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.

Join us on Saturday 24 November for a fun filled reading of Mpumi’s Magic Beads with author Lebohang Masango at Book Circle Capital.

This is an all-ages event so bring your little ones for an interactive morning celebrating a love of books and reading. Book themed colouring and craft fun will take place after the reading. Join the Facebook event to keep up to date.

ABOUT THE BOOK: Mpumi and her friends discover the magic in her hair and what begins as an ordinary school day in Joburg is suddenly full of adventure everywhere! 

“Lebohang Masango’s Mpumi’s Magic Beads helps children love themselves.” - The Daily Vox

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lebohang Masango is a Master’s candidate in Social Anthropology at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. She is also a poet, freelance writer and feminist activist. She regularly hosts storytelling sessions for children in schools and community libraries. She has been published in a number of poetry anthologies and in 2016 she was named as one of ‘Cosmopolitan Magazine: South Africa’s “Awesome Women”. She has read her poetry in South Africa, Zimbabwe and the UK.

A sneak peek inside the delightful children’s book, Mpumi’s Magic Beads by Lebohang Masango.

Please bring the young readers in your life to this exciting event at Book Circle Capital.

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.

---

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.

David Philip Publishers is proud to announce that Nick Mulgrew’s collection of short fiction, The First Law of Sadness, has been shortlisted for the Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award at the 2018 South African Literary Awards (SALAs).

The SALAs aim to pay tribute to writers who have “distinguished themselves as groundbreaking producers and creators of literature.” Categories awarded in any year may include the First-time Published author award or the K Sello Duiker Memorial award, among others. The Nadine Gordimer Short Story award celebrates exponents of short fiction writing in South Africa. The winners of the awards will be announced in early November.

The First Law of Sadness is a collection of startling imagination and sympathy – set primarily in South Africa’s least fashionable cities and suburbs – these stories maintain a precarious balance between rich comedy and despair throughout their explorations of grief, spectacle, sex, nostalgia, and the lives of animals, both human and not. The collection includes “Robot Run”, a series of photographs by Michael Tymbios.

In 2017, a story from Mulgrew’s debut collection, Stations, received the Thomas Pringle Award for Short Stories. Stations was also shortlisted for the Nadine Gordimer award last year and longlisted for the Edge Hill Prize in the UK.

Stations and The First Law of Sadness are available for purchase directly from the publisher online.