January is always a tough month, but you’ve gotten through it! Why not reward yourself or someone you love with a Modjaji title to welcome you home after a long day?
Hellos and goodbyes
New years bring changes to us all, and Modjaji is no exception. This year we’re saying goodbye to Grace Brain. She leaves us after a year of working at Modjaji. She’s been an incredible intern, who just gets down and does the work necessary. Among the things she has done have been the following: She’s read and assessed manuscripts, proofread PDFs, she’s written all the newsletters we published in the last year and has done lots of work on PR and marketing. She’s going back to study and we wish her every success. We will miss you Grace.
In 2021, we have Aimee-Claire Smith back as much as their studies allow; they’re doing the third year of their BA at UCT and brand new to us, Imadah Fataar. Imadah did a Bachelor of Social Science degree at Stellenbosch University and then worked as an intern in the editorial department of Cambridge University Press before coming to Modjaji.
Launches
We’re excited to celebrate February with two launches of our recent publications. Collected Poems by Bernard Levinson, a Hands-On Books title, launches on the 14th of February at 5pm SAST, with Bernard in conversation with Professor Norman Strike. What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than by listening to love poetry? Join us for “both a mind-stretching and soul-searing experience” (Professor Lewis Hurst).
Bernard Levinson is 94, and is a retired psychiatrist who specialised in sexology. Proof that you’re never too old to publish? We think so. Email editor@dna945.dnaclient.co.za for the Zoom link.
You can purchase Collected Poems by emailing info@dna945.dnaclient.co.za , visiting the African Books Collective online or through Amazon.
Lindiwe Nkutha’s 69 Jerusalem Street will launch on 24th February at 6.30 pm SAST. Lindiwe will be in conversation with Shamim Meer, who is a feminist activist, writer, and educator.
The book takes us through the minds of people you may overlook on an ordinary day. Their lives are untidy, tainted with the pain, joy and violence as they share with us stories they wouldn’t share with anyone else. Nkutha’s words weave in and around the weights we drag behind us from one place to another, with a sensitivity and wit required for such vulnerabilities and intimate moments.
Don’t miss out! Email editor@dna945.dnaclient.co.za for the Zoom link.
Buy 69 Jerusalem Street here.
Online upgrades
We’re happy to announce that we now accept credit and debit card payments for online book orders. When you check out, you will find that you can pay with your credit card, using Yoco’s secure payment option. We’ll courier your books to you, no bank transfer required.
Wanda keeps going strong
The Gospel According to Wanda B. Lazarus is a comedic powerhouse of a novel with a main character who just doesn’t quit. Wanda recently made an appearance in an interview with Andrea van Wyk of @_andtheplotthickens on Instagram. This lovely interview is divided into three parts, each chatting about a different part of author Lynn Joffe’s creative process. Part 1 goes into the original idea for Wanda; part 2 talks about the mountain of research Lynn carried out; and part 3 gives us an idea of Lynn’s writing process.
In addition to her globetrotting, Wanda is making some appearances locally in the weeks to come. Listen in to Hellenic Radio with Renos Spanoudes on 20 February at 09h40, or for International Women’s Day on 8 March, tune into Lynn’s interview with ORT at 16h00.
Buy Wanda here.
The NIHSS Awards longlist is out!
Five Modjaji titles have made it onto the longlist for the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences Awards. Congratulations to all the authors listed, and especially to the Modjaji authors.
Under the Best Fiction Single Author Volume category, three Modjaji titles have been longlisted: The Unfamous Five by Nedine Moonsamy, Innie Shadows by Olivia M. Coetzee, and WILL, the Passenger Delaying Flight… by Barbara Adair.
In the Best Fiction Edited Volume category, our two anniversary anthologies have both been longlisted! Fool’s Gold, edited by Arja Salafranca, is a collection of Modjaji short stories, while The Only Magic We Know, edited by Marike Beyers, gathers together poems from all the years we’ve been in business.
Colleen Higgs’s memoir, My Mother, My Madness, has also been longlisted for the Best Non-Fiction Monograph category. Congratulations, Colleen! You can order this “quiet hymn to a daughter’s wholeness of spirit despite the brokenness of her mother” (Tracey Farren, journalist and author) by emailing pr@deepsouth.co.za or at the below links.
Buy from Loot.
Buy from Amazon.
An interview with Futhi Ntshingila
To celebrate the launch of the French edition of Futhi Ntshingila’s Do Not Go Gentle, we interviewed Futhi. Take a look for insights into the inspiration behind the novel, how life has changed since becoming a published author, and Futhi’s plans for future works.
Buy Do Not Go Gentle here.
Colleen at the Jaipur Literature Festival
Colleen is slated to appear on a panel at the Jaipur Literature Festival entitled Look Back in Hope. Along with other independent and feminist publishers, she will answer questions reflecting on Modjaji’s achievements over the years and what our mission looks like today as opposed to when we began. The virtual panel will take place on 23 February at 1.15pm SAST and can be found by registering on the JLF website.
Interview with Michelle Edwards
It’s a bumper crop of interviews this month! WriteOnline interviewed Michelle Edwards, the author of our forthcoming title Go Away Birds, on her writing, the process of finding a publisher, and how writing courses can support an author.
As always, stay safe and keep reading.