PAGECAST

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…

1958. 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.