We Were Always Here: Stories of Black Inventors Across the African Diaspora tells the unknown stories of the innovation and ingenuity of Africans who are solving African problems for African people. These stories include heart-rending accounts of African American inventors at the turn of the 20th century who struggled to have their inventions recognised under relentless racism, and, in the modern era, inventors from the African continent who found inspiration and answers to issues faced every day that are particular to their situations.

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It's 1983 and seventeen-year-old Grace Clark has just lost her mother when she begrudgingly accompanies her estranged father to an archeological dig at Olduvai Gorge on the Serengeti plains of Tanzania. Here, seventy-year-old Mary Leakey enlists Grace to sort and pack her fifty years of work and memories.   Their interaction reminds Mary how she pursued her ambitions of becoming an archeologist in the 1930s by sneaking into lectures and working on excavations. When well-known paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey commissions her to illustrate a book, she's not at all expecting to fall in love with the older married man. Mary then follows Louis to East Africa, where she falls in love for a second time, this time with the Olduvai Gorge, where her work defines her as a great scientist and allows her to step out of Louis's shadow. In time, Mary and Grace learn they are more alike than they thought, which eventually leads them to the secret that connects them. They also discover a mutual deep love for animals, and when Lisa, an injured cheetah, appears at camp, Mary and Grace work together to save her. On the morning Grace is due to leave, the girl—and the cheetah—are nowhere to be found, and it becomes a race against time to rescue Grace before the African bush claims her.   From the acclaimed author of The Invincible Miss Cust and The Woman at Wheel comes an adventurous, dual timeline tale that explores the consequences of our choices, wisdom that comes with retrospection, and relationships that make us who we are, based on the extraordinary real life of Mary Leakey.

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The 145 essays in this comprehensive, concise, and highly readable book represent three decades of Adekeye Adebajo’s reflections and writing on the history, regional integration, politics, military rule, foreign policy, international relations, geo-politics, culture, film, sports, and travel of Africa and its diaspora. The legacies of this Black Atlantic in the Americas, Europe, and the Caribbean are examined panoramically, as Africa’s independence struggles from the 1950s were also mirrored by similar battles in the Caribbean and America’s civil rights struggle. The volume further assesses the world beyond global Africa from a Pan-African perspective. This book thus seeks to capture the zeitgeist of the post-apartheid era after the five-century quest for liberation from the twin scourges of European led transatlantic slavery and colonialism. The essays ultimately encapsulate Pan-African efforts to break the chains of Western slavery and colonial exploitation, and to assert global Africa’s own proud histories, cultures, and identities.

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In 2003, ten gay men were brutally attacked at Sizzlers, a massage parlour in Sea Point. In a massacre of savage violence, nine of the men lost their lives. Quinton Taylor, the badly wounded sole survivor, managed to identify Adam Woest and Trevor Theys as the two men responsible for what was considered to be one of the worst mass murders in SA. Now Adam Woest is up for parole. For Taylor and those who lost their loved ones, this severe travesty of justice will not happen without a fight.  

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After an exceptionally wild Mother’s Day where she danced like there was no tomorrow, picked a fight with a stranger and collided with the floor, Johannesburg scriptwriter and author Pamela Power is forced to take a hard look at her drinking habits. She 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. In this honest yet humorous account of her year of not getting sh*tfaced, Pamela examines her long, complicated relationship with alcohol. She is shocked to realise just how much of a crutch alcohol has been for her. There is always a bottle of wine or Prosecco around to her to help her manage the many demands of life as a freelancer and as a parent. Pamela starts her journey to sobriety at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic as her family faces financial troubles, and life in the suburban Parks of Johannesburg isn’t so blissful anymore. Through her, we experience all the frustration, irritation and surprising benefits of going dry. In dealing with her dependence on alcohol, Pamela also confronts her troubled relationship with her parents. While many other sober curious books portray sobriety as the only answer, Pamela has found a sweet spot between total sobriety and binge drinking: moderation.

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You wouldn’t know it was there, the unnumbered house behind the iron-grille gate, just below the craggy rocks of Northcliff Ridge. To the untrained eye the rambling property might seem neglected, with its tangle of trees and untamed indigenous bush. But there is purpose here, and a peaceful, subterranean, focus on all that withers and dies. Five strangers – a model, a former nun, a couple in crisis, and an offender newly released from prison – have come here, to this place, to discover an end to life as they’ve known it. Placing their trust in their hosts, the Mortician and Mustafa, the five open their minds and bodies to an alternative experience. Not all of them will survive – or at least not in the way they imagined – but all of them will be shown the limits of their living. The Institute for Creative Dying is vivid and visceral, unique in its bold and imaginative exploration of mortality and the interconnectedness of all forms of being.

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Belle Acres is a dairy farm in the district of Somabhula in Southern Rhodesia. The year is 1977, and the farm has been in the hands of the Williams family since the turn of the century. The farm is managed by Paul Williams, a seemingly harsh and bigoted man, who holds the livelihood of many black labourers in his hands. Maria, the daughter of one of the workers, joins the liberation movement, leaving behind her daughter, Angel in the care of her mother and grandmother who have been in service to the Williams family for years. Angel grows up on the farm during two and a half momentous decades that see a complicated history and legacy unfold into an equally complicated present. An Angel’s Demise deals with a woman’s quest to unearth her identity and assert her independence. In the process of self-discovery, she loses herself completely and realises that sometimes you need to be totally uprooted before you can establish yourself.

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Natasha is the owner of a successful beauty company and is in a long-term relationship with the charming Sizwe. However, she has no interest in marriage or in becoming a traditional makoti. She has it all figured out. Until a fateful encounter with a handsome stranger . . . When Natasha makes an impulsive decision, she has to navigate the unfamiliar complexities of love, life and desire. She turns to the ‘Darlings’ WhatsApp group for advice; these women are her lifeline. There’s Sofia who seems to have it all, while the cousins, Farhana and Razia, both find themselves in complicated marriages. But whatever life throws their way, these darlings always have one another’s backs.   

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When an unusual building appeared overnight in a remote northern Cape community in the 1970s, and disappeared a few weeks later, it seemed to point to a series of baffling existential overlaps.Some individuals claimed that occasionally they found themselves on the other side of a restive civil war divide, in identity embodiments that were highly contrary versions of themselves. In other cases, absurd social situations seemed to mock ‘normal reality’ by alternating with it. When a small-town journalist reported on the events, his quiet life became cruelly disrupted by unwanted attention.Were these accounts imagined or real? Real enough to the eyewitnesses. Traumatised and adrift, the journalist later wrote up his story in reportage style when a childhood friend invited him to recuperate on her farm. He believed he had narrowly escaped the disappearance of an entire region – a place nobody has ever heard of – and its people, including the love of his life. As the mystery unfolds, with an aura of retrieved memory, the narrator’s lost love becomes an increasingly evocative presence. The Equality of Shadows is a compelling novel – in some places uproariously funny, in others filled with deep pathos – about the vagaries of identity, love and time.

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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? 

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“The first week in the koma lodge dragged on, each day blending into the next in a haze of thirst and longing for home. Somehow I managed to survive fourteen days without a drop of water. I was desperate for relief, yet I never complained – clinging to a fragile sense of pride that felt like my only armour. Home seemed like a distant dream. I was dirty and thin. Dust coated my hair. My belly was swollen and uncomfortable, a stark contrast to my thin frame. I could feel my body deteriorating as I lost weight. Angry scabs covered my wound, the skin beneath inflamed and unhealed. Even the bitter black herb we were given, dubbed ‘Coca- Cola’, failed to provide relief.” In what will surely become a classic of South African non-fiction, Led by Shepherds begins with twelve-year-old Jeffrey Rakabe leaving his village to attend an initiation ceremony, believing it to be the key to his manhood. But the weeks-long rite of passage in the mountains is a far cry from the adventure he’d imagined. Years later, as a student, Rakabe discovers the nurturing world of books and thrives within the hush of the Johannesburg Public Library. The presence of caring women in his life, from his concerned mother and supportive partner to a librarian who feeds his intellectual curiosity with a steady supply of literature, spur Rakabe to investigate the possible links between the koma ritual, awash with misogynistic language, and gender-based violence in SA. Part memoir, part manifesto, Led by Shepherds is a moving, vital and controversial book and Jeffrey Rakabe a brave voice for a new generation.

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As a child I would often lie awake at night, praying that through some miracle I would be woken up by people who had come to take me back to my rightful family, and that those I had come to know as my parents would tell me the truth: that I was, in fact, adopted and had been born a girl and they had had a doctor operate on me.’ Growing up as Kgositsile, meaning ‘king’,  Tshiamo Modisane always knew that she was a girl despite her assigned birth gender. This talented child of a pastor from KwaThema and Daveyton townships near Johannesburg was expected to conform to conservative black culture’s expectations for a male, and would endure censure and even abuse from family, friends, peers and strangers into adulthood. Yet Tshiamo began making courageous choices at the age of five, a journey of both self-doubt and self-belief that culminated in gender-affirmation surgery in her thirties. With sass, faith and baked-in confidence from her family ties to the entertainment world, she successfully transitioned from male to female while navigating a career as an actress, celebrity stylist and Lux’s first gender-non-conforming brand ambassador. As admirable as it is affirming, this poignant memoir examines past hurts and present truths and opens up a sorely needed discussion about unconditional acceptance.

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Food and memory are inextricably linked; flavours and dishes evoke emotion, rooted in nostalgia or specific experiences. The Hungry Table embodies this idea. For Fatima Saib, food exists as a backdrop to her childhood memories, intertwined with her precious relationship with her late father. Rooted in this culinary inspiration, the book expertly weaves story and memory through a journey of over 90 contemporary recipes, most with a nod to the author’s South African-Indian heritage.With this in mind, the book is divided into five chapters, each one tapping into a feeling. The Basics offers an array of chutneys, sauces, pickles and flavour-enhancers to round off any dish. Togetherness is an ode to food that is best shared among friends and family, like hot honey fried chicken and fragrantly layered biryanis. Comfort covers those recipes that warm the body and soul from the inside out, like dhal and rasmalai. From Fast, expect deliciously quick-and-easy dishes like chilli crunch toasted cheese or yoghurt and cardamom potato curry. And for those slower days, when time is best used to explore and enjoy, look to Relaxed, for dishes like parathas, sticky BBQ lamb ribs or creamy cabbage and corn bake.The Hungry Table ignites the senses, telling a story of time and place, reminding readers to slow down and enjoy food and the way it makes us feel. It is an invitation into the kitchen, to enjoy the catharsis of cooking and the dishes that result, and, perhaps most importantly, to be nourished by the memories created in the process.

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Author Chantal Lascaris asks the question: who doesn’t love junk food? Whether we are upfront about it or it’s an occasional guilty pleasure; let’s be honest; we all do. Those cravings will hit us and there’s nothing quite like the thrill and comfort of yielding to the temptation. But what if we didn’t have to feel quite so guilty? Chantal proves that it’s possible by making use of clever; healthier ingredient substitutes and smarter cooking techniques that will fool those tastebuds. So say yes to burgers; chicken wings; calamari; tacos; pastas; pizzas and doughnuts. Check out All Sorts of Junk Food Made Healthy and find out how.

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A sweeping story of love, adventure and adversity, The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse is the sequel to the number one bestselling The Ghost Ship.'Mosse is a master storyteller' – Madeleine Miller, bestselling author of CirceOlifantshoek, Southern Africa, 1688. When the violent Cape wind blows from the south-east, they say the voices of the unquiet dead can be heard whispering through the deserted valley. Suzanne Joubert, a Huguenot refugee from war-torn France, arrives in search of her cousin – the notorious she-captain and pirate commander Louise Reydon-Joubert – who landed at the Cape of Good Hope more than sixty years before, then disappeared without a trace . . .Franschhoek, Southern Africa, 1862. Nearly one hundred and eighty years after Suzanne’s perilous journey, another intrepid woman of the Joubert family – Isabelle Lepard – has journeyed to the small frontier town once known as Oliftantshoek in search of her long-lost relations. Intent on putting the women of her family back into the history books, she quickly discovers that the tragedies and crimes of the past are far from over. Isabelle faces a race against time if she is not only going to discover the truth, but also escape with her life . . .Painstakingly researched and beautifully told, The Map of Bones is the fourth – and final – novel of The Joubert Family Chronicles, following the bestselling The Burning Chambers, The City of Tears and The Ghost Ship.Praise for The Joubert Family Chronicles:'Gripping, complex and intensely atmospheric' – The Mail on Sunday on The Burning Chambers'A historical epic' – The Observer on The City of Tears'Meticulously researched and stunningly written' – Santa Montefiore, bestselling author of Wait for Me, on The Ghost ShipThe Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse was a #1 Sunday Times bestseller w/c 09-07-23

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A searing and brave memoir chronicling the author’s resilience, compassion and growth as she moves from a childhood of trauma, through the challenges of dealing with the early loss of her beloved husband and becoming a single parent as well as subsequently accompanying her child on a difficult journey of self-discovery, to a life of acceptance and forgiveness. Thobeka Yose confronts the taboos surrounding mental health, abuse, betrayal and sexual identity with fearless honesty, kindness and understanding that will inspire countless others.

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Azania Sethosa receives a call from former politician Joseph ‘Lefty’ Mafu’s lawyer to notify her of Lefty’s death. She decides to go to Knysna to seek answers about his life and the circumstances surrounding his death. But soon her quest for closure becomes intertwined with detective Florian Welter’s investigation. The seemingly straightforward case quickly turns into a complicated web of conspiracies. But the truth is as elusive as whoever is behind it all. If only the dead could talk...  

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It’s 2008. Thabo Mbeki is about to be ousted as president. The South African ANC-led government sends Morati Sello, a young, attractive banker, on a study tour to Australia, to prepare him for the takeover of a new development bank back home. Throughout his travels across New South Wales, without much effort on his part, Morati attracts the attention of a string of hot-blooded and sexually liberated women. He has copious amounts of sex, breaking taboo after taboo as the only black man at the dinner party. As he travels the outback, he also learns about Australia’s history, its politics and Prime Minister Rudd’s controversial “Apology” to its Aboriginal people. Via Skype, he stays in touch good friend, Pax Pakane, who updates him on the latest news about the Zuma/ Mbeki feud, while Morati shares the intimate details of his visit Down Under... The Sweetest Taboo is a breakthrough novel. It fearlessly goes where no local book has tread. It’s highly erotic, thought-provoking and tongue-in-cheek hilarious. The sex is hot and wild. And so are the politics.

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On 10 June 1980, during the Border War, the SADF's 61 Mechanised Battalion Group attacked a complex of Swapo military bases in southern Angola. A long day of bloody fighting ensued. Second Lieutenant Paul Louw led Platoon 1, in four Ratel infantry fighting vehicles, to an objective called Smokeshell. After emerging from a dry riverbed, the young national servicemen suddenly found themselves facing a heavily defended enemy position and under deadly fire. In the ensuing chaos of that day, 12 troopies of Louw's platoon of 44 were killed and he himself was wounded. The 18-year-old HP Ferreira was shot through the pelvis by a 14,5 mm anti-aircraft round and also hit by AK-47 bullets. He miraculously survived. Blood Brothers records the dramatic events of that horrific day, in the words of the survivors of the battle, and follows members of Louw's platoon on their long journey of healing and recovery. It investigates the human cost of war after the last shots have been fi red and follows the veterans as they return to the battleground four decades later in search of peace.

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At the heart of Humanball lies the story of a team that is more than just the sum of its parts. It's a story about getting the best out of those around you. It's a story about defying expectations—those imposed by others and the ones we set for ourselves. Performance coach Tom Dawson-Squibb tells the entertaining and inspiring story of his five years as the head coach of the University of Cape Town Ikey Tigers rugby team. Tom reveals how the most potent teams connect and inspire individuals to give effort far beyond what's expected. He shows us how to find joy, meaning, and connection in our work. Humanball will move and inspire you to write your own story and transform your sports team, workplace, or home into a cohesive, motivated, and purposeful environment. "I could not put it down. It is a story to inspire beyond its own discipline. While reading, I was constantly reminded what made our Karavan team special, and what I could still learn from Tom and his amazing experience with the Ikey Tigers rugby team. I feel empowered to continue building and strengthening the Karavan Press team and inspired to continue dreaming our dreams.”

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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.

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When he was ten years old, the author was told he’d been adopted. It was a seismic event that turned his world upside down. Nobody was who he thought they were. His mother wasn’t his mother; his father wasn’t his father; his sister wasn’t his sister. He wasn’t related to any of his relatives. He didn’t know where he came from or who he was. This was at a time when adoption was shrouded in secrecy and shame. Birth mothers and adoptive parents signed non-disclosure agreements. Adoption records were sealed. In Lucky Bastard Anthony Akerman takes the reader on his quest to find out where he came from

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The Weight of Shade is a haunting, gothic tale that explores the bearing of the past on our lives and whether we can ever escape the circumstances thrust upon us. In the rural Marico district of the Northwest Province, an orphaned boy, Agni, arrives at a lonely farmhouse in a valley. There he meets Esmeralda, the old woman who never leaves the shadows of her room, and the mysterious Kagiso, who has always lived on the property. He does not know why he was brought to this place, but as he spends his days in lessons with Esmeralda and discovers the secrets of the land from Kagiso, he begins to experience occurrences, which haunt his waking hours and dreams. Meanwhile, in a nearby town, Nikus has just finished high school. He longs to leave the Marico for the distant city and saves money by working as a handyman at the eerie old farmhouse. His only friends are the local drunk and the owner of The Outpost Deli, but Nikus also begins to spend time with the girlfriend of his best friend, who had already left for the big world. She gives Nikus hope in a different future, and together they plan to escape.

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