Modjaji Magic continues in 2024

We have two new titles just published, both of which were launched at Love Books in Joburg.

The first is Home Scar by Saaleha Bhamjee.
Saaleha is a full-time chef and restaurateur, and has published short stories before. Home Scar is her debut novel.

“S.E Bhamjee is a talented writer, her novel will pull you right into the heart of apartheid Indian township suburbia with this important story.” – Shubnum Khan

The second is Moving On by Barbara Ludman.
Barbara is a journalist and prolific author, having written both fiction and non-fiction books, as well as short stories. She was a founding member of what is now the Mail & Guardian.

“Barbara Ludman writes about loss and moving on with an alluring wit and ease. This is the best kind of fiction: profound philosophy rendered with a sure, light touch.” – Mark Gevisser

Both Saaleha and Barbara were at the Kingsmead Book Fair in May. It was wonderful to have Modjaji authors participate! Saaleha was on the Stories of Our Lives panel and Barbara  was on the Short and Spicy: “A short story is a love affair; a novel is a marriage” panel.

Jenny’s compelling South African memoir is a moving account of growing up and coming of age in mid-twentieth century South Africa, full of insight, humour, and tenderness for family and country.

Jenny is a prolific author with fourteen published books to date. She was also the co-founder and the first director of the Franschhoek Literary Festival. Michele Magwood spoke with Jenny at The Compound ‘I’ panel at the 2024 Franschhoek Literary Festival.

Nancy Richards launched Through a Dragonfly Eye with Jenny at Exclusive Books Cavendish last week (19th June) and we’re thrilled that it’s now a bestseller at the store!

New Directions with Pulani Press 

As we move forward, we’ve decided to explore some exciting new directions and Pulani Press is one of them. Pulani Press is a new imprint of Modjaji Books. Pulani was established to make books by South African academics, published by international presses, more affordable and accessible within South Africa.

The Work of Repair is an ethnographic examination of the intimate relationships between labourers in the timber plantations of post-apartheid South Africa, in the wake of the HIV crisis and the contentious politics of nutrition. In this captivating ethnography, Cousins examines how amandla, as the primary material of the work of repair, anchors ordinary scenes of living and working in and around the plantations.

Thomas will be a keynote speaker at the 2024 Anthropology Southern Africa Conference.

Our second Pulani Press title is The Politics of Potential: Global Health and Gendered Futures in South Africa by Michelle Pentecost. The first one thousand days of human life, or the period between conception and age two, is one of the most pivotal periods of human development. The Politics of Potential examines early life interventions in the first one thousand days of life in South Africa, drawing on fieldwork from international conferences, government offices, healthcare facilities, and the everyday lives of fifteen women and their families in Cape Town.

Forthcoming Modjaji Titles

A movie tie-in edition of Snake by Tracey Farren and the English translation edition of Innie Shadows by Olivia Coetzee – In the Shadows

Snake by Tracey Farren
One of our most exciting announcements is that one of our titles, Snake has been adapted into a feature film! To celebrate this milestone, we’re releasing a new movie tie-in edition, which we hope will garner a new generation of readers. South Africans can currently watch the movie on Amazon Prime. Snake is Tracey’s second novel and was first published in 2011 to critical acclaim.

“Tracey Farren has shown in her first novel Whiplash that she has a true gift for getting into the hearts of very ordinary people while astutely setting the South African socio-political context. In Snake she does it again, even better… An absolutely riveting read.” – Jane Rosenthal, Mail & Guardian.

In the Shadows by Olivia M. Coetzee.
House of Anansi Press in Canada is bringing out the world English translation of Innie Shadows, (first published by us in Kaaps in 2019). PEN Afrikaans sponsored the translation into English, done by the author. Our local English edition will be called In the Shadows.

Olivia has written extensively for online platforms like LitNet and has translated parts of the Bible and various fairy tales into Kaaps. Through her current and future work, she hopes to inspire and challenge the belief that Kaaps should only be heard and not read. Innie Shadows was her debut novel.

“Groundbreaking and unique, character-driven crime fiction written in my favourite dialect. I was mesmerised.” – Deon Meyer.

Another Forthcoming Modjaji Title

The result of an exciting project – Imprint Africa

Imprint Africa: Conversations with African Women Publishers edited by Joel Cabrita.

Modjaji Books is the South African partner press bringing this volume to South Africa, in partnership with Huza Press in Rwanda and Paivapo Press. It arose from a project at Stanford University under the leadership of Joel Cabrita.

Imprint Africa is a collection of interviews that chronicles the work of a new network of female intellectuals and activists who have transformed African publishing across the twenty-first century. The rise of woman-led literary initiatives across the last two decades has led to major literary publishing shifts. Bringing together voices from the African diaspora and the African continent, these conversations speak in vital ways to the successes and challenges of this ongoing and transformative literary moment.

Colleen Higgs (of Modjaji Books) was interviewed for the book along with eight other women including Zukiswa Wanner, Thabiso Mahlape, Louise Umtoni, and Bibi Bakare-Yusuf.

Forthcoming Hands-On Titles

A gorgeous new title – The River People by Barbara Grenfell Fairhead will be out in July. It is a limited edition book that is full of beautiful artworks as well as Barbara’s poems, songs, stories and reflections. It combines memoir and testimony with recent questions and learnings.

A Blow to the Head: A History of Violence by Andries du Toit.

Professor Andries du Toit is a researcher at the University of the Western Cape.

The book is a journey of discovery that forces Andries to confront his own place and complicity in a country still traumatised by racial violence –and to ask/explore what is required by the work of healing and repair.

Vividly and poignantly, Andries du Toit reveals, probes and picks at the scars of violence and racism in South Africa that refuse to heal. That cannot heal unless confronted with words, that cannot be confronted with words without opening new wounds and reopening old ones. Scars whose provenance exceeds the vocabularies we have for understanding violence. This is a work that is at once profoundly existential and immediately pragmatic, and it is a tale for South Africa and for the world. Pointing to the urgent need for repair in a world out of joint, du Toit does not offer platitudes, false hope, or easy solace. Instead, he offers honesty. I am grateful for this book and humbled by it.
Kaushik Sunder Rajan (Professor of Anthropology and Social Sciences at University of Chicago).

The 2024 HSS Awards

We’ve also been making waves in the literary world, with several of our titles winning and being shortlisted for prestigious awards – starting with the HSS Awards.

We were thrilled that Ashti Juggath’s Peaches and Smeets won the HSS Best Fiction: Emerging Novel category. Congratulations to Ashti! Peaches and Smeets is Ashti’s debut novel.

“This is a serious contribution and offers insights into ‘ordinary and neglected’ voices such as that of Smita (Smeets) Maharaj on the pain and experiences of apartheid in South Africa. This will be appreciated by all South African communities.” – HSS Judges.

The 2024 Sunday Times Literary Awards Fiction Longlist

Bloomer is Anne’s debut novel for adults, although she has written three young adult novels and quite a few language textbooks. “This book deals in second, third, and fourth chances at everything from family life to romantic love, to a career in the arts. I found it both inspiring and stimulating.” – Fiona Snyckers, award-winning author.

Flipped is Tracey’s debut novel although she has written many non-fiction books. “Beautifully told against the backdrop of modern South Africa, with a cast of lovingly-drawn, relatable characters. Flipped is a deeply moving tale and, at the same time, an unputdownable page turner.” – Tony Park, journalist and best-selling author.