News From South Africa
The SA crime fiction year always gets off to a slow start as everyone reluctantly washes the beach sand off their feet and heads back to the office - consequently there's not much to report. Except I did call around the publishers to see what was in the wings for 2010.
Turns out that I'm kick-starting the year with the publication of the second book in my Revenge Trilogy, Killer Country, and then next month comes the second thriller from Sue Rabie called Blood at Bay followed in April by Deon Meyer's greatly anticipated 13 Hours. It'll hit US and UK shelves in the same month.
Later in the year there are books from Jassy Mackenzie (who has just cracked number three and is doing very nicely in the US and Germany); Sarah Lotz (who is developing a legal series featuring a particularly scrofulous lawyer); and then another Wessel Ebersohn title, Nights Like These. After breaking his 19 year silence last year with The October Killings we're all pleased that he's got back into the swing of things.
In September Roger Smith hands down a new novel called Wake Up Dead (his Mixed Blood has just been voted the best crime novel of 2009 by the KrimiWelt group of German, Austrian and Swiss crime fiction reviewers); and unscheduled as yet is Malla Nunn's second Detective Emmanuel Cooper called Let the Dead Lie.
The debut of the year is likely to go to a book planned for June entitled Young Blood by Sifiso Mzobe. I was fortunate to read the manuscript of this fast-paced, hell-on-wheels ride through the townships and streets of Durban and without a doubt it's going to add a new dimension to our crime fiction.
The Afrikaans scene is equally as vibrant with new books due from all the established names, Deon Meyer, Francois Bloemhof, Riana Mouton, Chanette Paul, Piet Steyn, Quintus van der Merwe and Chris Karstens (who turned from true crime last year to the fictional version) among them.
Talk is in the wind (actually at this time of year the wind is best described as a gale) of establishing a prize for crime fiction, which will hugely help raise our profile, although on that score I can report a minor victory. Late in January I coordinated a series of crime fiction lectures at the University of Cape Town's Summer School which drew an audience of 70 people a night every night of the week, including Friday. In Cape Town terms an audience of 70 is very good going. Among them were people who told me they'd never read a crime novel in their lives - let alone a South African one - but to a person by the end of the week they said they were converts.
Perhaps in the coming months the book launches will turn into revivalist meetings.
Till next as I'm off for my morning swim - now in a tidal pool - as a Great White Shark took a bather at my favourite beach in the middle of January. And when I mean took, I mean took as in ate completely. This is the second such attack at that spot in five years. If you go swimming there a certain theme song can be hard playing quite loudly every time you slip beneath the surface.
ITW International Committee Chair for South Africa, Mike Nicol, is a journalist and writer and now a hard-core crime fiction addict. He's published two crime novels - Payback and Out to Score (a co-authorship), and is a founder of the blog Crime Beat. He lives on Cape Town's peninsula, up a mountain, in the teeth of the wind.
ThrillerFest
ITW's annual celebration of the thriller world is the largest event of its kind, a meeting place for authors, readers, budding writers, and publishing industry professionals.
For 2010, we’ll be back in the heart of New York in July with the ThrillerFest conference including CraftFest and AgentFest.
ThrillerFest V will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.
The dates will be July 7-10, 2010. You must register for the conference prior to making hotel reservations. Call the Hyatt at 1-800-233-1234 or 212-883-1234. Ask for the ThrillerFest or International Thriller Writers rate of $199. If you prefer, use the direct online reservation link by clicking here. Conference rates apply July 6-11, 2010. If your stay is longer, please call the hotel to make your reservations.
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