Kwela Books, an imprint of NB Publishers,
are delighted to announce that they will be publishing a new novel from
acclaimed author Zakes Mda later this year.
THE SCULPTORS OF MAPUNGUBWE, Mda's first novel since 2009, will be
published in October 2013. The narrative centres on the timeless kingdom
of Mapungubwe where the royal sculptor has two heirs, Chata and
Rendani. As they grow, their rivalry intensifies and this enmity
underpins an irresistibly rich fable of love and family.
Zakes Mda, notable South African novelist, poet and playwright of
more than twenty works, has won numerous literary awards in South Africa
and the United States. Speaking of the deal he said, 'I feel greatly
honored that my next novel, THE SCULPTORS OF MAPUNGUBWE, has found a
home with Kwela, a publishing house that has been at the forefront of
promoting South African writing in the last twenty years.'
James Woodhouse, publisher at Kwela, said: 'We are, of course,
delighted that Zakes Mda has chosen to publish THE SCULPTORS OF
MAPUNGUBWE with us here at Kwela. The novel is an extraordinary work of
imagination, which will resonate with readers of all of ages -- a simply
wonderful piece of work from one of the guiding lights of South African
literature.'
Seagull Books will be publishing in English outside of South Africa.
Praise for Zakes Mda:
'A voice for which one should feel not only affection but admiration' -- The New York Times
'For
a long time, white writers dominated South African literature - Paton,
Brink, Gordimer, Coetzee. Post-apartheid, Zakes Mda, looks like the
great South African novelist of his generation, a writer rich in both
imagination and ironic political attitude.' -- The Philadelphia Inquirer
'In novel after novel, Zakes Mda seems to have cultivated a mode of
writing in which the realistic and the magical co-exist with unruffled
ease.' -- Harry Garuba, Independent
