Yes, October is busy and buzzing: we have reprints coming up, your submissions questions answered & a publisher’s Monday morning before 10am
From Colleen’s Desk
Behind the scenes, the pace is unrelenting (you’ll get a taste of what our Monday mornings can be like below!). But amidst the chaos, there’s also joy: seeing new titles emerge, watching books find readers, and sharing them with you.
On Heritage Day, 24 September, we attended Babelica — the free online book fair hosted by the International Alliance of Independent Publishers. I pitched Andries du Toit’s book, A Blow to the Head, to the publishers present. You can catch up on any sessions you might find interesting here: https://babelica.alliance-publishers.org/program/
A heartfelt thank you to Love Books for hosting the Johannesburg launch of Unseen on 16 September and to Sarah Nuttall for engaging Joanne Bloch in such a fascination conversation.
James Murua and Bibi Bakara\e Yusuf
Bibi Bakare Yusuf and Goretti Kyomuhendo
We’re also grateful to the Open Book Festival for the incredible programme. It was a joy to be there and see old friends, and make new ones. And to hear about many of the new books coming out. We wish Open Book a long life.
On our horizon
Submissions: FAQs
We’ve been receiving lots of questions about submissions, so here are some quick answers to guide you.
Q: Is the submissions window currently open?
A: Yes! Our submission window is open until 30 November 2025. You can find all the details and the link on our Instagram and website, or access the submission form directly here.
Q: What do I need to submit?
A: Through the online form, you’ll be asked to provide your manuscript details, a short synopsis, and upload the full completed manuscript.
Q: Do you accept manuscripts written with AI tools?
A: No. Please note that we do not publish books that have been written by AI.
Q: What genres are you currently considering?
A: We are accepting submissions in the following categories:
- Fiction (novels and short story collections)
- Memoir
- Essays
Please note: we are not accepting poetry submissions at this time.
Q: Can I submit an extract, sample chapters, or an incomplete draft?
A: No. We require a completed manuscript so that we can evaluate the work as a whole.
Q: What if my collection isn’t finished yet?
A: We encourage you to continue developing your manuscript. Once it is complete, you are welcome to submit it through our online portal during the open window.
Now in print (and back in print)There are many reasons to reprint back-list titles. Sometimes the author asks for copies or has a new book out or there is still a demand for the title. Booksellers please note you can order our books from Booksite.
Recently reprinted:
- Serurubele by Katleho Shoro
- Navigate by Karin Schimke
- La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono
- The Gospel According to Wanda B. Lazarus by Lynn Joffe
Planned reprints:
- Eloquent Body by Dawn Garisch
- Flame and Song a memoir by Philippa Kabali Kagwa
- Invisible Earthquake: a woman’s journal through stillbirth by Malika Ndlovu
Book launches and events
Unseen: Listening to visually impaired South Africans – by Joanne Bloch, hosted by Pippa Smith
Brodie Room, Kelvin Grove Club, Campground Road
8 October (18h00 for 18h30)
R150 (profits go to Gift of the Givers)
To book please RSVP: pippa@thebookrevue.co.za
Snake – new edition by Tracey Farren
Exclusive Books Cavendish
28 October (18h00)
In conversation with Meg Rickards (director of Snake the movie)
Chaired by Colleen Higgs
Trapped – by Valerie Tagwira
Book Den, Windhoek
October (details to follow)
Did you know many of our titles are also out as eBooks?
Wanda and Unseen are both available now, along with many others! Head to the eBookstore on our website, and you’ll find the selection there.
(Once you choose a book and proceed to checkout, in most cases you’ll be redirected to Glassboxx. Just remember to select your currency at the top of the page before purchasing.)
Inside the story
Highlights from the Ornithology launch
She launched her second poetry collection, Ornithology, in a deeply personal presentation at Amazwi. Writing for Grocott’s Mail, Benevolence Mazhinji articulated the atmosphere of the event:
“[McKeown’s] willingness to share her pain with unflinching honesty reminded me that great poems demand brutal vulnerability.”
A “reader’s impression” of A Blow to the Head
Dawn Garish wrote a thoughtful review of A Blow to the Head by Andries du Toit for LitNet.
She describes the book as “engagingly honest” and “vulnerable”. She also highlights the heart of the book: how speaking up against a racial slur came at a real cost, yet the experience (a literal blow to the head) awakened him to the world around him and to the actions he felt compelled to take, even while acknowledging the limits of what he could do.
“one of the strengths of the book is that du Toit doesn’t stop at describing the physical consequence … but explores the historical and metaphorical associations and ramifications of this event, as alluded to in the subtitle: A history of violence. By his account, he said something mild but appropriate, unleashing a chain of events that read like a movie, illustrating how, should you scratch the surface of a normal day, you might discover an underworld that acts with impunity and rules to instil fear.”
“Things are not what they seem,” Garish writes, “and this book gave me more insights about the conundrums we face as a society in a gentler way than receiving a blow to the head”.
Behind the desk
A publisher’s Monday morning before 10 Where is the eBook of my book? Printer error. The printer needs to be repaired. What’s happening with my book? Do you have a log-in for Publishers’ Marketplace? The Bookseller? I need R50K for our primary school in Mpumalanga. Can you donate? I want to submit my manuscript. Here it is. I heard the books for my launch weren’t there. I’m panicking. When will the award sticker be on my book? Such and such a bookshop doesn’t have any copies of my book, please advise. When will my book be on Kindle? Can you advise my editor we need a 2 week turnaround time from her? VAT is R11696.99 this month. Can I set it up for you to pay on the 30th September? Do you know what the back of the book and spine are going to look like yet?
That’s it till next time.
Keep reading!