This weekend Contra.Joburg Art Festival returns! With 16 venues and 180 artists involved, it is a must attend event.

Bridge Books and the Joburg LitDistrict are very excited to be part of this incredible festival.

Saturday

Bridge Books will have a pop-up bookshop at the Rand Club with a curated selection of our favourite books.

We’ll be offering short walking tours from the Rand Club to the Bridge store in the Barbican where we have an exhibition by some of the artists from August House.

Date: Saturday 29 August 2026
Time: 10:00 to 17:00
Where: Rand Club, 33 Loveday Street, Marshalltown

Tickets here

Sunday

We’ll be at Victoria Yards, take the chance to visit the Gearhouse Library, the neighbourhood lending library for youth run by the LitDistrict.

Date: Sunday 30 August 2026
Time: 10:00 to 17:00
Where: Victoria Yards, 16 Viljoen Street, Lorentzville, Johannesburg

Tickets here

More info

More Women’s Month book recs

This Thread of Gold: A Celebration of Black Womanhood by Catherine Joy White

Buy here

Dolly Rathebe: Queen of African Jazz Blues & Mbaqanga by Nokuthula Mazibuko-Msimang

Buy here

Furies by Elizabeth Flock

Buy here

When Secrets Become Stories: Women Speak Out edited by Sue Nyathi

Buy here

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Buy here

This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga

Buy here

Helen Suzman: A Bright Star in a Dark Chamber, by Robin Renwick

Buy here

For kids

The Women Who Shape Us Series

Browse the series

Wanda the Brave

Buy here

Upcoming Events

Silent Reading Club in Library Gardens

This month we are taking our Silent Reading Club out of the store and into the Library Gardens. The Joburg LitDistrict and Bridge have been working hard the last few years to make the Library Gardens a beautiful community space that serves the city that reads.

Join us as we soak up the last bit of winter sun while you fall into a good book in the company of others readers.

Date: 29 August 2026
Time: 14:00
Where: Library Gardens outside the entrance of Johannesburg City Library
Tickets: R60pp (Includes a drink)

Tickets here

Lwandle by Maanda Raphulu book launch

Join us on Saturday 29 August for the launch of an exciting novella and your copy signed by the author.

Date: Saturday 29 August 2026
Time: 12:00 - 15:00
Where: Bridge Books, 89 Helen Joseph St, Marshalltown
Tickets: FREE

Did you know you can host your event at Bridge?

While Bridge Books is a literary bookstore it is also a beautiful space in the heart of Johannesburg. Our Barbican space seats up to 50 people and is available for book launches, readings, workshops and any other event!

Read more

Silent Reading Club in Library Gardens

This month we are taking our Silent Reading Club out of the store and into the Library Gardens. The Joburg LitDistrict and Bridge have been working hard the last few years to make the Library Gardens a beautiful community space that serves the city that reads.

Join us as we soak up the last bit of winter sun while you fall into a good book in the company of others readers.

Date: 29 August 2026
Time: 14:00
Where: Library Gardens outside the entrance of Johannesburg City Library
Tickets: R60pp (Includes a drink)

Tickets here

Lwandle by Maanda Raphulu book launch

Lwandle is a woman forged in the shadows of a world that tried to dim her light. After a soul-shattering divorce left her life in ruins, she painstakingly rebuilt herself from the wreckage, piece by cautious piece.
She wears her scars like armour, vowing to protect the heart she once gave away too freely.

But Lwandle was born to love. Despite the ghosts of deception and the weight of past failures, she still carries a defiant smile and an unshakeable hope.
Just as she settles into the safety of her solitude, Didimalo arrives. He is a complication she didn’t plan for—a man who threatens to dismantle her defences and pull her back into the deep end of passion.
Now, Lwandle must decide: stay safe in the shallows, or risk drowning in love once more.

Join us on Saturday 29 August for the launch of this exciting novella and get your copy signed by the author.

Date: Saturday 29 August 2026
Time: 12:00 - 15:00
Where: Bridge Books, 89 Helen Joseph St, Marshalltown
Tickets: FREE

Food & Drink

Cook books can be so much more than just a collection of recipes. They can be a snapshot of a place, a time, and people told through food and drink.

A Food Love Story by Onezwa Mbola

Buy here

Manju’s Cookbook by Manju Patel

Buy here

Look at This: Food by Ifeoma Onyefulu

Buy here

Meze: Small Bites Big Flavors from the Greek Table

Buy here

Africa Uncorked: Travels in Extreme Wine Territory

Buy here

Check out our full Food and Drink collection.

Browse the collection

Postcard from the LitDistrict

One of our Mandela Day activities this year revolved around setting up Book Nests in Donald Mackay Park and Library Gardens.

These Book Nests are a true testament to community effort and investment, from everyone who helped build them on Mandela Day, to Fortress Real Estate Investments, IDC and forgood for their support, to donors that help keep the nests stocked, and to the readers that give the Book Nests purpose. The responsiveness and support this initiative and others like it have received from Joburg City Parks and Joburg Libraries are also promising steps to restoring community faith in these public institutions.

It has been great seeing how these Book Nests serve the city that reads.

If you’d like to be a part of this initiative, you can donate books by popping them straight into the Book Nests or you can drop them off at the Bridge Books store and we’ll ensure they get into the nests.

You can read more about all our ongoing programs on the LitDistrict website.

For more updates follow the LitDistrict on socials.

LitDistrict Linktree

Did you know you can host your event at Bridge?

While Bridge Books is a literary bookstore it is also a beautiful space in the heart of Johannesburg. Our Barbican space seats up to 50 people and is available for book launches, readings, workshops and any other event!

Read more

In 1935 Herbert E. Dhlomo’s Nongqawuse: The Girl Who Killed to Save became the first published play in English by a black author in South Africa.

Dhlomo wrote in a 1933 article, “Modern drama is not a mere emotional entertainment. It is a source of ideas, a cultural educational factor, an agency for political propaganda, a social institution, and above all it is literature.” Nongqawuse: The Girl Who Killed to Save is exceptional and powerful literature.

We republished his play in 2022 and at one of the launch events we hosted passages were read by Baeletsi Tsatsi.

Watch here

“My wrinkles show that Life is softening this old human clay in order to remodel it into new forms. Man never dies, although men do.” - Herbert E. Dhlomo, The Girl Who Killed to Save

This volume features two works by the profound South African playwright and poet, Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo, as well as a foreword by Fred Khumalo. The Girl Who Killed to Save accompanies the semi-autobiographical poem, Valley of a Thousand Hills, which invites you into the world of Zulu mythology. The work in this volume asserts Dhlomo’s importance to South African literature.

Buy here

This book is part of our project to bring back into circulation works that were destroyed, lost, or suppressed under colonial rule and Apartheid in South Africa.

Published by us

We are committed to honouring the past, present, and future of South African literature. A Bridge Books logo on a book is a sign of celebration – celebration of literature, of South Africa, and of the dynamic ways in which the two meet.

Books we’re excited about

Lydia: Anthem to the Unity of Women by Kally Forest

Buy here

Frantz Fanon: Combat Breathing by Nigel C. Gibson

Buy here

Don’t Look Left: A Diary of Genocide by Atef Abu Saif

Buy here

Flesh by David Szalay

Buy here

Rootbound by Manthipe Moila

Buy here

Last Night at the Bassline by David B. Coplan & Oscar Gutierrez

Buy here

Upcoming events

Listening Spaces Vol IX - Messiaen’s Préludes

Join House of Shem’s Listening Spaces at Bridge Books on Saturday 15 August.

Olivier Messiaen’s complete Préludes (1929), performed in full across eight distinct movements. From the tenderness of La colombe to the storm of Cloches d’angoisse et larmes d’adieu, this is music built for close, unhurried listening.

At Listening Spaces, we sit with it properly. No background music. No distraction. Just twenty people, one room, and music doing what music does best — making you feel things you didn’t expect.

We listen together. Then we talk. No expertise required — not knowing is the whole point.

Date: 15 August 2026
Time: 14:00
Where: Bridge Books, 89 Helen Joseph St, Marshalltown
Tickets: R70pp

Tickets here

Silent Reading Club

Spend your Saturday afternoon wrapped up in a good book at Bridge. Our monthly Silent Reading Club is happening on 29 of August. Come early, grab your drink, and get cozy.

Date: 29 August 2026
Time: 14:00
Where: Bridge Books, 89 Helen Joseph St, Marshalltown
Tickets: R60pp (Includes a drink)

Tickets here

The month ahead

15 August: Listening Spaces with House of Shem
19 August: African Lit: Chaos Precinct with A42
29 August: Silent Reading Club
29 August: Contra Art Fair: Mini LitDistrict Walking Tours
30 August: Contra Art Fair: Pop-up Bookshop at the Vic Yards Gearhouse Library

Women in Solitary: Inside the Female Resistance to Apartheid by Shanthini Naidoo

The great role women played in the anti-apartheid movement is no secret but there is still so much for us to learn and so many individual stories to be told.

Women in Solitary tells four such stories. And through the stories of four women who experienced detention and torture in the 1960s, Naidoo weaves together a narrative of the anti-apartheid struggle as a whole. An incredibly well crafted and ever necessary book.

Buy here

So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ

Iconic, inventive, and dauntless, Mariama Bâ’s debut novel is a must read exploration of womanhood in Africa. Specifically, womanhood that has been shaped by colonialism and the conflict emerging in a decolonial era.

So Long a Letter was also recently shouted out by Lupita Nyong’o as what she considers “required reading”.

Buy here

A Rare Gift To The Struggle: Ma Vesta Smith and The Everyday Politics of Liberation by Maria Suriano

A fresh biography of community activist Vesta Smith that shines a light on the work of Black women and Christians in the liberation struggle. This book is a thoughtful account of the life of a liberation icon and a moving reflection on everyday activism.

Buy here

A Kick in the Belly: Women, Slavery and Resistance by Stella Dadzie

Turning more of our focus toward the international struggle for liberation, A Kick in the Belly puts women at the forefront of slave rebellions and resistance. This book is a brilliant piece of historical reclamation and chilling dissection of global atrocities.

Buy here

Coal by Audre Lorde

An incredible, stirring collection of early poetry by the iconic feminist writer and author of Sister Outsider. These poems cover topics from love to rebellion, from racial trauma to family complexity and everything between. A collection that truly shows how political the personal is.

Buy here

A Jacana Pocket History: ANC Women’s League

A little book that manages to capture something so big. A great introduction to South African political history that captures the complexity of the organisation and widens the lens to look at the gender equality movement as a whole.

Buy here

From the Voices of Liberation series

Voices of Liberation: Lauretta Ngcobo by Barbara Boswell

Buy here

Voices of Liberation: Miriam Tlali, Writing Freedom

Buy here

Voices Of Liberation: Wangari Maathai

Buy here

Check out our full Women’s Month collection

Browse the collection

Postcard from the LitDistrict

“I went to return books to the library and update our community chalkboard wall in the Library Gardens. Molefi Makananise, an artist and friend of the LitDistrict, was there to assist, keenly.

Since it’s Women’s Month, a shortlist of writers and a Miriam Tlali quote seemed appropriate. Whilst doing that a lady with a lovely Afro came to ask “but who do we tell our stories to?”. We proceeded to sit down and listen to her story, she told us she’s from Sharpeville and recalled her father’s participation in the defiance campaign alongside Robert Sobukwe, and said there are many stories, and hope we can find ways to tell them. She serendipitously happened to be the founder of the Little Angels Reading and Sunday School Club at Sharpeville Library.

I returned to the wall to finish the chalk mural. A young man tipped me about police presence, not knowing that what I was doing was part of our place-making effort and not the typical defacing graffiti we’ve become accustomed to in spaces that suffer government neglect. Two more ladies came over, asked me what happens when it rains, told them it’s a good practice to not be attached to our contributions in society. “It’ll be a chance to do another mural” they added.

Very interesting to observe how the simple act of writing on a community wall invites people to interact with the space differently.” - Daliwonga Pantshwa, LitDistrict Director

You can read more about all our ongoing efforts programs on the LitDistrict website.

For more updates follow the LitDistrict on socials.

Events

Jozi My Jozi’s Main Street Sundays

Main Street Sundays #WomensDay edition is your chance to meet Jozi at walking pace – not through a car window, but up close and vibey away from the traffic and darting taxis.

Date: Sunday 09 August 2026
Time: 10:00 - 17:00
Where: Main Street, Marshalltown (CBD), Johannesburg
Tickets: FREE
Age Restrictions: All ages welcome

More info

Bridge Books will have a pop up bookstore near 44 Main Street where you can pick up your next read and browse our Women’s Month and Joburg favourites.

We will also be bringing our silent reading club out of the store and onto Main Street from 10:00 - 12:00.

And you can join our mini LitDistrict walking tours from our Main Street stand to the Bridge Books store in the Barbican. There will be a tour every hour in each direction so you join from whichever location you’re closest to.
If you’d like to see the newly renovated Barbican penthouse and rooftop on your tour you can request a slot for the visit (we have limited space so make sure you RSVP to info@bridgebooks.co.za).

Please note: Bridge Books will be open this Sunday, 9 August. The store will be closed on Monday 10 August.

The month ahead

8 August: Storytime with Alliance Française
9 August: Main Street Sunday
15 August: Listening Spaces with House of Shem
29 August: Silent Reading Club
29 August: Contra Art Fair: Mini LitDistrict Walking Tours
30 August: Contra Art Fair: Pop-up Bookshop at the Vic Yards Gearhouse Library

What is woman? Why ask? Why not answer?
Well, because the question is complex.

Woman is multitudes. Woman is flesh, bone and blood. Woman is, was and, will continue to be.

Between the covers, written on these pages are the multiple stories of humanity. Humanity that is often denied and rejected, erased and rewritten. In these pages are stories of resistance, persistence and actualisations. Stories of multitudes and ways of being — both prescribed and innate. We celebrate woman not as an idea but as existence, as breath and as flesh — through time and through space.

Call Me Woman by Ellen Kuzwayo

Buy here

Sula by Toni Morrison

Buy here

The Sex Lives of African Women by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah

Buy here

The Fragile Mental Health of Strong Women by Michelle Kekana

Buy here

Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga

Buy here

And Wrote My Story Anyway by Barbara Boswell

Buy here

Jozi My Jozi’s Main Street Sundays

Taking Back the Streets of Jozi

Temperatures might be dipping, but the sun is out and so are we! Main Street Sundays #WomensDay edition is your chance to meet Jozi at walking pace – notthrough a car window, but up close and vibey away from the traffic and darting taxis. We’re closing off the roads to cars and taking back our streets for the day, and everyone’s invited. Woza, Jozi! Bring the whole group chat, the little ones, ama-2k and even gogo, and make a day of it. With food, art, music, activities, and plenty more for all ages, it’s sure to be a Sunday to remember. It’s time to meet your streets again. Bring a jacket, a chair, and get comfortable, or warm up with some street games. Kuzoba mnandi!

Date: Sunday 09 August 2026
Time: 10:00 - 17:00
Where: Main Street, Marshalltown (CBD), Johannesburg
Tickets: FREE
Age Restrictions: All ages welcome

More info

Bridge will be in attendance and hosting short walking tours of the LitDistrict as well as the newly renovated Barbican penthouse.

Free RSVP

Listening Spaces Vol IX - Messiaen’s Préludes

Join House of Shem’s Listening Spaces at Bridge Books on Saturday 15 August.

Olivier Messiaen’s complete Préludes (1929), performed in full across eight distinct movements. From the tenderness of La colombe to the storm of Cloches d’angoisse et larmes d’adieu, this is music built for close, unhurried listening.

At Listening Spaces, we sit with it properly. No background music. No distraction. Just twenty people, one room, and music doing what music does best — making you feel things you didn’t expect.

We listen together. Then we talk. No expertise required — not knowing is the whole point. Curiosity counts for more than qualifications here. Because ag shem, it isn’t much fun alone, is it?

Date: 15 August 2026
Time: 14:00
Where: Bridge Books, 89 Helen Joseph St, Marshalltown
Tickets: R70pp

Tickets here

The month ahead

9 August: Main Street Sunday
15 August: Listening Spaces with House of Shem
29 August: Silent Reading Club

Uzizwa Uphephile? (do you feel safe?)

Every conversation about the CBD is secretly a conversation about safety. It’s the first thing people ask when you say you’re doing something in town. It’s why buildings emptied. It’s also why people are kept out.
So, ahead of Women’s Month, we’re asking the question instead of answering it.

Silindokuhle Shandu works in photography, painting and collage; layering family archives and street imagery so personal memory sits inside the inner city’s bigger story.
In conversation with Boitumelo Makousu, whose practice is committed to public culture; building platforms for dialogue and critical exchange across African cultural ecosystems.
Curated & moderated by Penina Chalumbira.

The photographs will be on show at Bridge throughout the weekend.

Date: 25 July 2026
Time: 10:30 for 11:00 until 13:00
Where: Bridge Books, 89 Helen Joseph St, Marshalltown
Tickets: FREE

RSVP here

We’ll be hosting our Silent Reading Club after the event, stick around and make it a full day of arts and literature.

July’s Silent Reading Club

Join our monthly Silent Reading Club! A quiet social setting in the middle of the city where you can read what you want at your pace.

Date: 25 July 2026
Time: 14:00
Where: Bridge Books, 89 Helen Joseph St, Marshalltown
Tickets: R60pp (Includes a drink)

Tickets here

Walk the Talk this Sunday

Bridge Books will be open this Sunday from 08:00 to 13:00 for 702 Jozi My Jozi Walk the Talk 2026. The iconic 702 Walk the Talk is back for its 2026 edition on Sunday, 26 July 2026. Join for a vibrant celebration of community spirit and resilience that explores the beautiful City of Joburg and passes by the Bridge Books store.

More info

Jozi My Jozi’s Main Street Sundays

Taking Back the Streets of Jozi.
Temperatures might be dipping, but the sun is out and so are we! Main Street Sundays #WomensDay edition is your chance to meet Jozi at walking pace – not dodging taxis and traffic or through a car window, but up close and vibey. We’re closing off the roads to cars and taking back our streets for the day, and everyone’s invited. Woza, Jozi! Bring the whole group chat, the little ones, ama-2k and even gogo, and make a day of it. With food, art, music, activities, and plenty more for all ages, it’s sure to be a Sunday to remember. It’s time to meet your streets again. Bring a jacket, a chair, and get comfortable, or warm up with some street games. Kuzoba mnandi!

Date: Sunday 09 August 2026
Time: 10:00 - 17:00
Where: Main Street, Marshalltown (CBD), Johannesburg
Tickets: FREE
Age Restrictions: All ages welcome

More info

Bridge will be in attendance and hosting short walking tours of the LitDistrict as well as the newly renovated Barbican penthouse.

Free RSVP

Thrilling reads

Our favourite South African novels that are full of intrigue, crime, and plenty of suspense.

The World Beneath the Surface by Kukhanya Chikomo

Buy here

Black Widow Society by Angela Makholwa

Buy here

The Murder Of Norman Ware by Rosamund Kendal

Buy here

Cobra by Deon Meyer

Buy here

Mandela Day with the LitDistrict

Mandela Day showed how wonderful things happen when the community comes together. Joburg Libraries opened City Library for the day, offered free tours, their digital librarian demonstrated their offerings. Musicians, dancing dragons, and more filled Library Gardens.
Two new little libraries were built for Donald MacKay Park and Library Gardens. We worked with IDC and forgood to get new books into many more hands. And Saturday showed how dynamic the city can be, with Tanya Zack at Rand Club and the Listening Spaces with House of Shem at Bridge.

You can read more about our ongoing work on the LitDistrict website.

For more updates follow the LitDistrict on socials.

LitDistrict Linktree

The month ahead

22 July: African Lit with A42
25 July: Uzizwa Uphephile? mini exhibition
25 July: Silent Reading Club
26 July: Walk the Talk
9 August: Main Street Sunday
15 August: Listening Spaces with House of Shem

The Struggle Is My Life by Nelson Mandela

Buy here

A Prisoner In the Garden: Opening Nelson Mandela’s Prison Archive

Buy here

100 Mandela Moments by Kate Sidley

Buy here

Spear: Mandela and the Revolutionaries by Paul S Landau

Buy here

Good Morning, Mr Mandela by Zelda la Grange

Buy here

I Remember Nelson Mandela

Buy here

A Jacana Pocket: Nelson Mandela by Colin Bundy

Buy here

Check out the full Nelson Mandela Collection on our website.

Browse the collection

Mandela Day with the LitDistrict at City Library

On 18 July 2026 the Johannesburg City Library will be open 09h00 - 14h00.

The library will offer free tours of the beautifully restored, historic library. The first tour will start at 10h00 and the second at 12h00. Spaces are limited so ensure you pre-book for the tours by emailing news@litdistrict.co.za.

The children’s section of the library will be open and hosting readings for the kids as well as other fun activities.

The library will also showcase some of the services available, including the certification training available for Microsoft and Cisco.

And we’ll have a special day in the park in collaboration with Food & Trees for Africa, Fortress Real Estate Investments, Bridge Books, and the Joburg LitDistrict.

We are creating long-term, meaningful community assets for everyone around the city, with permanent Book Nests that we’re stocking with books for all ages.

It will be a day for the whole family, packed full of activities including

• Seedling Planting

• Book Nest where volunteers can help build the community

• “Stories for Freedom” storytelling session

• Community park cleanup

• Kids Pop-Up Library

• Eco-Stories with gardening themed children’s books

More events on Saturday

A morning with Tanya Zack: The Chaos Precinct and Ethiopian coffee

The Rand Club and Tanya Zack invite you to a book and coffee morning with Little Addis Café and us, Bridge Books.

This event on Saturday 18 July will kick-off at 11:00 with an Ethiopian coffee experience presented by Little Addis Café. Bunu (coffee), ambasha (Ethiopian celebration bread), popcorn and kolo (crunchy roasted grain snack) will be served.

The incredible author and great friend of Bridge Books, Tanya Zack will then present a talk on and sign copies of her recent book, The Chaos Precinct: Johannesburg as a Port City.

Date: Saturday 18 July
Time: 11:00
Where: The Rand Club
Tickets: The book presentation is free. Coffee experience R120pp

Lunch and drinks will be available in the Main Bar. Please book at restaurant@randclub.co.za

Tickets here

Listening Spaces Vol VIII - Mozart Horn Concerto

Join House of Shem’s Listening Spaces at Bridge Books on Saturday 18 July.

Mozart wrote the Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major in 1786 — reportedly as a joke between friends. What came out was one of the most joyful, mischievous, and quietly brilliant pieces in the classical repertoire.

At Listening Spaces Vol. VIII, we sit with it properly. No background music. No distraction. We listen together. Then we talk. No expertise required — not knowing is the whole point.

Date: 18 July 2026
Time: 14:00
Where: Bridge Books, 89 Helen Joseph St, Marshalltown
Tickets: R50pp

Tickets here

The month ahead

18 July: A Morning with Tanya Zack at the Rand Club
18 July: Listening Spaces with House of Shem
18 July: Mandela Day at the City Library
22 July: African Lit with A42
25 July: Silent Reading Club

Without language, one cannot talk to people and understand them; one cannot share their hopes and aspirations, grasp their history, appreciate their poetry, or savour their songs.” - Nelson Mandela

At the Johannesburg City Library

On 18 July 2026 the Johannesburg City Library will be open 09h00 - 14h00.

The library will offer free tours of the beautifully restored, historic library. The first tour will start at 10h00 and the second at 12h00. Spaces are limited so ensure you pre-book for the tours by emailing news@litdistrict.co.za.

The children’s section of the library will be open and hosting readings for the kids as well as other fun activities.

The library will also showcase some of the services available, including the certification training available for Microsoft and Cisco.

And we’ll have a special day in the park in collaboration with Food & Trees for Africa, Fortress Real Estate Investments, Bridge Books, and the Joburg LitDistrict.

We are creating long-term, meaningful community assets for everyone around the city, with permanent Book Nests that we’re stocking with books for all ages.

It will be a day for the whole family, packed full of activities including

• Seedling Planting

• Book Nest where volunteers can help build the community

• “Stories for Freedom” storytelling session

• Community park cleanup

• Kids Pop-Up Library

• Eco-Stories with gardening themed children’s books

At Donald Mackay Park

When: 17 July 2026, 10h00 - 13h30
Where: Donald Mackay Park, Corner of Joe Slovo Dr and Abel Road, Berea

Come be part of the community effort and bring books into the park!

• Book Nest where volunteers can help build the community

• “Stories for Freedom” storytelling session

• Community park cleanup

• Kids Pop-Up Library

• Eco-Stories with gardening themed children’s books

“It is not beyond our power to create a world in which all children have access to a good education. Those who do not believe this have small imaginations.” - Nelson Mandela

For more updates follow the LitDistrict on socials.

LitDistrict Linktree

You can read more about all our ongoing programs on the LitDistrict website.

The month ahead at Bridge Books

18 July: A Morning with Tanya Zack at the Rand Club
18 July: Listening Spaces with House of Shem
22 July: African Lit with A42
25 July: Silent Reading Club
2 August: First Sundays at Vic Yards

Ice-Cream Headache in My Bone with Phillippa Yaa De Villiers

Join us at A42 House for an extraordinary evening of literature, conversation, and community as we dive into South African poetry.

A42 in partnership with Bridge Books is thrilled to host a special poetry book reading and discussion of Ice-Cream Headache in My Bone, and even more excited to welcome the author herself, Phillippa Yaa De Villiers, as our special guest!

Phillippa’s writing confronts and disrupts, diving into a wellspring of imagery that manages to be both euphoric and horrifying, prophetic and playful.

Whether you are a lifelong poetry lover or simply looking for an evening of profound local culture and captivating storytelling, this space is for you.

When: Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: A42 House, 6A 8th Avenue, Parktown North, Johannesburg

RSVP here

If you’re attending and would like a copy of Ice-Cream Headache in My Bone ready for you, you can preorder it now.

Pre-order here

Romance Recs

A Love That Heals by Catherine Phiri

Buy here

Friday I’m in Love By Camryn Garrett

Buy here

Love by Nthikeng Mohlele

Buy here

Fabrics of Love by Lebo Mazibuko

Buy here

Summertime Dreams by Debbie Macomber

Buy here

Romance… and murder

Can’t choose between thriller and romance? Just have both.

Love Marry Kill by Zukiswa Wanner

Buy here

Iqunga by Dudu Busani-Dube

Buy here

Upcoming events

A morning with Tanya Zack: The Chaos Precinct and Ethiopian coffee

The Rand Club and Tanya Zack invite you to a book and coffee morning with Little Addis Café and us, Bridge Books.

This event on Saturday 18 July will kick-off at 11:00 with an Ethiopian coffee experience presented by Little Addis Café. Bunu (coffee), ambasha (Ethiopian celebration bread), popcorn and kolo (crunchy roasted grain snack) will be served.

The incredible author and great friend of Bridge Books, Tanya Zack will then present a talk on and sign copies of her recent book, The Chaos Precinct: Johannesburg as a Port City.

Get a copy now

Date: Saturday 18 July
Time: 11:00
Where: The Rand Club
Tickets: The book presentation is free. Coffee experience R120pp

Lunch and drinks will be available in the Main Bar. Please book at restaurant@randclub.co.za

Tickets here

Listening Spaces Vol VIII - Mozart Horn Concerto

Join House of Shem’s Listening Spaces at Bridge Books on Saturday 18 July.

Mozart wrote the Horn Concerto No. 4 in E-flat major in 1786 — reportedly as a joke between friends. What came out was one of the most joyful, mischievous, and quietly brilliant pieces in the classical repertoire.

At Listening Spaces, we sit with it properly. No background music. No distraction. Just twenty people, one room, and Mozart doing what Mozart does best — making you feel things you didn’t expect.

We listen together. Then we talk. No expertise required — not knowing is the whole point. Curiosity counts for more than qualifications here. Because ag shem, it isn’t much fun alone, is it?

Date: 18 July 2026
Time: 14:00
Where: Bridge Books, 89 Helen Joseph St, Marshalltown
Tickets: R50pp

Tickets here

The month ahead

18 July: A Morning with Tanya Zack at the Rand Club
18 July: Listening Spaces with House of Shem
22 July: African Lit with A42
25 July: Silent Reading Club

Did you know you can host your event at Bridge?

Our Barbican space seats up to 50 people and is available for book launches, readings, workshops and any other event!

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By Griffin Shea

I woke up with relief today, that the ominous 30 June warnings did not lead to the worst of our fears. Bridge Books closed Tuesday out of caution, as the march was slated to pass right in front of the store. There’s a lot of protests in our neighbourhood, a consequence of so many government and political party offices nearby. But this one felt different. One year when Bridge had a shop in Maboneng, an unplanned protest spiralled through the area, and the staff were trapped inside the store for hours. No one was hurt and nothing damaged, but I can’t have anyone take chances like that.

Between the anti-immigrant protests, ostensibly from the grassroots, and the “clean-ups” in town, blatantly from the top of city government, it’s been a tricky few months in the city. Stats SA said that after the traders were removed around Park Station, Johannesburg lost 293,000 jobs – nearly wiping out employment gains in the rest of the country. Since then, the additional evictions around Marble Tower can only have deepened the job losses, with everything that means for people’s ability to feed themselves and their families, in a country that needs every job it can create.

About two-thirds of the 71 booksellers in the LitDistrict are migrants, including me. Before I got permanent residency, I was illegal at different points during my 18 years here, due to incorrectly issued visas and delays in issuing visas. That was when I had a major international company with lawyers and consultants supporting me at Home Affairs. I can only imagine how people without those resources can navigate the bureaucracy.

The line between South African and foreigner is not as neat as the protesters would have us think. One bookseller was born in South Africa, went as a small child into exile, and returned in 1994 when his mother died in KZN. That’s been over three decades. He still has not been issued an ID card or any other documents. Another came over two decades ago, married a South African, and has South African children. His papers have not been issued. Another came as a refugee with asylum papers that are issued seemingly at whim, for unpredictable reasons. For all of them, this means they’re effectively excluded from banking, which means they have no credit, can’t expand their businesses beyond their cash flow, and have no access to the systems of the formal economy – like being able to order new books from mainstream suppliers. Most of them employ other people. One runs a charity to bring magazines and books to kids in Diepsloot.

They all try to follow the rules, which is impossible to do. The new city policy for street traders approved in 2022 has yet to be implemented. People evicted from purpose-built market stalls were told in October to apply for new permits. They queued up, filled out the forms, and have yet to receive any communication about when a permit might be issued.

Last month, our Bloomsday event celebrated not only James Joyce and Ulysses, but the way people, words and culture move around. Our gifted readers, mostly volunteers, did excerpts from Ulysses in five languages: English, German, Dutch, French, and isiZulu.

Joyce wrote in English, but he spent most of his adult life in Trieste, Zurich, and Paris — immersed in Italian, German, and French, teaching languages for a living. Ulysses is full of snatches of different languages, voices crowding in on each other. The book doesn’t just describe a city. It performs one. And cities, as anyone reading this knows, are never spoken in a single voice.

Joyce left Dublin in his twenties and spent the rest of his life in self-imposed exile and then wrote obsessively about the city he had left, famously saying that when he died, Dublin would be written on his heart. He never stopped being from somewhere, even when he was somewhere else entirely.

This city is full of people like that. People who carry another place in their chest — who came here from Harare, from Kinshasa, from Lagos, from Karachi, from Louisiana — and who have made Johannesburg their home without ever forgetting where they began. We need to remember that this is not a handicap. That it is what makes this one of the most alive cities on earth. And it is why a book written by a migrant, set in a single city, spoken in many languages, feels at home here, in a city full of migrants who make our community great.

Listening Spaces Vol VIII - Mozart Horn Concerto

Join House of Shem’s Listening Spaces at Bridge Books on Saturday 18 July.

At Listening Spaces Vol. VIII, we sit with it properly. No background music. No distraction. Just twenty people, one room, and Mozart doing what Mozart does best — making you feel things you didn’t expect.

We listen together. Then we talk. No expertise required — not knowing is the whole point.

Date: 18 July 2026
Time: 14:00
Where: Bridge Books, 89 Helen Joseph St, Marshalltown
Tickets: R50pp

Tickets here

Postcard from the LitDistrict

The LitDistrict is dedicated to bringing reading resources closer to communities. We manage two street libraries – in Alexandra and in Soweto – and a container library at Victoria Yards that is sponsored by Gearhouse.

We keep these libraries updated on a monthly basis to ensure people have access to the ever-growing selection of books.

The Gearhouse Library at Victoria Yards has become a true community spot. Kids visit after school, they work on homework, play board games, and share the joy of reading.

These libraries are fuelled by donations, by the generous contributions of people and businesses helping us make reading accessible for everyone.

If you would like to be a part of this effort, you can drop off books or board game donations at any of our libraries or at the Bridge Books store. You can also contact nam@bridgebooks.co.za to arrange a donation.

For more updates follow the LitDistrict on socials.

LitDistrict Linktree

What we’re reading this week

These are books that deal with migration, with the movement of people to and from their homes. Some are within the borders of a country and some are across them. Some are stories of exile, some are refugee journeys, they are all deeply human.

Oliver Tambo: A Jacana pocket biography

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Sanctuary: How an Inner-city church spilled onto a sidewalk by Christa Kuljian

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Guilty and Proud: An MK Soldier’s Memoir of Exile, Prison and Freedom by Marion Sparg

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Crossing the River by Fred Khumalo

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Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton

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Going Home by Simao Kikamba

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Under Nelson Mandela Boulevard: Life among the stowaways by Sean Christie

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Zama Zama: Inside the Illicit Mining Underworld by Graham Coetzer

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The month ahead

18 July: A Morning with Tanya Zack at the Rand Club
18 July: Listening Spaces with House of Shem
25 July: Silent Reading Club

Upcoming Events

Silent Reading Club

Join us this Saturday for our monthly Silent Reading Club.

This isn’t a book club. You can read whatever you like, at your own pace. We’ll provide the space for you to do so surrounded by other readers in the middle of the city that reads!

Date: Saturday 27 June
Time: 14:00
Where: Bridge Books, 89 Helen Joseph St, Marshalltown
Tickets: R60pp (includes a drink)

Tickets here

A morning with Tanya Zack: The Chaos Precinct and Ethiopian coffee

The Rand Club and Tanya Zack invite you to a book and coffee morning with Little Addis Café and us, Bridge Books.

This event on Saturday 18 July will kick-off at 11:00 with an Ethiopian coffee experience presented by Little Addis Café. Bunu (coffee), ambasha (Ethiopian celebration bread), popcorn and kolo (crunchy roasted grain snack) will be served.

The incredible author and great friend of Bridge Books, Tanya Zack will then present a talk on and sign copies of her recent book, The Chaos Precinct: Johannesburg as a Port City.

Get a copy now

Date: Saturday 18 July
Time: 11:00
Where: The Rand Club
Tickets: The book presentation is free. Coffee experience R120pp
(Lunch and drinks will be available in the Main Bar. Please book at restaurant@randclub.co.za)

Tickets here

Books we’re excited about

Of All things, We Need Hope by Sally Cranswick

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An Archaeology of Holes by Stacy Hardy

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The President by Xander Beattie

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Just in: The Paris Review No. 256, Summer 2026

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Check out our full Paris Review collection for previous issues.

Browse here

Postcard from the LitDistrict

LitDistrict offers free, open classes, to anyone who wants to join.

We recently hosted a Crafts at the Park workshop at the City Library, led by Thato Maseko. A gathering at one of the last truly free public places, one that says you belong here, regardless of what you can afford. The perfect setting to engage with the arts and with the community because literacy is not only about reading words on a page. It is about reading the world, naming it, and daring to imagine it otherwise.

Activities included a Potato Print & Starch Batik class that taught one of the oldest forms of dyeing. It’s a technique that belongs to many traditions across Africa and Asia. Starch paste is applied to fabric or paper to block colour, and the potato becomes a carving tool, a stamp, a mark-maker in the most elemental sense. Like all great arts, this technique is rooted in community. It’s not about perfection, it’s about participation.

Thank you to everyone who participated and thank you to our donors who help make events like this possible.

Read more about all our ongoing programs on the LitDistrict website.

For more updates follow the LitDistrict on socials.

LitDistrict Linktree

Youth Day reads

By Ayanda Netshisaulu

Bridge Books was recently invited to a conference titled 1976@50: Commemorating 50 years of the 1976 uprisings – the student uprising remembered, hosted at UJ’s Soweto campus. I was part of the Bridge team who attended.

50 years later and 1976 is still necessary to talk about, our political legacy still echoed today.
We take for granted how young the students were, how they as young as 11 had to become political bodies.
Throughout the conference, the class of 1976 spoke about that time, the classes they skipped, the conversations they had, the radio announcements and just how much school they missed.
In the conference we were reminded that these were children, children who paid for our freedoms with trauma. They asked each other with shaky voices how they made it through the days, not the days of 1976 but those of 2026.
They developed part of the protest culture we have today, a culture widely written about.

A Seed of a Dream: Morris Isaacson High School and the Struggle for Education in Soweto, 1956–2012

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June 1976 Commemorative Dialogue by Eunice Rakhale-Molefe

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Hector: A Boy, A Protest, and the Photograph that Changed Apartheid (isiXhosa)

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Soweto’s Theatre of Resistance by Andile Xaba

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For more recommendations, check out our full Youth Day collection.

Browse the collection

Books from the city

During our Bloomsday at Bridge event on Saturday 13 June we were joined by authors Terry-Ann Adams and Ivan Vladislavić. During their conversation on writing Joburg as a city the big question came up: can you? Can a single author capture the entire city?

Both authors seemed to agree that you could capture a snapshot of a part of the city at a specific moment. As readers, we have the opportunity to piece multiple snapshots like these together into a bigger portrait of a city than a single novel could capture.

If you’re looking to read Joburg, here are some suggested snapshots and perspectives to help piece together your portrait of the city.

In the Shadow of the Springs I Saw by Barbara Adair

Adair brilliantly explores Springs from the view of its Art Deco buildings. Giving voice to both the architecture and inhabitants that make a city, with a focus on people building their lives in a reclaimed space that was not theirs historically.

The book is also littered with photographs, poems, and email correspondence that make it a refreshing and inventive experience.

“It is a cemetery, this town, yet it is a distorted cemetery for the graves are filled with life.

The buildings are tombs, structures that house the dead. Watch the dead people, watch them move and dance. They are the waking dead, the walking dead.

Ah, a dead man coming out of a tomb is the best master of life for he knows its value.” - Barbara Adair, In the Shadow of the Springs I Saw

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End by Barbara Adair

Johannesburg in the 1980s. Violence and war fill the view while Adair brings unnerving humor, wit and eroticism to the story.

It skillfully weaves 1942’s Casablanca into a groundbreaking South African post-modern novel that tells a story of love and refugees, plays with gender, converses about destiny, and explores the city. End was shortlisted for Africa Regional Commonwealth Prize.

Get it while it’s on sale!

Buy here

White Chalk by Terry-Ann Adams

One of our favourite short story collections that brings readers into communities and takes them “on an odyssey of love and grief”.

Adams is an incredibly skilled and insightful writer whose stories will linger with you.

Buy here

Portrait With Keys by Ivan Vladislavić

Snapshots of wanderings through Joburg at the turn of the century that flavours observations with poetic consideration and reminds us that “getting lost is not always a bad thing”. Already somewhat of a classic; if you haven’t picked Portrait with Keys up yet, now is a great time.

Browse the collection

“This is our climate. We have grown up in this air, this light, and we grasp it on our skin, where it grasps us. We know this earth, this grass, this polished red stone with the soles of our feet. We will never be ourselves anywhere else. Happier, perhaps, healthier, less burdened, more secure. But we will never be closer to who we are than this.” - Ivan Vladislavić, Portrait with Keys

Buy here

For more recommendations, check out our collection from Bloomsday

Browse the collection

Postcard from the LitDistrict

It has been a wonderfully busy time for the LitDistrict with great work done in the community programs.

For May, 786 children joined our learning and education support services as we expanded through schools in the city centre.

While we took learning and reading to kids and schools, our placemaking team worked cleaning the inner-city. 200 Refuse Bags were collected across critical inner-city blocks during May.

You can read more about all our ongoing programs on the LitDistrict website.

You can also directly support all the work happening in the city by donating to the LitDistrict.

Donate here

I received a flood of incredibly kind and generous messages over the last two weeks for Bridge’s 10th birthday. It’s wonderful to see how many people have been touched by this little bookshop.

Thank you to everyone who made the last 10 days of celebrations so special.

Newsletters are now back to our weekly schedule 🙂

Last chance to book for Bloomsday at Bridge

On Saturday, we’re celebrating Ulysses, including an isiZulu version of Molly’s soliloquy, as well as readings in English, Dutch, French and German.

Anthony Akerman will speak about reading Ulysses in South Africa.
Followed by South African authors Ivan Vladislavić and Terry-Ann Adams in conversation about bringing cities like Joburg and Dublin to life on the page.

Afterwards, we’ll have sundowners and a harvest table in the newly renovated Barbican 10th-floor penthouse, overlooking Joburg.

Joyce said about writing Ulysses, that he wanted to “give a picture of Dublin so complete that if the city one day suddenly disappeared from the earth it could be reconstructed.” That is the kind of portrait of Joburg we want to promote – to look at our own city as complex, poetic and worthy of literary focus.

As a groundbreaking modernist novel, Ulysses has presented a challenge to translators across the world for the last century. But each translation has brought the city of Dublin onto a new page and into another person’s hands.

“Every life is many days, day after day. We walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-love, but always meeting ourselves.” - Ulysses by James Joyce

Don’t miss out on this celebration of Joyce, language, and the spaces we walk through.

Tickets here

Bloomsday reading list

We have put together a collection of books that bring cities (particularly our Joburg) to life on the page and invite readers to walk their streets.

Browse the collection

For the final day of flash sales you can get the incredibly special Chaka Limited Edition Hardcover at half price.

Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of Chaka by Thomas Mofolo (yes, that’s how he spelled it). One of the wild things I’ve discovered is how often our customers ask for books that we can’t find – that’s how Bridge Books started publishing classics from the public domain.

For this book, we worked with the amazing people at PULP Paperworks, who love books as much as we do. They have created for us this collector’s edition: hand stitched, cloth bound, gold embossed. Because South African classics should be beautiful to hold as well. We only made 100 copies, and we’ll never make more. Even if you don’t read Sesotho, it’s a beautiful thing to hold.

You can also get the mass market paperback that we discounted last week.

Today you can get this beautiful piece of both South African literature and Bridge publishing history at 50% off. Use the code ChakaSpecial10 at checkout to apply the discount.

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A huge thank you to everyone who has made the Bridge Books birthday celebration just as special as the last 10 years have been.

Paid Subscriber Exclusive

Paid subscribers to our newsletter received a code to take 25% off for the entire 10 days.

Next up:

If you didn’t get the chance to pop by Bridge for the birthday celebrations (or if you just want to see more of us) come through this Saturday for Bloomsday at Bridge!

Tickets here

Today’s offering is The Chaos Precinct by Tanya Zack, an author, urban planner and journalist (and a friend of Bridge!).

In The Chaos Precinct, Zack does a deep-dive into inner-city Joburg, with a particular focus on Rahima Moosa Street — formerly Jeppe Street — and the lives of the Ethiopian migrants who shape, advance and endure the area. Amidst a stern crackdown on all informal sellers in town pre-emptive of last year’s G20 (read more about that here), the book is a poignant excavation of a makeshift shopping hub that emerged without any formal planning intention or support, and its huge effects on locals and cross-border shoppers alike, in which annual revenue generated is twice that of Sandton City’s.

Today you can get The Chaos Precinct at 25% off. Use the code Chaos10 at checkout to apply the discount.

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Stay tuned for one more daily sale announcement.

Paid Subscriber Exclusive

Paid subscribers to our newsletter have received a code to take 25% off for the entire 10 days.

And don’t forget…

Tickets for Bloomsday at Bridge are available now.

Tickets here

Today is The First Story Ever Told.
Retold by our own Griffin Shea and illustrated by the very talented Ilse Erasmus.

Published by Bridge Books and The African Book Trust in 2024, this children’s book is a celebration of traditional South African storytelling with contemporary charm. The story speaks to the timeless power of stories in South African culture that connects generations and communities.

Its publication is part of our ongoing mission to ensure that every child has the opportunity to discover the joy of reading and the magic of storytelling.

Today you can get The First Story Ever Told at 50% off. Use the code Ever10 at checkout to apply the discount.

Buy here

Stay tuned for more announcements on our daily sales.

Paid Subscriber Exclusive

Paid subscribers to our newsletter have received a code to take 25% off for the entire 10 days.

And don’t forget…

Tickets for Bloomsday at Bridge are available now.

Tickets here

When I was getting ready to open Bridge Books, my dear friend Fiona Forde asked if she could bring her book club. They were reading Niq Mhlongo and he was coming to talk to their group.

The store was not actually open yet. We didn’t have heaters, and it was cold. But Niq gamely came and talked in store that would only open the next day. That was the first of many talks, launches and workshops that he’s done with us.

One of the wonderful things about the book world is how open people are to trying something new. Niq always inspired me with his willingness to sell his books himself, to reach his readers wherever they are – even if that meant roadtripping or driving to farflung neighbourhoods. He also helped give me the confidence to reach out to the world of writers in Joburg, some of the coolest people you’ll ever meet.

Today you can get books in our Niq Mhlongo Collection at 25% off. Use the code Niq10 at checkout to apply the discount.

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Stay tuned for more announcements on our daily sales.

Paid Subscriber Exclusive

Paid subscribers to our newsletter have received a code to take 25% off all purchases for the entire 10 days.

And don’t forget…

Tickets for Bloomsday at Bridge are available now.

Tickets here

Today we are discounting the Wanda storybooks, written by Sihle Nontshokweni and Mathabo Tlali. Illustrated by Burgen Thorne.

We have dozens of student volunteers and participants from the Social Employment Fund who do storytime sessions at schools, parks and community centres.
When the new people arrive, they go through all of the picture books we stock. And year after year, Wanda is their favourite. Wanda’s journey with her hair speaks to both the storytime readers and to the kids.

When I started Bridge Books 10 years ago, we didn’t have any books about kids like Wanda. Now, we have lots. It’s among the wonderful changes we’ve seen in South Africa.

Today you can get books in our Wanda Collection at 25% off. Use the code Wanda10 at checkout to apply the discount.

Buy here

Stay tuned for more announcements on our daily sales.

Paid Subscriber Exclusive

Paid subscribers to our newsletter have received a code to take 25% off for the entire 10 days.

Saturday Birthday Sale

On Saturday, 6 June, all our books in store and online will be 25-50% off.

Browse the store

And don’t forget…

Tickets for Bloomsday at Bridge are available now.

Tickets here

Book for Bloomsday

“Every life is many days, day after day. We walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-love, but always meeting ourselves.” - Ulysses by James Joyce

When I first read Joyce I had a map of Dublin open next to me. Stephen stood on Dollymount Bridge as his heart cried “On! On!” and I needed to know exactly where that was. Joyce has made many other readers around the world feel like they knew Dublin, had walked through and met the “robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-love”. He had brought a city, poetically and complexly, to life on a page – as our own writers do with Joburg.

Ivan Vladislavić has been referred to as a flâneur in Joburg. From his famous physical and literary exploration of the city in Portrait with Keys to its recurrence in his fiction, Vladislavić’s interest in urban spaces (particularly our city) has been well documented.

“The boundaries of Johannesburg are drifting away, sliding over pristine ridges and valleys, lodging in tenuous places, slipping again. At its edges, where the city fades momentarily into the veld, unimaginable new atmospheres evolve…” - The Exploded View by Ivan Vladislavic

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Terry-Ann Adams’ writing brings a different voice to these explorative depictions of a place. Their acclaimed novel Those Who Live in Cages invites readers into the world of five women trying to live another day in Eldorado Park. Both Those Who Live in Cages and White Chalk, Adams’ short story collection, walk through community, meeting others and meeting ourselves.

“I am not a girl, and I told my mother this when she took me to that stupid wedding dress shop in Rissik Street.” - Matric Dance from White Chalk: Stories by Terry-Ann Adams

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Terry-Ann Adams and Ivan Vladislavić will discuss depicting urban spaces and cities like Dublin and Joburg at Bloomsday at Bridge on Saturday 13 June.

The event will also include readings from Ulysses in English, Dutch, French, German, and isiZulu. Anthony Akerman will speak about reading Ulysses in South Africa.

Afterwards, we’ll have drinks and a harvest table in the newly renovated Barbican penthouse to watch the sunset over the city.

Date: 13 June
Time: 13:30 for 14:00
Where: Bridge Books Barbican, 89 Helen Joseph Cnr Rissik, Marshalltown
Tickets: R50 for attendance or R150 to include the harvest table and a welcome drink

Tickets here

Today is Chaka: Centenary Edition by Thomas Mofolo (Sesotho).

When we were brainstorming for another classic to republish, Chaka was honestly not even on the list. Copies of Chaka were readily available in English, and online I found copies in Afrikaans, French, Italian, and German. But then I realized that the original Sesotho edition was no where to be found.

Even getting a copy to work from took months. The special collection at the library at the University of Pretoria had one, but it’s so precious, you can’t check it out. I had to sit with a librarian and photograph each page. Then we ran the images through character recognition software, and found that the computer couldn’t read the old orthographies, which had diacritical marks that aren’t in use any more – at least, not in South African standard Sesotho.

Cleaning up the text took months. Much of the work was done by people working on the Social Employment Fund through the Johannesburg Inner City Partnership. Fiona O’Connor advised on the design work. Architect Joshil Naran designed the cover.

Altogether, it took three years to put the book together.

Joshil Naran discussed designing the cover at our Chaka Launch in 2025.

This book is another part of our project to bring back into circulation works that were destroyed, lost, or suppressed under colonial rule and Apartheid in South Africa.

We are committed to honouring the past, present, and future of South African literature. A Bridge Books logo on a book is a sign of celebration – celebration of literature, of South Africa, and of the dynamic ways in which the two meet.

Today you can get Chaka: Centenary Edition at 50% off. Use the code Chaka10 at checkout to apply the discount.

Buy here

Stay tuned for more announcements on our daily sales.

Paid Subscriber Exclusive

Paid subscribers to our newsletter have received a code to take 25% off for the entire 10 days.

Saturday Birthday Sale

On Saturday, 6 June, all our books in store and online will be 25-50% off.

And don’t forget…

Tickets for Bloomsday at Bridge are available now.

Tickets here