South African fiction publishing is having a surge at the moment. It began in April and May, possibly because the Franschhoek Literary Festival in mid-May acts as a catalyst here, but has continued into June.
The ousting of Thabo Mbeki as party president at the Polokwane conference in 2007 marked the beginning of a period of voter fluidity and decline in the ANC's share of the national vote, writes Oscar van Heerden in his new soon-to-be released book, '2024 - Into the fire'. In this excerpt he analyses the years that saw growth for the ANC, and when the decline set in.