When the Cradock Four’s Fort Calata was murdered by agents of the apartheid state in 1985, his son Lukhanyo was only three years old.

Thirty-one years later Lukhanyo, now a journalist, becomes one of the SABC Eight when he defies Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s reign of censorship at the public broadcaster by writing an open letter that declares: my father didn’t die for this.

Now, with his wife Abigail, Lukhanyo brings to life the father he never knew and investigates the mystery that surrounds his death despite two high-profile inquests.

Join them in a poignant and inspiring journey into the history of a remarkable family that traces the struggle against apartheid beginning with Fort’s grandfather, Rivonia trialist and ANC Secretary-General Rev James Calata.

Lukhanyo Calata is a television journalist, who worked for eNCA before joining the SABC’s parliamentary office. He lives in Cape Town.

Abigail Calata is a journalist who has worked for Beeld as a political reporter and parliamentary correspondent, Die Burger and the University of Cape Town’s Law Faculty. She lives in Cape Town.

Book details

• My Father Died for This by Lukhanyo Calata, Abigail Calata
  EAN: 9780624081647
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If the apricot trees of Soweto could talk, what stories would they tell? This short story collection provides an imaginative answer as it captures the vibrancy of the township and surrounds.

Told with satirical flair, life and death intertwine in these tales where funerals and the ancestors feature strongly; where cemeteries are places to show off a new car and catch up on gossip.

Take a seat under the apricot tree and be enthralled by tales both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Niq Mhlongo was born in 1973 in Soweto. He has a BA from the University of the Witwatersrand, with majors in African Literature and Political Studies. His first novel, Dog Eat Dog, was published by Kwela in 2004 and was translated into Spanish under the title Perro Come Perro in 2006. This Spanish edition was awarded the Mar de Letras prize.

Besides writing novels and short stories, Niq has written a screenplay for the animated children’s TV series Magic Cellar and scripts for a comic magazine called Mshana, the first issue of which appeared in February 2007. After Tears is his second novel.

Event Details

• Date: Tuesday, 10 April 2018
• Time: 6:00 PM for 6:30 PM
• Venue: The Market Photo Workshop Auditorium, 138 Lillian Ngoyi St (old Bree St), Newtown, Johannesburg | Map
• Guest Speaker: Vincent Moloi
• RSVP: events@exclusivebooks.co.za
  Book Details
  • Soweto, Under the Apricot Tree by Niq Mhlongo
    EAN: 9780795708374
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