Athol Fugard is South Africa’s most prominent international playwright. This is his only novel.

Tsotsi has been adopted as the Grade 11 official English novel in South Africa for 2016; a new generation will be exposed to Tsotsi and help it on its way to becoming a modern classic.

Hans van Rooyen is a former police general raised by two women who survived the 1899 South African War. He finds himself being cared for in an old age home by the daughter of liberation struggle activists.

At 80, he carries with him the memories of crimes he committed as an officer under the apartheid government. Having eluded the public confessions at the TRC for his time in the Border Wars, he retained his position in the democratic South Africa, serving as an institutional memory for a new generation of police recruits.

Zoe Zondi is tasked to care for the old man. Her gentle and compassionate nature prompts Hans to review his decision to go to the grave with all his secrets. Zoe has her own life story to tell and, as their unlikely bond deepens, strengthened by the isolation that COVID-19 lockdown brings, they provide a safe space for each other to say the things that are often left unsaid.

c. Johan Bakkes is die geliefde skrywer van aweregse reisjoernale.

Amper twintig jaar ná die verskyning van c. Johan Bakkes se tweede boek, Nou’s ons in ons donner in tref dit weer die rak – nie slegs as heruitgawe nie, die skrywer het bygereis en bygewerk.

Dit is ’n terugblik sowel as nuwe ervarings/ gewaarwordings soos net Bakkes dit kan verhaal.

The fiery birth of a new star of South African fiction, Innards is an incendiary debut of linked stories that narrates the everyday lives of Soweto residents, from the early years of apartheid to its dissolution and beyond.

Set in Soweto, the urban heartland of South Africa, Innards tells the intimate stories of everyday black folks processing the savagery of apartheid. Rich with the thrilling textures of township language and life, it braids the voices and perspectives of an indelible cast of characters into a breathtaking collection flush with forgiveness, rage, ugliness and beauty.

Meet a fake PhD and ex-freedom fighter who remains unbothered by his own duplicity, a girl who goes mute after stumbling upon a burning body, twin siblings nursing a scorching feud, and a woman unravelling under the weight of a brutal encounter with the police. At the heart of this collection – of deceit and ambition, appalling violence and transcendent love – is the story of slavery, colonization and apartheid – and it shows in intimate detail how South Africans must navigate both the shadows of the recent past and the uncertain opportunities of the promised land.

Full to bursting with life, in all its complexities and vagaries, Innards is an uncompromising depiction of black South Africa. Visceral and tender, it heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.

In the Shadow of the Springs I Saw is an exploration, and stories, of people who live in the Art Deco buildings of Springs.

It is the imagined lives of those who live in a space that is not theirs historically but one that they have reclaimed.

This work, in times of doom and complaint, creates a new narrative: one of revival, vigour and celebration.

Henning van Aswegen skryf volkstories en kinderverhale oor die Vrystaat se hartlike mense en interessante diertjies wat hy tydens sy ongebonde grootwordjare langs Virginia se magtige Sandrivier teëgekom het.

In Vrystaatstories ontmoet die leser vir Mossieman en Geronkie die Donkie wat die niksvermoedende inwoners van die Vrystaat onderwerp aan avonture en poetse, meesal met onvoorspelbare en humoristiese gevolge.

Elke storie en elke skets is oorspronklik, uniek en humoristies – en is geskik vir kinders van 8-80 jaar.

Kinders leer om nie ander kinders af te knou nie (bullying); om kinders en diere met respek te behandel, om teen niemand te diskrimineer nie, en nie lelik en afbrekend met ander te praat nie.

Selfs die kleinste diertjies in die stories soos Mys die Muis, Spinne Spinnekop en ‘n Dowe Paddatjie word met respek en empatie behandel.

In Vrystaatstories word lesers deel van die karakters se koeterwaals en manewales!

A Big Hand For The Spirits explores the space where science, religion and magic come together – where the world behaves in ways that are at once absolutely normal but also utterly amazing.

An ecologist on the run from a hit man joins up with a brilliant physicist struggling to reconcile his traditional African beliefs with science, an anaesthetist dealing with a bad marriage, a physically powerful, but emotionally distraught river guide, and an enigmatic recovering drug addict who alternates wildly between reality and fantasy.

Together they travel overland from Vic Falls to Malawi, encountering many adventures, some intellectual, some fun, and some downright terrifying.

As they explore the power of their individual and collective unconscious, they discover that they are connected in unexpected ways and, through means both mystical and prosaic, work together to survive and achieve each other’s goals.

The action, which includes wild white water rafting, tracking elephants, dabbling in witchcraft, catching snakes and learning to dive, mirrors the characters’ exploration of the nature of reality, time and truth – and whether there are, in fact, only three thousand people in the world. The climax on the edge of Lake Malawi revolves around a dramatic performance of the Gule Wamkulu spirit dancers that may – or may not – be instrumental in bringing it all together.

’n Spieel is ’n vreemde ding, want in ’n spieel leef ’n koue leuen; alles is andersom, verkeerdom en plat. Regs is links en links is regs. ’n Spieel lieg, dink hy, want jy kan jouself nie regtig sien nie, nes mens jouself nie kan kielie nie. Tensy jy natuurlik ’n soort aap is, dan kan jy jouself kielie. En lag. Maar Dolf Eksteen lag nie. Daar’s min rede die laaste tyd om te wil lag. Joe Minnie se lewe raak verweef met die van een van die rykste besigheidsmanne in die land. Sy opdrag is om Dolf Eksteen met sy lewe te bewaak. Dolf se weelderige bestaan word versuur deur bedelbriewe, afpersboodskappe en doodsdreigemente, en die beeldskone Belinda Eksteen, ’n opkomende vermaaklikheidster, is soos ’n emosionele en finansiele tikkende tydbom aan sy sy. Met ’n rolverdeling wat ’n deursnit van die Suid-Afrikaanse gemeenskap bied – die onaantasbares, die onderdruktes, die onderduimses – word Spieelbeeld ’n intense en meesleurende, psigologiese karakterstudie wat nog vir lank by die leser sal spook. ’n Wereldklas spanningsverhaal waartydens die leser die speurder is.

The poaching of rhinoceros for the mythical medicinal qualities of the horns has reached alarming proportions in recet years. The magnificent beasts are facing extinction at the hands of unscrupulous criminals. Bataleur and IA3 together with Edward Brown of the CIA and Willie Engelbrecht of the Serious Crimes Unit work at source in the Kruger Park to expose a rhino poaching and horn smuggling ring.

Issued with a ‘Code 1’ sanction order the group show no mercy to those involved.

How does a mysterious cult feature and could a leading South African business tycoon be involved? Ex-merceneries and crooked rangers lead to a London gangster and his evil and violent family.

Upside Down has a realistic and topical plotline and is packed with excitement and action. Upside Down draws the reader into a better understanding of the scale of the problem and of the dangers exposed.

Sangomas and cops don’t mix. Usually. But this is Joburg, a metropolis that is equal parts flash and shadow, and where not everything can be easily explained.

Ian Jack, a disillusioned former police officer, teams up with Reshma Patel, a colleague from his old life, to investigate a routine housebreaking gone bad. But when they uncover links to a possible animal poaching and trafficking syndicate, things go from complicated to dangerous to downright evil.

Set against the richly textured backdrop of a livewire African city, this fast-paced thriller offers a disturbing contemporary take on justice and morality. To be read with the lights on.

Shelley Jacobsen is in her 40s and feels trapped. The coffee and décor shop that she opened with her bestie is proving to be a gilded cage. Meanwhile, her husband is consumed with Jewish guilt since having their twins, which reminds Shelley that she will always be a Shiksa to his family. Then she hires Wayde Smith, a sexy 22-year-old surfer who smells like a Pina Colada Coconut Vanilla Dessert, as a barista. He makes her feel young and Shelley just wants some fun. But will it stay harmless?

Die wêreld is nie vir sissies nie. Dít weet Fransi Fouché alte goed. Sy moet immers daagliks haar man staan terwyl sy allerhande rekwisiete vir filmstelle bou.

Fransi het nie tyd vir tydmors of enige ander nonsens nie. En in haar kop is dit presies wat verhoudings is – nonsens.

Sal die bekende Hollywood-hartebreker Matt Delmayer haar van plan laat verander? Matt laat haar egter vanuit die staanspoor goed verstaan: Hy sien nie kans vir ’n ernstige verhouding nie. Aanvanklik dink Fransi ook dis ’n uitstekende reëling – pret en plesier sonder enige verwagtinge. Die man doen immers allerhande lekker dinge aan haar lyf.

Daar bestaan egter voortdurend die gevaar dat iemand se hart gaan breek. Fransi wonder ook heeltyd: Hoekom tree Matt so geheimsinnig op?

While surfing the Internet at work, Lloyd believes he's found a relic from an old genocide. If he's right, the artefact would be worth a ton of money, and it will give lots of people closure when they find out what really happened to their families.

But there's one problem. The artefact - if it really exists - is in the possession of Carla, a shy woman in the company's Accounts Department, and she never lets it out of her sight.

Lloyd seeks the help of his friend and fellow employee, Robert, whom Carla is desperately in love with. Will Robert agree to use Carla's feelings for him to get information about the mysterious object?

Bennie moet ’n ring koop. En nie sommer ’n hierjy-ring vir sy Alexa nie. Hoe op aarde moet hy nou dít bekostig?

Terwyl hy wag om te hoor of die bank sal help, word ’n naakte vroueliggaam op Sir Lowryspas gevind. Uitgestal langs die pad; dit lyk soos die werk van ’n reeksmoordenaar. Ongeïdentifiseerd word sy na die staatslykshuis gebring – waar sy bekend word, weens die bleikmiddel waarmee sy geskrop is, as die Gebleikte Lyk.

Kort daarna word sy Bennie en Vaughn se probleem toe daar besef word sy’s ’n buitelander: Alicia Lewis, ’n kunskenner op die spoor van ’n Fabritius-skildery wat kwansuis in die Kaap is – en hý was ’n Rembrandt-leerling van wie bloedweinig werke bekend is. ’n Onbekende Fabritius sou ’n gróót storie in die kunswêreld wees.

Dan vind Lithpel Davids die naam Billy de Palma in Alicia se skootrekenaar, en Vaughn weet dadelik daar’s gróót fout. Want hy ken vir Billy, en Billy is bad, bad news . . .

In 1977, terwyl Henna en haar man Stone juis op soek is na ’n stukkie grond waar hulle saam kan ontspan, weg van die stadsgeraas en mensegedrang, sterf Henna se ma en word ’n familieplaas onverwags en onbepland haar erfdeel. In pleks van die plaasidille wat Stone voorgehou het, word Henna nou gekonfronteer met die harde werklikheid van volskaalse boerdery en alles wat daarmee gepaard gaan: droogte, peste, plae, veesiektes, vrektes en vrees. Stone se pligte as “befaamde ginekoloog” hou hom immers besig in die stad – en dis Henna wat vrou-alleen stoetvee koop, hanslammers grootmaak, met plaasarbeiders onderhandel en ’n tuiste probeer skep uit ’n vervalle murasie.

Uit briewe aan haar jarelange vriendin Ida leer ken die leser ’n belese en berese “ek” wat skielik ’n totale ommeswaai in haar netjiese bestaan beleef. Só word die teks ook ’n boeiende karakterstudie oor ’n ouerwordende vrou wat stoei met haar komplekse familiegeskiedenis (haar ma was eksentriek en afwesig, haar pa het met sy kop in boeke geleef) en die onopgeloste geheime wat ná haar ma se dood op die lappe kom. Die Henna wat enersyds kan brande blus, kalwe versorg en vendusies bywoon openbaar haarself al skrywende as fyngevoelige, intellektuele en filosofiese “ek” wat vlymskerp kan spot met haar eie swakhede, maar ook pynlik akkurate waarnemings maak oor die wêreld waarin sy leef. Benewens interessante wetenswaardighede oor boerdery wat na vore kom, is dit ook ’n veelseggende teks wat betref rasverhoudings op plase, die rol en posisie van vroue in die gemeenskap, die ewige waarhede in die letterkunde en die mens se afhanklikheid van die natuur.

Nelia Baker’s life gets turned into one of her fantasy writing pieces, when the handsome tv series producer Jake Anderson wants to work with her. Life in the fantasy world is more complicated than she anticipated as it starts to confuse her reality.

Recovering from her Mother’s death, Nelia focuses most of her energy into escaping in one of her writing realms, where she is most at home these days. Her Father, Nate tries his best to be her support system, but things get a bit complicated along the way when Nelia’s college boyfriend proposes to her and simultaneously she receives a job opportunity in Italy to be a screenwriter. Which world will she prefer, the written fantasy or her reality?

With her fiancé Lucas waiting for her back home to become his trophy wife, Nelia gets spun into a love triangle whilst in Italy. Things get really complicated when one of her love interests happens to be Jake Anderson, her soon to be boss. All the chaos affects Nelia negatively, as she tries to hide her skin flare ups whilst trying to spin herself out on the straight and narrow. Everything gets a bit much and she decides to flee back home. How will the insecure Nelia choose which life is best for her and also which guy?

All this whilst trying to find herself in this crazy world she has written about.

Momo, ’n klein, verflenterde dogtertjie, woon aan die rand van ’n groot stad in die ruïne van ’n amfiteater.

Sy besit niks buiten dit wat sy vind of wat sy van ander ontvang nie, maar sy het ’n buitengewone gawe: Sy luister werklik na ander en gee vir hulle tyd. Een dag ruk die gruwelike grys menere met hulle loodgrys aktetasse en sigare in die groot stad op en begin om die kosbare tyd van die mense te steel.

Momo is die enigste een wat die donker mag van die tyddiewe kan beteuel.

In Ploeg die wolke moet Brenda Rabie onverwags na Johannesburg gaan om haar pas geskeide suster te ondersteun. Daar begewe Brenda haar op ’n pad van persoonlike intrige wat sy nie vooraf kon voorsien nie.

Ansje Korber word eensklaps haar gewese skoonsuster, Joan, se vertroueling in Sirkelbaan. Hoe gemaak wanneer ’n man en vrou elkeen op hul beurt gebroke op Ansje se drumpel staan? Boonop wonder sy of die teenwoordigheid van Joan se nuwe swaer nie juis die probleem is nie.

In Die stille roep maak die leser op boeiende wyse kennis met die lief en leed van die Defórs-gesin. Regina Defórs moet as weduwee die fort hou. Haar drie kinders – wat elk met hul eie liefdeslewe worstel – is egter gekant teen die man by wie sy veel steun vind.

Dit is die vroeë 1990’s. Ben Brandt duik al jare lank ondergronds onder die Poolse naam Jozeph Brzinski. Maar die tyd het aangebreek dat hy sy ou werk hervat: dié van huurmoordenaar.

In sy lewe voor hy moes onderduik as mynwerker, het hy moorde gepleeg vir wie ook al hom kon betaal. Hierdie keer het die Beweging hom nodig. Hy moet twee teikens by die Wêrelhandelsentrum in Kemptonpark elimineer.

Gerhard Coetzee, topadvokaat met ’n tragiese verlede, is die enigste een wat in sy pad staan.

Hierdie verhaal is vol van avontuur, misterie en romanse. Dit is 'n lekkerleesboek wat die leser se aandag tot die einde behou. Toe 'n vreemde man onverwags op Rietkuil as plaasbestuurder begin werk, is dit die begin van 'n reeks onverklaarbare gebeure. Waar Rietkuil eens op ’n tyd die rustigheid self was, bring die nuweling op die werf ’n vlaag van misdade met hom saam en selfs harte bly in die slag. Dan sien Tant Annie een spookagtige aand die vreemde man met 'n groot, donker bondel in sy arms haastig in die donker skaduwees verdwyn. Wie is hierdie man? Wat is sy regte naam? Waar kom hy vandaan? Wat steek hy weg? Met Man uit die vreemde prikkel Kas van den Bergh die leser se nuuskierigheid met volgehoue vernuf, sodat die boek nie neergesit kan word voordat die ware identiteit van die vreemdeling bekend is en al sy geheime onthul is nie.

’n Afgelegde professor in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, dink terug en probeer sin maak van sy verlede.

Hy leef met ’n vrou in sy herinnering – Mied. Deur die oënskynlike diefstal van sy geel Volkswagen Kewer met sy hond Os-Moses agterin, ontmoet hy ’n Afrikaanssprekende Zoeloe-meisie, Mandie. Hy word Mandie, haar Ma Nxasana en ’n gestremde kind na wie Ma Nxasana omsien, Gumanam, se vertroueling. Intussen word hy lastig geval deur oproepe van ene John wat ’n MA wil doen oor eko-literatuur en mineurskrywers.

Is mos Oos is ’n surrealistiese, byna absurde roman, ’n verhaal van verandering wat ontvou in die spel van name en die vervloeiing van uiterstes: hede/verlede, man/vrou, leuen/waarheid, lewe/dood.

Lourens Schoeman veroorsaak 'n beroering met sy aankoms op 'n dorpie in Botswana. Die gemeenskap wonder hoekom die aantreklike jong man 'n pak klere dra ten spyte van geweldige hitte en waarom daar soveel hartseer in sy oë skuil. Maar hy swyg soos die graf oor sy verlede. Toe Elzaan Jonker dit regkry om Lourens effens beter te leer ken, besluit sy om ondersoek in te stel. Sy is vasbeslote om uit te vind wat hom jaag en hoekom 'n plaaslike inwoner glo dat hy die doodsengel is.

THANDO Weber is a half South African and half Swiss nerdy girl with hopes of going to the best university in Switzerland like her father did. She is also the last surviving descendant of the Watchers of Realms, a powerful race of light beings who watch over the Milky Way galaxy. Her mission is to find her lower-self, and her higher-self to complete her triad, so that she may bond with them and be the next Dreamer – an interdimensional traveller and protector of the Earth Realm.

Tortured by the transformation of moving from human to Dreamer, THANDO hallucinates, sleepwalks, and suffers sleep deprivation, which destroys her dreams of tertiary education. On one mundane high school day, she loses consciousness and plunges into a coma, not from exhaustion but because she encounters her lower-self and higher-self simultaneously.

She starts her training to be a Dreamer, experiences challenges and travels through South Africa to find ways to release her latent superpowers. As she trains, the Kryona terrorises people around her to get to her. On her journeys through South Africa, she meets powerful creatures of old, ancient water spirits and primordial dragons who help her with her training. She is guided to traditional healers to assist her and comes across other traditional healers who betray her due to influence from the Kryona. Through her adventures, she learns about her mother’s Zulu culture and inches closer to her goal, but will it be enough?