This is the story of a simple idea that turned into a global movement. This is the story of parkrun, told for the very first time from the man who started it all.

Growing up in the brutal care system of South Africa, Paul Sinton-Hewitt had a lonely, difficult childhood. Yet he found solace in running – a simple pleasure that taught him resilience and offered a young boy a sense of self-worth.

With dogged determination, Paul built a stable family life for himself and eventually settled in the UK. But by 2004 he was struggling to hold it all together. He’d lost the successful career he’d worked so hard for, his marriage had broken down, and now a devastating injury threatened to cut him off from the running club which had been a lifeline.

In search of connection and purpose, Paul came up with a simple idea. He would start a weekly time trial run every Saturday morning in his local park. There would be no winners or losers, it would always be free and Paul would be there every week – even on Christmas Day – whether or not anyone else came. Little did he know that from just thirteen runners on that first Saturday, parkrun would grow into a 10 million strong community across five continents. Twenty years on parkrun continues to grow, bringing together people from all walks of life in search of health, happiness and community.

Filled with hope and optimism, One Small Step is a powerful affirmation of how coming together in simple ways can change our own lives and might even change the world.

The Real Interior not only allows the reader a behind-the-scenes peek into the glitz and glamour of design and décor, but into a career once never considered an option for a young girl, born in Soweto.

As one of the first black and very recognisable faces of Interior Design in Africa, Nthabi Taukobong was thrust into the limelight from the very start of her profession. Spanning a career of more than 23 years she has worked on esteemed residential and leisure projects for presidents, African royalty, captains of industry and five-star hotels, to name but a few. Through the rough and often very challenging terrain of her chosen career, sprinkled generously with the high-end glamour of prestigious interiors that Nthabi has been privileged to work on, she learned that she, in fact, had to be seated right within her own interior before she could offer anything further to those in search of her creative gift.

And as she searched and explored the greater world of design, trying to grasp what it really took to be an esteemed designer, the journey unexpectedly brought her right back into her own home. Not only Nthabi’s physical home, but also to her inner-home, the place that she refers to as her ‘real interior’. It was in writing a letter one evening, congratulating herself on reaching the milestone of 21 years in her career, that Nthabi discovered she was not only writing to herself, but to every creative.

Her letter ended up being an entire book and Nthabi finally understood how her unique story could inspire and encourage others.

Juliet Prowse was a young South African dancer who burst into the international spotlight in her first Hollywood movie. Considered talented and exotic, she caught the media’s attention and her engagement to Frank Sinatra fuelled their fascination further. But was it true love and what did Sinatra make of Juliet’s relationship with Elvis during G.I. Blues?

Unhappy with 20th Century Fox, Juliet broke out of her contract, created her own company and became one of the highest paid dancers of her era. While Juliet won awards for Sweet Charity in Las Vegas and London, opening on Broadway seemed to be elusive. Juliet continued to build her world-class modern dance company, winning Female Entertainer of the Year in Las Vegas three times with competition from Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand and Shirley MacLaine. By the mid-1970s, she was on a $1 million contract as a Desert Inn Million Dollar Baby. Considered a triple threat, Juliet featured on the international stage for over four decades.

This story is personal. Told by Juliet’s niece, it includes Juliet’s words from letters written to her mother, family anecdotes and amusing insights from those who worked with Juliet. With her endless legs and playful charm, Juliet had many romances and married actor John McCook of The Bold and the Beautiful. But in her search for love and professional fulfilment, could she accomplish it all?

Steve Joubert had always wanted to be a pilot and the only way he could afford to do so, was to join the South African Air Force in the late 1970s.

As an adventurous young man with a wicked sense of humour, he tells of the many amusing escapades he had as a trainee pilot. But soon he is sent to fight in the Border War in northern Namibia (then South West Africa) where he is exposed to the carnage of war. The pilots of the Alouette helicopters were witness to some of the worst scenes of the Border War. Often, they were the first to arrive after a deadly landmine accident.

In the fiercest battles their gunships regularly supplied life-saving air cover to troops on the ground.

The stories of Naz Gool Ebrahim and District Six are intimately linked; in fact it is hard to imagine the one without the other.

As the niece of Cissie Gool, Naz came from fighting stock. Strong women with strong voices ran in the family. So when the Apartheid Government declared 'the District', a slum in 1966 and announced plans to flatten it, Naz wasn’t about to lose all that she held dear without a fight. She became the voice of the voiceless, both in South Africa and in the USA and was nominated as ‘Woman of the Year’. Naz combined her radical political activism with her roles as devoted wife and mother to six children. Up until the end of her life in 2005, she worked tirelessly to oppose the evil of racial segregation.

To her opponents, she was an indomitable adversary, but to her friends she was ‘Naz – Raz-a-ma-tazz’, a great lady who certainly knew how to tell a story and put on a good show.

’n Baie lang brief aan my dogter is Marita van der Vyver, een van Afrikaans se mees geliefde skrywers, se ontroerende jeugmemoir. Dit is 'n speurtog deur die skrywer se beginjare, maar dit is ook ’n liefdesbrief aan ’n dogter en ’n taal en ’n land. En bowenal is dit ’n ma se poging om sin te maak van hierdie onverskillige en wrede wêreld waarin sy haar nou begewe.

Written by Cape Town journalist Miles Masterson, The Oom reveals the extraordinary life of John Whitmore, a visionary who transformed South Africa’s relationship with ocean sport and beach culture.

This richly illustrated biography is a must-have for anyone who loves the sea, adventure and local history.

John Whitmore was the first person to ride a surfboard on the Cape’s Atlantic coast, and his passion for surfing sparked a movement that would echo across generations. He established the country’s first surfboard brand, identified world-class breaks like Elands Bay and Jeffreys Bay, and nurtured the rise of Springbok surfing, opening the door for South African talent on the global stage.

For two decades, listeners tuned in to his daily surf report on Radio Good Hope, making him a trusted voice in the surf community. His appearance in Bruce Brown’s iconic film The Endless Summer introduced him to the world and cemented his status as a trailblazer. Affectionately known as ‘The Doyen’, Whitmore continued to innovate by bringing the Hobie Cat and Morey Boogie to South Africa, sparking new waves of ocean-sport enthusiasm.

The Oom is not only the biography of a man ahead of his time, it is a celebration of the coastal lifestyle that so many South Africans cherish today. It will inspire long-time surfers, weekend wave chasers, sailing and beach culture fans, and anyone interested in the story of how a single person can change a country’s sporting identity.

Geloof soos aartappels is die inspirerende ware verhaal van bekende evangelis Angus Buchan. Dit is ’n getuienis van hoe geloof ’n mens deur die donkerste tye kan dra. Nadat Angus tot bekering gekom het, is hierdie humeurige man wat van sy drank gehou het, verander in ’n passievolle dienaar van God. Sy geloof het hom al deur droogtes, familietragedie en finansiële krisisse gedra. Sedert hy tot bekering gekom het, het Angus die evangelie oor die wêreld heen verkondig. Hy het ook ’n kinderhuis gestig, verskeie boeke geskryf en duisende mense geïnspireer met sy boodskappe op TV, radio en by sy konferensies. Hierdie aangrypende boek sal jou opnuut verseker van God se almag en sy voorsiening vir sy kinders.

Dayspring is a recollection of C.J. Driver’s South African youth – his childhood as a reverend’s son in Kroonstad and Makhanda preceding his extraordinary student years at the University of Cape Town, during which he edited the student newspaper Varsity and became enmeshed in radical student politics.

Gedurende die Grensoorlog het die Spesiale Magte se 4 Verkenningsregiment tientalle klandestiene seewaartse operasies saam met die SA Vloot uitgevoer. Van Cabinda in Angola tot Dar es Salaam in Tanzanië het hulle strategiese teikens soos oliedepots, vervoerinfrastruktuur en selfs Russiese skepe aangeval. Die bestaan van 4 Recce is grootliks geheim gehou, ook in die SAW.

Ystervuis uit die see beskryf 50 operasies deur 4 Recce, ander Spesmagte-eenhede en die SA Vloot. Daaronder tel Operasie Kerslig (1981), waartydens ’n operateur dood en ander beseer is in ’n aanval op ’n olieraffinadery in Luanda, en Operasie Argon (1985) toe kaptein Wynand du Toit in Angola gevange geneem is.

Die skrywers, wat self aan etlike van die operasies deelgeneem het, het ook toegang gekry tot uiters geheime dokumente wat intussen gedeklassifiseer is. Hul dramatiese vertellings wys hoe veelsydig en doeltreffend hierdie elite-eenheid was.

Die omvattende boek is ’n moet vir enigeen met ’n belangstelling in die Spesmagte. Dit neem jou na die hart van die aksie, die adrenalien en vrees van seewaartse operasies.

• Daarna is dit ‘n gepaste geskenk vir enige tyd van die jaar.
• Kunstig saamgestel, duursaam en inspirerend.
• Nie net ‘n mooi geskenk nie, dis ‘n kunswerk en ‘n erfstuk.
• Die boek bestaan uit 8 hoofstukke met gepaste digkuns en kunswerk wat jou op reis neem - deur jou eie weermag herinneringe.
• Daar is ‘n stewige koevert waarin die oorlog veteraan memorabilia soos foto’s, dokumente, balkies en ‘n usb (vir video’s, foto’s en stemboodskappe) kan plaas.
• Dit bevat ook kaarte waarop oud makkers kan aandui waar hulle opleiding ontvang het en aangewend is.
• Die boek sluit ‘n kleiner handleiding in wat inspirasieprikkelaars (prompts) bevat. Die doel is om leiding te gee, sonder om voorskriftelik te wees.

Belonging is a tale of coming home to love, acceptance and inspiration. This deeply personal account of a journey of self-discovery and personal growth tells of the emotional and physical transformation of a sensitive child who never felt ‘enough’.

In this compelling narrative, Alison's challenging journey is set against the backdrop of South Africa's turbulent path to democracy. Along the way, influential figures who have shaped and continue to shape Alison's growth are introduced, offering a poignant reflection on her life.

This beautifully written book aims to inspire you to become all that you can be.

In Seven Khoi lives Karel Schoeman writes about seven Khoi men and women whose lives became inextricably linked to the VOC’s settlement at the Cape in the seventeenth century. Chiefs and servants, enemies and interpreters; none of them escaped unscathed as their people were marginalised and their stories reduced to mere footnotes in the annals of history. These biographies were first seen in Kinders van die Kompanjie: Kaapse lewens uit die sewentiende eeu and have now been reworked for the benefit of a non-South African readership. Schoeman paints a vivid picture of life at the southernmost point of Africa at a time when the Khoikhoi believed they could find a way of living with these foreigners and their unceasing appetite for cattle – or free themselves forever of this unasked-for presence.

In this intimate memoir, Hannah Botsis chronicles life as a minister's daughter in post-apartheid South Africa. Through the lens of her father's forty-year ministry at a Presbyterian church in Cape Town's northern suburbs, she explores faith, family, and racial privilege with unflinching honesty. A meditation on grace and belonging, this story illuminates how communities navigate change while wrestling with their complicated histories.

You will find a real life, gritty account of drug addiction in the pages of Rocks – One Man’s Climb from Drugs to Dreams.

Set in the leafy suburbs of Joburg in the 90s, and at the height of the Johannesburg Rave Culture, this book brings to life the agonising heartache of the drug addicted Marco Broccardo, and that of his family members including the dirty details of the daily life of an addict – the close encounters with the law, moments of insanity and rock bottom desperation. But amidst all the despair, there is a moment of liberation and hope. Hope that addiction can be beaten through the right decisions and the over-arching idea of love.

This book will take you on a journey – from the despair of being rock bottom to the elation of the mountain-tops of Kilimanjaro.

In hierdie opvolg op Daniël Lötter se eerste bundel moordverhale, 17 Maal Moord, wat einde 2020 verskyn het, vertel hy nog van Suid-Afrika se mees opspraakwekkende ware moordverhale in sy gemaklike en dikwels humoristies styl.

Nuwe lewe word geblaas in die slagoffers sowel as oortreders wat Suid-Afrikaners destyds na hul asem laat snak en dié verhale laat verslind het.

Annamarie van Niekerk gaan brutaal eerlik om met vraagstukke waarmee ons daagliks worstel: plaasmoord, geweld teen vroue, skuld en onmag, aandadigheid en keuse.

Sy woon in Den Haag, maar keer terug Suid-Afrika toe vir die begrafnis van haar liewe vriend, Ruben, wat saam met sy ma in ʼn wrede plaasmoord vermoor is. Dié reis lei terug na ander reise: Van haar kinderjare in PE in ʼn streng Nasionale huishouding met ʼn Broederbondpa. Na Umtata, waar sy gaan klasgee en verlief raak op ʼn swart kollega. Na Hillbrow, waar die twee van hulle onwettig saamwoon en aktief is in skrywersirkels met vriende soos Nadine Gordimer en Njabulo Ndebele. Tot geweld ook hul verhouding binnedring. Uiteindelik na die tronk, waar sy Ruben se moordenaars gaan soek in haar strewe na verstaan.

Van Niekerk vervleg haar eie storie aangrypend met ’n verkenning van die groot kwessies in ons land. Onder ʼn bloedrooi hemel is ʼn diep ontroerende persoonlike reis, van geweld na genade, meesterlik vertel.

Xoliswa Nduneni-Ngema loved the theatre and dreamed of being an actress. She soon discovered that acting wasn't for her – managing productions was. She meets rising-star, Mbongeni Ngema and they marry.  As his success grows, they start a company that births the hit Sarafina! But beneath the stardom, Xoliswa experiences constant abuse.  With Fred Khumalo, she tells her powerful story. 

Toe die eerste bomme op Februarie 2022 Kijif aan flarde skiet, was Kobus Olivier gereed. Maar om te vlug was bloot nie ’n opsie nie – wat sou van sy vier geliefde honde word?

In Met my honde word Kobus en sy vier brakke se verhaal vertel.

Die angswekkende nagte terwyl bomme om hul neerreën, die verhaal van onvoorwaardelike liefde tussen mens en dier, en hoe jy selfs tydens ’n oorlog op die hulp van vreemdelinge kan staatmaak.

'Hearing grasshoppers jump' - or keeping one's ear so close to the ground that one can detect the slightest movement - is one of the nuggets of practical wisdom that have guided Raymond Ackerman throughout his life and career. As this lively and immensely readable story makes clear, he is a man of enormous energy and passion, often in the public spotlight, always on the move, yet at the same time a private, reflective person, who has kept a detailed daily diary for most of his life and who takes the time to listen, to keep his ear to the ground and so seize the opportunities when they present themselves. And what opportunities they have been.

Raymond Ackerman, South Africa's most successful retailer, was born with retailing in his blood. His father, Gus, built up the Ackermans chain into a household name with great flair and determination. Raymond Ackerman himself made his mark early as the innovative head of the Checkers food chain, until that fateful day in 1966 when he was summarily dismissed by the old-guard management - a dismissal that has been described as 'the single greatest error in South African business'. It was also the beginning of Raymond Ackerman's greatest triumph, for that push led to the growth of the national Pick 'n Pay chain and to a story of phenomenal success.

This book is a personal account of a man whose private passions and values have animated a company and whose life has been so much more than mere business. Not everyone may agree with some of his stands or positions but no one can fail to appreciate the frankness and liveliness of his down-to-earth story or fail to be won over by his passionate, positive engagement with his country and with life

“Knock-knock, anybody home?”

For 20 years, Karina Marais and her partner have lived apart together in a shared residence—his bachelor pad upstairs, her retreat downstairs—connected by a staircase that links their spaces while preserving their independence. No unannounced visits, no dull routines, just passion, freedom, and a love story shaped on their terms.

In Upstairs Downstairs, Marais shows how they successfully manage a Living Apart Together (LAT) relationship where love, ambition, and independence coexist. But her memoir isn’t just about love, it’s also about passion and daring to dream. Some of her dreams took flight, others fell short, but she didn’t want to leave this world without chasing them. That drive makes her jump out of bed every morning, a trait many aspiring entrepreneurs share.

Through multisensory storytelling with words, lyric readings, music, and videos, she brings to life the emotions behind love, loss, and the pursuit of dreams.

Dr Joan Louwrens was always drawn to wild places, which were balm to her soul. When her husband died, leaving her alone with two small daughters to raise, she threw herself wholeheartedly into ‘adventure medicine’, seeking out the world’s most remote corners – on land and at sea – to practise her healing, both her own and others.

Working in wild places from the Kruger Park to the Australian Outback, the Atlantic Ocean islands, and both the south and north poles, ‘Doctor Joan’ dealt with a vast range of medical issues, from rabies to deep-vein thrombosis, childbirth to wisdom-tooth extraction, catatonia to depression.

Showing an eagerness to learn and a humility that isn’t always a given in her profession, and with a wry eye and a sympathetic outlook, Joan Louwrens has written a memoir that’s a poignant and often funny story of a life lived to the full

Maria is a young woman raised as a Jehovah’s Witness in South Africa, and this book documents her experiences of gender victimisation, sexual abuse and cover-ups within the church, as well as her eventual ‘escape’ from its doctrines and control. Maria’s freedom came at a price, however – she can never see her mother and sister again.

A worldwide, Christian-based religious group that professes an unparalleled dedication to Jehovah (God), the Jehovah’s Witnesses have a strong sense of community and appear to embrace a disciplined yet loving way of life with the promise of eternal salvation for those who follow the way of Jehovah. It is a seemingly benign religious movement, claiming to be politically neutral, racially and ethnically transcendent, with a membership of eight million people worldwide. Yet, at its core, many former Witnesses claim that it is a fear-based doomsday cult that considers itself above all other belief systems.

Allegations of secular, cultish behaviour, homophobia, money laundering, brainwashing and countless accusations of institutionalised sexual abuse abound. It seems that membership is managed and retained mostly by way of information control and manipulation, extending to the shunning of higher education and preaching their own version of the Bible.

Entering the church is easy, but leaving it can be a matter of life or death, as Maria and countless others discovered...

In A Path Unexpected, Evans shares her life, working as a journalist in the big city, then moving to the small town of Viljoenskroon in the northern Free State with her husband, Anthony Evans, a well-known and respected businessman and farmer. It is here that she created her non-profit organisation to provide education and training for the wives and children of farm labourers during the height of apartheid. Her profound influence on these families labels her as an activist for her early childhood development (ECD) and adult teaching advocacy in rural communities.

This memoir is about family, love, loss, finding purpose and dedicating oneself to a life of service.

Eloquently written and told with great sensitivity and humility, this is a memoir about how one woman’s unexpected path led to family-like bonds in the unlikeliest of places, and a dream so profound that it would impact generations of young learners and the women who teach them.

Dis 'n fassinerende verslag van die lewe in maksimumsekuriteit-gevangenisse, met vars invalshoek: China was hondemeester, aan die voorfront tydens tronkgevegte. Gewapen slegs met 'n knuppel en sy hond moes hy messtekers en oproeriges afweer. Hy is 'n mensch, 'n ongeslypte diamant met hart en ondernemingsgees.

Hy herinner aan Bennie Griessel: hy rook en drink straf, sy huwelik is op die rotse, hy sukkel om gevoelens te wys, maar oor 'n hond wat doodgaan, grens hy. Sy eerste pos, toe hy net 16 was, was op Robbeneiland, waar hy 'n lang, breedgeskouerde gevangene met 'n vriendelike gesig gesien skerm het. Hy was self 'n bokser en kon sien die man het 'n besonderse tegniek, dat hy lig op sy voete soos 'n weltergewig was.

Die bokser was Nelson Mandela. Saans het Mandela deur sy tralies vir die seun hardgekookte eiers wat hy afgeskil het, aangegee, dan eet hulle saam en gesels. Mandela het hom altyd aaangepor om verder te gaan leer.