Where is Lulu? , a Book Dash book by Mohale Mashigo, Clyde Beech and Nkosingiphile Mazibuko is now available at bookstores nationwide for only R20 each!

As part of a campaign to increase access to beautiful, proudly South African picture books, New Africa Books has teamed up with Book Dash to bring one of their delightful books to an even greater audience.

Where is Lulu? is about a young girl who loves to read but hides from her mom when she’s asked to take her books back to the library.  When Lulu discovers that after returning her books she can read even more, she cannot contain her excitement!

Book Dash is a non-profit organisation that gathers creative volunteers to create new African storybooks that anyone can print, translate and distribute. By buying this book, you are supporting Book Dash’s vision of every child owning one hundred books by the age of five.

Participating bookshops are: all Bargain Books branches, Bridge Books (Jo'burg) Love Books (Jo’burg), Book Lounge (Cape Town) and Exclusive Books in Rosebank, Jo’burg and Exclusive Books in V&A Waterfront and Cavendish Square, Cape Town. You can also get your copy directly from us here. While stocks last!

Join us on Saturday 1 December for the launch of KWEZI COLLECTOR’S EDITION 4 at Readers Den in Cape Town.

Authors and illustrators, Loyiso Mkize, Clyde Beech and Mohale Mashigo will be at Readers Den in Claremont to celebrate the launch of the latest addition to the hugely successful Kwezi comic series. RSVP to the event on Facebook to secure your seat.

#TeamKwezi will be signing copies and sharing insight into how Kwezi comes to life. Bring the whole family for an interactive morning of comic book fun.

IN THIS EDITION: Is our team of superheroes ready for anti-super sentiments, new bad guys and a prophecy come true? Get your copy of KWEZI 4 to find out!

"Homegrown comic, Kwezi is proudly South African." - CapeTalk

"Kwezi is arguably the biggest superhero comic to come out of South Africa in recent years." - YouNeek Studios

Books will be on sale at the event.

David Philip Publishers is proud to announce that they have signed the publishing rights for The Girl Without a Sound by Buhle Ngaba.

The book, which was self-published a little over two years ago, has received worldwide praise. The Girl Without a Sound tells the story of a voiceless girl of colour in search of a sound of her own. As an act of restoring power and agency to young black girls in South Africa, this beautifully illustrated book provides a catalyst to remind young readers of the power of the sounds trapped inside them.

We are excited to give this wonderful story a new home and allow it to reach even greater heights. In the coming months the book will be available in all eleven official South African languages and will be accessible to children (and adults) all across the country.

Author and actress Buhle Ngaba has the following to say on her journey thus far with The Girl Without a Sound: “I managed to evoke magic (for a world in dire need of it!) in the form of the little book that could, The Girl Without A Sound. The story and images came as flutterings in my heart after a very dark period. With nothing to lose and a story to tell, I gathered an incredible team and hurtled forward. If I had known then that it would be received with a colossal wave of love worldwide that crashed our website two hours after it was released, I might have been more frightened. I wasn’t. What was supposed to be a book for teeny humans & big children became a phenomena … This book has always been bigger than me and I’m very excited to announce my joining the distinguished, David Philip Publishers.”

Ngaba is an award-winning South African actor and writer. A recipient of the prestigious Brett Goldin Bursary, she recently won ‘Best Production’ and ‘Best Upcoming Artist’ for her first play, The Swan Song, at the Kanna South African Theatre Awards.

The book is available for purchase from our online shop and from all good bookstores nationwide.

The latest edition of the hugely successful Kwezi comics is available now for pre-order.

For the next two weeks you can order your copy of Kwezi Collector’s Edition 4 at the special pre-release price of R100.

The Kwezi comics celebrate a young African superhero and is the first of its kind.  Set in Gold City, a hustling Johannesburg-esque metropolis, this series is a standout graphic novel title on the African and international stage.

In this edition award-winning author Mohale Mashigo has joined Loyiso Mkize and Clyde Beech on #TeamKwezi.

Kwezi Collector’s Edition 4 Issues 10-12 sees our team of heroes faces challenges they never could have predicted while Mpisi sets about establishing an anti-Super campaign…

The book will be available mid-November in all good bookstores nationwide.

“This book has instilled in me the audacity to know that even I will make a change in my community, and I will raise my voice for all the young women and girls in our country.”

Molebogeng Maake

The need to care for others began early in Albertina’s life. At the age of 11 her father passed on and requested her to take care of her mother and siblings, adding salt to an open wound her uncles claimed the land and livestock which belonged to Albertina’s father, robbing her family of their inheritance. This hit home, as when my own father died, my father’s sisters chased my mother out of her house; she was forced to return to her homestead and start a new life for herself. It is sad that after so many years this injustice still prevails, and the high number of girl child-headed families tells a gloomy story.

Nontsikelelo later became MaSisulu, wife to Walter Sisulu - the ANC Secretary-General; a senior nurse who received lower wages than her white colleagues. She was the breadwinner of her family and used her home as a base for the African National Congress. I am amazed by how Mama Albertina coped with her workload, family and community responsibilities. The same expectations and responsibilities are still placed heavily on us as young girls. We are expected to be strong but quiet, take care of our families (siblings, parents, uncles), be “wife-material”, ensure that everyone eats and be submissive. It seems freedom (equality) and tradition are oil and water that don’t mix, even in this age of democracy? Did Bo-MaSisulu fight in vain?

What one takes from MaSisulu’s life and book as an activist, is the importance of being part of a wider community whether by location, practice or interest.

Albertina was the only woman present at the first ANCYL meeting, she was also amongst the women who organised the protest march against pass laws for women. Sadly, with the disapproval of their fellow ANC male comrades. She endured several years of continuous bans and imprisonment yet refused to give up her convictions of seeing a free South Africa for all.

What one takes from MaSisulu’s life and book as an activist, is the importance of being part of a wider community whether by location, practice or interest. Real change is achieved by mobilising like-minded people. We have to be courageous, selflessness, have a clear vision and sterling commitment to the cause. This is the framework for fighting for justice and equality. This book has instilled in me the audacity to know that even I will make a change in my community, and I will raise my voice for all the young women and girls in our country. Just like MaSisulu.

Review by Ms. Molebogeng Maake, mentor: Raising Voices of Young Women and Girls, an EU-funded project in partnership with Soul City Institute.

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Albertina Sisulu: Abridged Memoir by Sindiwe Magona and Elinor Sisulu was published in 2018 by David Philip Publishers. It is available for purchase at all major bookstores throughout South Africa and online from Loot, Takealot and New Africa Books.