BOOK Southern Africa

How to: Write Your Book and Self Publish It

by Sophy on 10 Mar 2010   |   

Renata Harper provides a breakdown of the world of self-publishing, including a necessary lists of dos and don’ts, complete with quotes from Modjaji Books‘ Colleen Higgs:

Self-publishing means outsourcing the printing of your manuscript to a printer or publishing services company directly, as opposed to through a publishing company. Electronic publishing, or e-publishing, is one way to self-publish – of course, the ‘e-book’ is only available online and you’ll have to work with a ‘printer’ who will lay out your book for the web.

Reasons to do it

Publishers are market-driven, and even if your story is good, it may not resonate with a big enough market. If you’ve written a family history or personal story, this could be the route for you.

• Complete article in the Fairlady

Photo courtesy Fairlady

Preview Aernout Zevenbergen's Spots of a Leopard: On being a man at Little White Bakkie

by Ben - Editor on 27 Oct 2009   |   

Little White Bakkie welcomes Aernout Zevenbergen into our Scribd.com book preview service and ebooks store.

Zevenbergen is a “professional wanderer” who started writing about issues related to masculinity in 2001 – a project that eventually developed into Vlekken van een luipaard, his first book, published in Dutch by Mets & Schilt. Zevenbergen has since brought the work out in English himself.

Spots of a Leopard: On being a man is a personal quest by the Zambian-born journalist Aernout Zevenbergen to discover the meaning of manhood in Africa, during an era plagued by economic and political troubles, sexual violence, political violence and AIDS. On journeys made through the continent since 1996, Zevenbergen, encounters paupers and princes, a president and a preacher, bikers and truckers, a king dressed in rags as well as an ancestor who smokes like a chimney and drinks like a fish. ‘We are leopards who are trying to wipe away their spots.’ Zevenbergen asks questions few have dared to ask men in Africa. Each man responds passionately and intimately about his life, expectations, dreams and frustrations.

Preview Zevenbergen’s book at Little White Bakkie:

Book details

• Spots of a Leopard: On being a man by Aernout Zevenbergen
  Book homepage
  EAN: 9780620433112
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Scribd.com book preview:

Spots of a Leopard: On being a man

• Not loading? View in the Little White Bakkie e-books store

Au Courant: Three Indie Book Launches on Our October Radar Screen

by Ben - Editor on 13 Oct 2009   |   

Alert! In addition to Shabbir Banoobhai’s upcoming launch, three further independent events for this October have come to BOOK SA’s attention:

Sunday 18 October

Memoirs for Kimya by Shafinaaz Hassim

We move through life as it moves through us. We make up stories in our minds. And often these stories overlap. We hope with all our heart.

We dream. We love, often deeply. We experience some gains and some losses. Each of these moments leave an imprint on the rich tapestry of our souls. Sometimes the only way to share the awesomeness is by whispering a few words on the wind. Memoirs for Kimya is a collection of whispers and a tribute to the many people we meet along life’s journey.

• Date: Sunday, 18 October 2009
• Time: 5:30 PM for 6:00 PM
• Venue: Bo-Kaap Kombuis
  7 August Street
  Cape Town | Map
• RSVP: via Facebook
• See also: http://memoirs4kimya.blogspot.com

Saturday 24 October

Emily and the Battle of the Veil and Emily and the Sprites of Light by Karen Michelle Brooks

[Veil] With change dramatically entering her life, Emily begins to learn how thoughts are things. This title introduces Emily May Harrison, who has grown up in Paradise Beach with her Gran and friend Sam, until suddenly, at the age of 12, she is told she has to go to boarding school in Kingstown.

[Sprites] Emily has no choice but to continue helping Aurana towards the Balance, after losing her friend in the Battle and having been warned that this was just ‘The Beginning of the End’ by Admonai of the Shadows.

• Date: Saturday, 24 October 2009
• Time: 9:30 AM for 10:00 AM
• Venue: Folio Books
  207 Main Road (opp Westerford High School)
  Newlands | Map
• RSVP: Folio Books, 021 685 7190

Tuesday 27 October

The Hidden Side of South African Politics by Motsoko Pheko

“We must discover our mission for our country and our African Continent, and then fulfil it, and not betray it”, reads the last line in the book published by Tokoloho Publishers, entitled The Hidden Side of South African Politics by Dr Motsoko Pheko, former Member of the South African Parliament.

It is this last line that embodies the truth, reflections and insights of our country’s politics, especially of the liberation movements and what they achieved or did not achieve.

• Date: Tuesday, 27 October 2009
• Time: 6:30 PM for 7:00 PM
• Venue: Museum Africa, Bree Street
  Newtown
  Johannesburg | Map
• RSVP: Boitumelo, info@mediapack.co.za, 011 615 8375

Book Details

• Memoirs for Kimya by Shafinaaz Hassim
  Book homepage
  EAN: 9780620439923
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

• Emily and the Battle of the Veil by Karen Michelle Brooks
  Book homepage
  EAN: 9780981409603
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

• Emily and the Sprites of Light by Karen Michelle Brooks
  Book homepage
  EAN: 9780981409610
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

• The Hidden Side of South African Politics by Motsoko Pheko
  EAN: 97806200440752
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Shabbir Banoobhai Launches 3 Books as Part of His Birthday Celebrations

by Jani on 13 Oct 2009   |   

Poet Shabbir Banoobhai will celebrate his 60th birthday this year. As a part of the celebrations he will be launching three new books:

Lyrics in Paradise
Dark Light – The Spirit’s Secret
The Mirror’s Memory – Reflective Essays and Thoughts

You can join in the merriment on Sunday the 25th of October at the District Six Museum in Cape Town. The event will start at 15:30.

• RSVP and find more information on Facebook

Sarah Britten is Back with Insults III

by Ben - Editor on 04 Sep 2009   |   

Alert! Sarah Britten’s third book of local imprecations, More South African Insults is about to hit the shelves.

The writer, who has been the object of more than one discourtesy herself – often via comments on her ThoughtLeader blog – has hoovered up insults related to everything from Julius Malema to Bafana Bafana for what is doubtless a lekker spicy read.

Here’s the press release from printers 30 Degrees South:

A lot has happened since the appearance of ‘The Return of the South African Insult’ – now Sarah Britten is back with her latest take on South Africa.

“Splendid – a torrent of spleen, sure to splatter into gaping gobs” – Tom Eaton

Thabo Mbeki is no longer president, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is no longer minister of health and Luke Watson wore a Springbok jersey and then said he wanted to vomit on it. Amidst all this excitement, one figure still managed to stand out, mainly because he was shouting a lot and threatening to kill for Zuma at the time. Julius Malema is worthy of an entire chapter on his own. As comedian Nick Rabinowitz says, if Julius Malema got an F for woodwork, how can we expect him to build a cabinet? Some things haven’t changed: South Africans still hate taxis and taxi drivers, they still love BMWs, the Gautrain sinkhole keeps opening up in Oxford Road but Bafana Bafana aren’t so useless.

Sarah Britten has been described by Barry Ronge as “Hitler with tits”. Her first piece of comic reportage, on the wonders of kugels and buying a Matric dance dress in Sandton City, appeared in Style magazine in 1991 when she was 17. She has won Sanlam Prizes for Youth Literature for The Worst Year of My Life – So Far (2000) and The Martin Tudhope Show (2002). She wrote her Master’s research report on South African humour (with a focus on Madam & Eve) and has a doctorate in Applied English Language Studies, the title of her thesis being ‘One nation, one beer: the mythology of the new South Africa in advertising’.

Her area of academic interest relates to national identity and comedy, and the concept of ‘National Intimacy’, as defined by the anthropologist Michael Herzfeld. The good citizens of Mooinooi once tried to send her death threats after she quoted a man who described them as being like ropes – thick, hairy and twisted – but they couldn’t find her number in the phone book.

David Bullard’s fans, who resemble a pack of escaped Labradors gone bad after a week without Bob Martins and Eukanuba, were mightily offended when she pointed out a punctuation error in one of his articles. She already has an active ‘hate club’ of ex-pat whingers in Perth, Australia.

Sarah enjoys birdwatching, wildlife, painting with lipstick (and pastels). She plays the piano, her favourite composer is Bach and she plans to write a fugue in four parts based on the Nokia ring tone. She can also do a mean Australian accent for anyone who asks.

• Complete press release at Artslink.co.za

Book details

• More South African Insults by Sarah Britten
  EAN: 9780958489089
  Find this book with BOOK Finder!

• The Art of the South African Insult by Sarah Britten
  Book homepage
  EAN: 9781920143053
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• McBride of Frankenmanto: The return of the South African insult by Sarah Britten
  Book homepage
  EAN: 9781920143183
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Jozi Book Fair: Call for Unity

by Matome on 11 Aug 2009   |   

I received an invitation on behalf of Dinkwe Productions to come and participate in the Jozi Book Fair at the Meseum Africa in Newtown, Johannesburg. It was refreshing to be there and intereact with fellow publishers and writers. What excites me most was that the who is who of Gauteng were there. Members of the press were also present. Most of them attened book launches that were taking place, I spoted a dozen or so book launches. During the Book Fair I spoke to most of the colleauges in the publishing industry. Our problems are similar as the so called ’small publishers’ are the same. They range from distribution problems, marketing challenges and high printing costs. I spoke briefly to a colleague about the need to organise ourselves so that we can be in a position to tackle some of them collectively.

Hazel Barnes Reviews Drama Queen by James Parker

by Sophy on 08 May 2009   |   

Verdict: carrot
James Parker’s fictional biography of Durban’s charismatic Elizabeth Sneddon – she who bequeathed her name to the famous UKZN theatre – is evocatively told but not without its flaws:

Professor Elizabeth Sneddon, founder of the Drama Department at the former University of Natal, is the subject of this “novel”, as it calls itself. Written by a protégé of Sneddon’s, her story (a kind of biography seemingly based on oft-told family reminiscences, imaginative recreation and eventually on personal acquaintance) is evocatively told. The author has the ability to capture the tone and intention of his subject’s personal style in conversation and interaction and this book will be of interest to many people whose lives and careers have been influenced by the charismatic Sneddon.