Blog

  • Cover reveal: Yara Monteiro’s “Loose Ties”

    Cover reveal: Yara Monteiro’s “Loose Ties”

    We, as Paivapo Publishers, are proud to reveal the cover for Loose Ties the English translation of Angolan Yara Monteiro. The book was initially written in Portuguese before the translation was done by Sandy Tamele. The cover art was done Francisco Vidal and cover design by Megan Ross.

    The book will be coming soon to an English-speaking African country near you.

    What do you think of our covers?

  • Third Culture Africans Podcast features Zukiswa Wanner

    The “Third Culture Africans” Podcast has featured Zukiswa Wanner in its latest episode. Please click here to listen to it on Spotify.

    Third Culture Africans is a lifestyle podcast for dreamers, thinkers and doers. We celebrate artistry, share stories from those brave enough to create something and succeed, listen to diverse perspectives on African Success and those shifting the needle on culture. Their latest episode features Zukiswa Wanner. Here are the show notes from the episode;

    In this episode, Zeze interviews Zukiswa Wanner, an award-winning South African author and humanitarian. She has published fiction novels, co-authored Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, and started her own publishing house to help bring African literature to the forefront in the African continent.

    Zukiswa Wanner believes in changing how African literature is seen and embraced in Africa. She writes not for the European or American masses, but for her fellow Africans. Seeing how the African publishing houses often prioritize foreign markets over their own, she decided to start her own publishing company, as part of her drive to change the self-oppression that has been imposed on African literature.

    Zukiswa also discusses the importance of bringing literature to children, providing them with the opportunity to learn and thrive in the world. She also remarks on how accomplished Black African women are often seen as aggressive when they pursue their careers and are good at what they do. Zukiswa highlights the importance of women not second-guessing themselves and becoming part of this narrative.

    Listen to the episode here.

  • Read my essay in “Surfacing: On being black and feminist in South Africa.”

    Read my essay in “Surfacing: On being black and feminist in South Africa.”

    Please Surfacing: On being black and feminist in South Africa which contains my essay “Do I Make You Uncomfortable?” about writing in a white publishing industry.

    Surfacing traces a path within black South African feminist thought in 20 dazzling chapters. The collection shows how radical black South African women have been part of several traditions of undocumented intellectual and artistic legacies. The other contributors include Barbara Boswell, Danai S. Mupotsa, Desiree Lewis, Fatima Seedat, Gabeba Baderoon, gertrude fester-wicomb, Grace A. Musila, Ingrid Masondo, jackï job, Leigh-Ann Naidoo, Makhosazana Xaba, Mary Hames, Panashe Chigumadzi, Patricia McFadden, Pumla Dineo Gqola, Sa’diyya Shaikh, Sisonke Msimang, Yewande Omotoso, Yvette Abrahams, Zethu Matebeni, and Zoë Wicomb.

    Below is the full blurb;

    What do African feminist traditions that exist outside the canon look and feel like? What complex cultural logics are at work outside the centres of power? How do spirituality and feminism influence each other? What are the histories and experiences of queer Africans? What imaginative forms can feminist activism take?

    Surfacing: On Being Black and Feminist in South Africa is the first collection of essays dedicated to contemporary Black South African feminist perspectives. Leading feminist theorist, Desiree Lewis, and poet and feminist scholar, Gabeba Baderoon, have curated contributions by some of the finest writers and thought leaders. Radical polemic sits side by side with personal essays, and critical theory coexists with rich and stirring life histories. By including writings by Patricia McFadden, Panashe Chigumadzi, Sisonke Msimang, Zukiswa Wanner, Yewande Omotoso, Zoë Wicomb and Pumla Dineo Gqola alongside emerging thinkers, activists and creative practitioners, the collection demonstrates a dazzling range of feminist voices.

    The writers in these pages use creative expression, photography and poetry in eclectic, interdisciplinary ways to unearth and interrogate representations of Blackness, sexuality, girlhood, history, divinity, and other themes. Surfacing is indispensable to anyone interested in feminism from Africa, which its contributors show in vivid and challenging conversation with the rest of the world. It will appeal to a diverse audience of students, activists, critical thinkers, academics and artists.

    Get a copy of the book by clicking here.