There is nothing more important than independent thought and we've made it our business to find, shape and publish books that disrupt, provoke and change what gets said out loud.
And along the way, we've become part of your story.
You’ve jived with Bra Hugh in Still Grazing, devoured Coconut by Kopano Matlwa, roared at Zapiro sharpening his blade on the national conscience. You’ve stage-whispered uWanda to small ones at bedtime, packed natural history guides into adventure backpacks, and pored over memoirs that resonate with your life, too. Our books have been your companions, your provocateurs, your way finders.
Through the Jacana Literary Foundation, our NPO – we run awards that grow the writers who’ll shake the next generation: the Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award, spanning all 11 South African languages; the Dinaane Debut Fiction Award; the Gerald Kraak Anthology and Prize, which interrogates and celebrates gender, sexuality and human rights. We also hold our From Pitch to Publication initiative, because talent shouldn’t stay stuck in a submissions box. We nurture writers, illustrators and publishing professionals to grow the continent’s literary landscape.
We welcome the brave, the curious and the queer. We always have. We look back because it matters. And because what comes next matters more.
Our Award-winning titles
These exceptional works have collectively earned the region’s most prestigious literary honours and international recognition – from the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award, the South African Literary Awards (SALA), and the Humanities and Social Sciences Awards (HSS) to the UJ Prize for South African Writing, the Cultural and Creative Industry Awards, the Windham-Campbell Prize, the LAMBDA Literary Awards, and the Martin A. Klein Prize.
Managing Today, Powering Tomorrow
Independent publishing has always been fragile. Right now, it's under the most sustained pressure worldwide.
In South Africa, margins are tight. Revenue is inconsistent and never enough, and the retail environment favours BookTok bestsellers and safe overseas imports.
Our 24-year history of publishing has produced a priceless archive of more than 2500 titles and has impacted many thousands of readers. Jacana wants to continue publishing the kind of perceptive and relevant books we are known for. But getting a physical book into the world demands time and serious upfront investment: commissioning, curating, editing, proofreading, typesetting, printing, marketing, warehousing, selling and distribution.
In 2020, during the worst of COVID, journalist Ben Williams wrote in the Daily Maverick that publishers and booksellers are “some of the smartest and toughest people you’ll ever hope to meet” and that South Africa’s book world “would be severely diminished by Jacana’s absence”.
We’re still here. We’re still tough. But we also know when to ask our people for help.
This isn’t a charity call – it’s a civic one.
You might not know this, but…
We grow young readers, publishing books for them in all of the indigenous languages
Empowering young readers
We have helped launch the careers of authors...
such as
How to Power Project Jacana
What we're asking for:
We need room to breathe. A monthly donation in whatever amount you can sustain. That’s it. Steady, recurring support is what allows us to plan, to commit to manuscripts, to keep the lights on and the presses running. It could be as easy as buying us a cappuccino.
If a recurring gift isn’t possible right now, a once-off donation is received with equal gratitude. Remember always that the best thing you can do for books is to buy them and talk about them.
Five percent of all contributions will be donated bi-annually, in books, to community libraries.
We publish what we like. Together, let’s continue to do more for Project Jacana.
Ready to power Project Jacana?
See the options below to donate and join the movement. #PowerProjectJacana
Monthly Contribution of R50
Monthly Contribution of R100
Monthly Contribution of R250
Monthly Contribution of R500
Monthly Contribution of R5000
Monthly Contribution of Rx
Once-off Contribution
