Books

NOVELS

2020
Charlotte
London: Bonnier/Manilla Press

Charlotte Lucas is plain, poor and reaching a dangerous age when she accepts the proposal of buffoonish clergyman Mr Collins. Married life will propel her into a new world of secrets, grief, unexpected love and friendship, and a kind of freedom.

This powerful re-imagining takes up where Austen left off in Pride and Prejudice. Charlotte offers a fresh, feminist addition to the post-Austen canon, brimming with passion and intelligence.

To buy in the UK, click here (Waterstones). To buy the e-book, click here (Kobo) or here (Kindle). If you’re in South Africa, order from your favourite indie, Exclusives, or click here. In Australia, try here.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

2018
Toast (with Alex Latimer and Jennifer Jacobs)
Cape Town: Book Dash

A picnic in a beautiful garden leads to adventure.

Who will get the piece of toast? And will they be able to keep it?

GREEN BOOKS

2019
Wise About Waste: 150+ Ways to Help the Planet
Johannesburg: Bookstorm

How do we live more gently on our planet? Can we put a stop to the environmental disasters that loom larger every day? These burning questions are on everyone’s mind.

This book addresses these urgent issues by providing a practical guide to reducing the waste we generate. by looking at how we can all create less waste, and use resources more wisely. It tackles plastic waste, energy waste, food waste, manufacturing waste and much more – from homes to businesses, from immediate actions to long-term plans, there’s a strategy for everyone.

With over 150 practical tips and ideas, from the tiny and the quirky to the big and the dramatic, Wise About Waste can help us work towards waste-wise lifestyles. While there are tough questions and even tougher answers, these go hand-in-hand with reasons for hope and a good dash of humour.

2018
101 Water Wise Ways
Johannesburg: Bookstorm

“Our Roman-orgy relationship with water is over.”

South Africa is besieged by drought, and the way we think about water needs to change. This is especially true for those of us who have running water and flush sanitation piped into our homes. For millions of South Africans, water is already a precious resource that costs toil to collect and fuel to heat. Our middle-class expectations that water will gush from our dozens of indoor taps 24/7 are going to look as bizarre to future generations as the spectacle of Cleopatra bathing in asses’ milk. This book will hopefully help to alleviate water panic and distress. A “can-do” compendium, it’s meant to be a guide, not prescriptive – not all solutions or tips are one-size-fits-all. Think of it as an ally in your fight to save water and part of your survival kit, along with the first-aid box; Valium for water-worriers.

POETRY

2016
Prunings
Cape Town: uHlanga

Joint winner, SALA prize for Poetry, 2017

Where do unfinished poems go – the early buds, the offcuts, all of the blooms that can't be bunched together? In this beguiling bouquet of travel poetry, diary fragments, letters, works-in-progress and retrospection, Helen Moffett offers us a rare look into the workings, misfirings and triumphs of a literary mind. A collection of tentative moments and emotions, rendered in fleeting and experimental forms.

2009
Strange Fruit
Cape Town: Modjaji Books

This collection, which charts the history of an infertile body with wry insight and honesty, gives voice to what often remains unspoken.

“Strange Fruit is a courageous debut with a remarkable range in theme and tone, from the nostalgic to the comedic and bawdy, from angry, melancholic to steadfast and comforting.” — Rustum Kozain

TEXTBOOKS

2014
English for Academic Purposes (editor)
Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa
(International version also available.)

English for Academic Purposes addresses students in a lively and interactive manner to develop their academic reading and writing skills and to develop confidence in their academic studies. It aims to empower students and improve their academic performance by equipping them with essential academic literacy skills.

2013
Seasons Come to Pass (editor)
Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa

Drawing on fifteen centuries of poetry from all over the world, the third edition of Seasons come to pass: A poetry anthology for Southern African students continues to make poetry relevant and accessible to students in southern Africa. The anthology includes unusual, erotic, witty, and political poems, presented in chronological order. A wide range of poets is included, from classics and old favourites to fresh new voices.

This anthology offers support and guidance by providing a clear overview of the important movements in the history of the English language and its literature, as well as detailed notes on critical analysis and techniques for writing essays and exams. The aim is to encourage students to develop the confidence to express their ideas in writing. Practical examples are given of how to come to grips with poetry, and develop critical and analytical skills. Poems are brought alive through supporting notes that tackle contemporary and controversial concerns.

EDITED OR CO-EDITED ANTHOLOGIES

2019
Hotel Africa: New Short Fiction from Africa (editor, with Karen Jennings, Agazit Abate, Ope Adedeji and Anne Moraa)
Cape Town and London: Short Story Day Africa and New Internationalist

Here, it’s not just the walls that speak (and weep); the corridors, kitchens, lobbies, bars and beds all have stories to tell. But none more so than the array of characters jostling each other across these pages: tourists, cleaners, children, beggars, honeymooners, cooks, soldiers, those traveling hopefully.

2018
ID: New Short Fiction from Africa (editor, with Nebila Abdulmelik and Otiene Owino)
Cape Town and London: Short Story Day Africa and New Internationalist

This powerful collection showcases the multiple ways in which African writers see themselves and their communities, and the depth, variety and innovation of their interpretations. From Benin to Ethiopia, from Morocco to South Africa, the stories here reveal uncomfortable and fascinating truths about who we are. In a world of rising nationalism and factionalism, of increasingly crude and reductive notions of identity, these stories insist on the complexity, intimacy and inter-connectedness of African identities. Prepare to be amazed, challenged and enchanted.

2017
Migrations: New Short Fiction from Africa (editor, with Efemia Chela and Bongani Kona)
Cape Town and London: Short Story Day Africa and New Internationalist

The story of Africa is the story of souls migrating. Twenty-one of Africa's finest writers bring fresh urgent perspectives to one of our most profound phenomena, and the basis of all our greatest stories.

2015
Stray: An Anthology of Animal Stories and Poems (editor, with Diane Awerbuck)
Cape Town: Modjaji Books

A collection of stories and poems by mostly well-known South African writers. Some of the pieces have been previously published, and others are new. Each story and poem explores different ways in which animals and humans live together, co-exist and change each other.

2006
Lovely Beyond Any Singing: Landscape in South African Literature
Johannesburg: Double Storey Press (Please contact author directly for copy.)

Showcases scenes of 'the beloved country' as described by South Africa's most brilliant writers. Ranging through history, from the firelight tales of the first storytellers to modern voices on the web, this book encompasses the brilliant kaleidoscope of our local scribes – from drama to poetry, and from revered names to controversial voices.

SPORT

2010
Bob Woolmer on Batting (with Bob Woolmer and Tim Noakes)
London: New Holland
 
Bob Woolmer on Bowling (with Bob Woolmer and Tim Noakes)
London: New Holland

“Cricket, gender and intimations of mortality”, chapter in Sport versus Art: A South African Contest, ed. Chris Thurman.
Johannesburg: Wits University Press

2008
Bob Woolmer’s Art and Science of Cricket (with Bob Woolmer and Tim Noakes)
Cape Town: Random House Struik

E-BOOKS

2017
Rape Crisis Turns 40: A Memoir of 1976—2016 (compiler)
Cape Town: Rape Crisis

This is not a fairy tale. It’s much more important than that. It's the epic account of how a handful of brave women – and later men – tackled the scourge of sexual violence in South Africa. This is a mighty saga, one that’s been running without interruption for forty years.