Archive for the ‘South Africa’ Category
March 18th, 2010 by Tracey
For decades people have wondered whether any elephants still exist in the Knysna forests, for most the tales seemed like myths or legends of a forgotten time. But for Gareth Patterson, author of The Secret Elephants, these silent giants are a reality.
Martin Hatchuel from Motion Magazine met with Patterson to chat about his book, his work and of course, the elusive Knysna elephant.
Book details
March 18th, 2010 by Tracey
Since denying, some weeks ago, that he was the Maitreya – another word for “Messiah” – Raj Patel has been unable to quite shake the story foisted upon him by obscure religious group Share International.
But the activist-author is taking it in his stride, and recently returned to the US comedy show The Colbert Report – his earlier appearance on the show being the unintentional source of his deification – to make light of all the fuss. Watch Stephen Colbert speak to Raj Patel:
On a more serious note, Patel has been blogging about his book, The Value of Nothing, and we’ve found a post that all can relate to. Do you really know the value of things? For example, how much would a housewife earn, were she paid for her daily work? What is the true cost of fish fingers? Patel takes a look at how much ten universally-consumed items really cost us:
#10 Bottled Water – Bottled water sounds like it should be cheaper – it’s 200 to 10,000 times more expensive than tap water. But in the US, the annual energy wasted on bottled water adds the equivalent to 100,000 cars on roads and 1 billion pounds of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. And the price we pay for water doesn’t begin to address the longer term issues of global shortage for something that everyone needs to survive. Make a start: stop your local government from wasting your money on bottled water, as we did in San Francisco.
#9 Cellphones – We’ve all got them. The trouble is that one of the minerals inside our high tech toys – coltan – is bought very dear indeed. With around three quarters of the world’s reserves of coltan in the Democratic Republic of Congo, our demand for gadgets fuels bloody conflict and vast human suffering. The No Blood on My Cellphone campaign shows how we can stop it.
#8 Double cheeseburger – A value meal is a great way to eat if you’ve neither time nor money but this cheap food turns out to be ‘cheat food’. What if we had to pay the full environmental, labour and health costs of a burger? Some researchers think we’d end up paying over $200, and that doesn’t include the modern day slavery in our North American sandwiches.
Book details
Image courtesy Raote
Cats: International,
Non-fiction,
Politics,
South Africa Tags: Benjamin Cream,
Bottle Water,
Cell Phones,
Colbert Report,
Double Cheeseburgers,
English,
Fish Fingers,
International,
Maitreya,
Non-fiction,
Penguin SA,
Politics,
Portobello Books,
Raj Patel,
Share International,
South Africa,
Stephen Colbert,
The Value of Nothing
March 15th, 2010 by Tracey
In A Million Miles from Normal, Rachel Marcus has a great life and an amazing job as a top copywriter at an advertising agency in Johannesburg, or rather Rachel Marcus HAD a great life and an amazing job as a top copywriter at an advertising agency in Johannesburg – right up until she got fired …
Forced to sell everything she owns and leave Joburg in a hurry, Rachel moves to New York City where she plans to make a fabulous life for herself and prove to everyone back home that she’s not a complete disaster. Except that the only job she can find is at a crap advertising agency, with a hippie freak for a boss and an alcoholic drug addict for an art director. And the only apartment she can afford is the world’s smallest cockroach-infested rat trap. In fact, the only upside to her new life in the Big Apple is her new best friend – her frustratingly petite neighbour, Sue.
However, just when things seem to be going from bad to worse Rachel meets the oh-so delicious Jerrod Craig. And not only does Jerrod have all his own teeth but he is also Creative Group Head at one of the biggest advertising agencies in New York. Suddenly it looks like Rachel’s life might just be coming together – a handsome boyfriend with all the right connections can put a silver lining on any cloud. Now all she needs is that cup of tea…
About the author
Paige Nick has been a copywriter in advertising for 15 years, where she has worked on brands like BMW, Nashua, Kulula.com, Levi’s Jeans and Allan Gray. A Million Miles from Normal is 99% fictional, although many of the characters are an amalgamation of the people Paige has worked with and clients she has met over the years. This is her first novel.
Book details
March 12th, 2010 by Tracey
Filming is well under way on Spud the Movie at Michaelhouse in the Natal Midlands. An excited John van de Ruit praised Troye Sivan, the Australian teen idol who plays Spud, saying that the 14-year-old is exactly how he had imagined the character. The movie is based on the trilogy which began with Spud, and followed with Spud: The Madness Continues and Spud: Learning to Fly. The film also stars British comedian John Cleese and is scheduled for release later this year.
A movie crew descended on the private boarding school in the KwaZuluNatal Midlands four days ago to transform a small dormitory room into the main set of the film of Van de Ruit’s popular book.The book tells of the experiences at boarding school in 1990 of a boy nicknamed “Spud” .
Yesterday, the excited author told The Times: “I never imagined that Spud would become this big. Watching the scene before me, I can say that it has been truthful to the book and I am very pleased with that.”
Book details
Image courtesy The Sky Kid
Cats: Feature,
South Africa Tags: English,
Feature,
Fiction,
John Cleese,
John van de Ruit,
Learning to Fly Limited Edition,
Michaelhouse,
Natal Midlands,
Nivashni Nair,
Penguin,
Penguin SA,
South Africa,
Spud,
Spud: The Madness Continues,
The Madness Continues,
The Penguin Group,
Times Live,
Troye Sivan
March 12th, 2010 by Tracey
POSTPONED – PLEASE SEE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW
The Rainbow Experience in partnership with The Book Lounge invites you to an “On the Couch” session with author Steven Otter.
Otter will be speaking about his book, Khayelitsha: uMlungu in a Township.
Event Details
Book Details
Cats: Events,
South Africa Tags: English,
Events,
Khayelitsha,
Lifestyle,
Non-fiction,
Penguin,
Penguin Books,
Penguin SA,
South Africa,
Steven Otter,
The Rainbow Experience,
Umlungu in a Township
March 11th, 2010 by Tracey
Team coaching is all the rage these days but getting the right person to bring out the best in you might be harder than you think. Coaching is a “soft” skill and regulation for the field is far from adequate. Helena Dolny, editor of Team Coaching: Artists at Work, takes a look at the questions you need to ask before hiring a coach:
My friend Oscar asked me what sounds like a simple question: “How do you choose a coach for yourself or your team?” Yet there is no easy answer to it.Professor David Lane, a doyen in the British coach-training industry and active in setting up the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC), was the keynote speaker at the launch of the Coaches and Mentors Association of South Africa (Comensa) a few years ago. He began his talk with a description of medieval guilds.
Book details
Image courtesy Julie Ford People Solutions
Cats: Business,
Non-fiction,
South Africa Tags: Artists at Work: South African coaches share their theory and practice,
Business,
Coaching,
Helena Dolny,
Mail & Guardian,
Non-fiction,
Penguin,
Penguin SA,
Professional Coach,
South Africa,
Team Coaching
March 11th, 2010 by Tracey
A young man makes three journeys that take him through Greece, India and Africa. He travels lightly, simply. To those who travel with him and those whom he meets on the way – including a handsome, enigmatic stranger, a group of careless backpackers and a woman on the edge – he is the Follower, the Lover and the Guardian. Yet, despite the man’s best intentions, each journey ends in disaster. Together, these three journeys will change his whole life.
A novel of longing and thwarted desire, rage and compassion, In a Strange Room is the hauntingly beautiful evocation of one man’s search for love, and a place to call home.
“The Lover”, one of the three parts that make up In a Strange Room, has been chosen for “The O Henry Award” – the only annual award, in the United States, given to short stories of exceptional merit.
About the author
Damon Galgut was born in Pretoria in 1963. He wrote his first novel, A Sinless Season, when he was seventeen. His other books include Small Circle of Beings, The Beautiful Screaming of Pigs, The Quarry, The Good Doctor and The Impostor. The Good Doctor was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and the Dublin/IMPAC Award. The Impostor won the 2008 University of Johannesburg Prize for Creative Writing, and was shortlisted for the 2009 M-Net Literary Prize and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the African Region. He lives in Cape Town.
Book details
Cats: Fiction,
News,
South Africa Tags: A Sinless Season,
Damon Galgut,
English,
Fiction,
In a Strange Room,
News,
Penguin,
Penguin SA,
Small Circle of Beings,
South Africa,
The Beautiful Screaming of Pigs,
The Good Doctor,
The Impostor,
The Lover,
The O Henry Award,
The Quarry
March 10th, 2010 by Tracey
A message from Penguin Books CEO Alison Lowry:
Penguin Books has been both delighted and overwhelmed at the response we received for the Penguin Prize for African Writing. We received an unanticipated number of entries: around 250 manuscripts were submitted for the Fiction award and 50 for the Non-Fiction award, most of which were received just before the cut off date at the end of January. Entries have come from countries all across Africa, including Ghana, Nigeria, Botswana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Malawi and South Africa.
In our search for the best writing out of Africa, and in light of the astonishing number of entries received, Penguin Books had to extend the assessment time for manuscripts. The announcement of the shortlist will therefore take place in June 2010 and will be displayed on our website. The winners will still be announced in September.
We have been thrilled with the tremendous response to this inaugural prize and wish to express our sincere gratitude to all the writers from across the African continent who put fingertips to keyboards and hit the “send” button in order to get their manuscripts to us on deadline.
Cats: Awards,
Fiction,
Non-fiction,
South Africa Tags: African Writing,
Awards,
Competitions,
Feature,
Fiction,
Fiction Prize,
Literary Awards,
Literary Competitions,
News,
Non-fiction,
Non-fiction Prize,
Penguin Prize,
Penguin Prize for African Writing,
Penguin SA,
South Africa
March 10th, 2010 by Tracey
CANCELLED – CANCELLED – CANCELLED
This event has been cancelled due to road works in the Melrose Arch region that will make it difficult for people to reach the store. The event may be rescheduled – watch this space!
Penguin Books and Exclusive Books are pleased to invite you to the launch of the revised and updated From Joburg to Jozi: Stories about Africa’s infamous city.
Co-editor Heidi Holland will be in conversation with contributors Jo-Anne Richards and Bongani Madondo. We look forward to seeing you there!
Event Details
- Date: Saturday, 13 March 2010
- Time: 1:30 PM for 2:00 PM
- Venue: Exclusive Books, Mandela Square, Shop 111, Upper Level
Mandela Square
Sandton, Johannesburg | Map - Guest Speakers: Bongani Madondo, Jo-Anne Richards
- RSVP: thesquare@exclusivebooks.co.za, 011 784 5416
Book Details
Cats: Events,
Non-fiction,
South Africa Tags: Adam Roberts,
Bongani Madondo,
Christopher Hope,
English,
Events,
Exclusive Books,
From Joburg to Jozi,
Gcina Mhlope,
Heidi Holland,
Ivan Vladislavic,
Jo-Anne Richards,
Mandela Square,
Mark Gevisser,
Max Du Preez,
Non-fiction,
Penguin,
Penguin SA,
Rian Malan,
South Africa,
Stories About Africa's Infamous City,
Wally Serote,
Zakes Mda
March 8th, 2010 by Tracey
As a child in South Africa, spending summers exploring the wild with his boyhood friends, Lyall Watson came face to face with his first elephant. From that moment on, Watson’s fascination grew into a lifelong obsession with understanding the nature and behaviour of this impressive creature.
Around the world, the elephant – at once a symbol of spiritual power and physical endurance – has been worshipped as a god and hunted for sport. In this captivating portrait of the elephant, Watson draws from scientific research, anthropological studies, and personal experience to document the animal’s wide-ranging capabilities to remember and to mourn; and he reminds us of its rich mythic origins, its evolution, and its devastation in recent history.
Part meditation on an elusive animal, part evocation of the power of place, Elephantoms presents an alluring mix of the mysteries of nature and the wonders of childhood.
About the author
Born in Johannesburg in 1939, Lyall Watson was an author, zoologist, scientist and adventurer. He entered the University of the Witwatersrand at the age of 15 and completed degrees in botany and zoology, and would later gain further degrees in chemistry, geology, marine biology and ecology. He is the author of over twenty books, and is best remembered for the bestseller Supernature (see also Beyond Supernature), which was first published in 1973 and would go on to sell over 750 000 copies.
Book details
Cats: Nature,
Non-fiction,
South Africa Tags: Beyond Supernature,
Elephantoms,
Elephants,
English,
Lyall Watson,
Nature,
Non-fiction,
Penguin,
Penguin SA,
South Africa,
Supernature
