September and October: Springing into a new season
September was a swirl of activity and our delivery room is full of books ready to be born in October and November.
As you will see the last months have been busy. The launches of Gathered Seams were a highlight of this year and they all happened in September. We had 3 launches, one was online and then we had one at Love Books and one at Exclusive Books, Cavendish. Those who could be there experienced the magic and depth of the poetry, each event was deeply moving – the poems, the energy, the presence of the poets and audience. Where the poets couldn’t be present, other poets read their poems.
We’ve got lots of new titles jostling to to be born before the year ends. Yes, we are there already. We have Fishwife and The Fisherman’s Daughter. We have Bridges and The River is a Book. It’s funny how sometimes there are patterns with books, more than 10 years ago we had a run in with snakes — Shooting Snakes, Swimming with Cobras, and Snake.
Inside the story
We celebrated and launched Gathered Seams
You can watch the whole launch at Love Books by clicking this link! Thanks to Phillippa Yaa de Villiers for moderating the event. Hearing the poets read their poems is moving and magical.
Here’s a pic of the launch at Exclusive Books Cavendish.
Patricia Schonstein, one of the 19 poets in Gathered Seams read each poem in the collection in Copenhagen.
She writes that “There is a military burial site at the Assistens Cemetery, where a WW1 monument overlooks the graves of 25 French soldiers and sailors, and two Belgian soldiers. They had been prisoners of war in Germany. Following the 1918 Armistice and their subsequent release, they were routed through Copenhagen, waiting for transport to their home countries. There, weakened and with their health already compromised by imprisonment, they tragically succumbed to Spanish Flu in 1919.
My final reading was to these soldiers. I read the deeply moving, bilingual [Kaaps & English] “Kom Haal, Ös, Ös will Huistoe Ko: Come Fetch Us. We Want to Come Home” by Danille Elize Arendse Bester.”
On our horizon
We’re looking forward to these new books
Highlights from the October Open Book Festival
We heard from Sally Cranswick, author of Of All Things We Need Hope. She was on the panel The Class Divide where the authors reflected on how class and inequality were portrayed in their books.
Saaleha (S.E.) Bhamjee, author of Simmer Till Tender, was on a panel with authors Lọlá Ákínmádé, Thandi Moagi and Amogelang Maledu where they talked about navigating unbalanced romantic love relationships.
Lastly, Samantha Keller, who was here all the way from the US, author of The Light Remains, was on a panel with fellow Modjaji author Saaleha Bhamjee on a panel discussion about bringing the personal and political parts of apartheid into everyday South African life. Andrew Brown’s questions and insight into each book left us thinking and the books were snapped up by eager audience members.
We appreciate the Open Book Festival organisers for offering us a space to think deeply and to be inspired. Well done and thank you to all those who participated for their insights at the discussions and for their role in shaping our world
Upcoming book launch
We are delighted to invite you the Book Lounge launch of The River is a Book, by Cate Brown. It’s a fascinating cross-genre popular science, narrative non-fiction story of a life of adventure as a river scientist. Don’t forget to RSVP.
In Brief
Babelica
Modjaji Books is a proud member of the Independent Alliance of International Publishers. This year, Babelica offered 2 rights markets, 7 readings and 8 panel discussions on the theme ‘Resist and Hope’ from authors under 30 from around the world, alongside publishers and booksellers.
Reviews
Nancy Richards of Woman Zone reviewed Anne Schlebusch’s The Seeker Effect, saying that it held a “great deal of veiled wisdom, some serious human compassion, shades of psychological understanding and misunderstanding – trust and mistrust, spies, lies and home truths.” Read the whole review here.
Foreign rights editions
Peaches and Smeets by award-winning author, Ashti Juggath has just been published in Spanish by the Argentinian press, Editorial Empatia.
