Meet the rebels, artists, troublemakers, athletes, dancing queens and freedom fighters that shaped our past – and are changing our future.
An A to Z of Amazing South African Women tells the stories of 26 trailblazing South African women through accessible stories and illustrations that are as bright and bold as the women they depict.
From Fatima Meer to Caster Semenya, Natalie du Toit to Dope St Jude, this is a book about women who ask too many questions, who defy injustice, who refuse to take no for an answer. It is a celebration of the courage and determination of the activists, scientists and storytellers who have gone before us – as well as a recognition of the everyday heroism of ordinary South African woman doing extraordinary things.
The book takes its inspiration from the worldwide bestseller An A to Z of Rad American Women and will be launched during August 2017. It is the work of writer Ambre Nicolson and illustrator Jaxon Hsu, a husband and wife team based in Cape Town.
“When I came across the American edition I immediately wished there was a South African version. Since none existed we decided to make one ourselves. The result is a book that showcases South African women as we know them to be: courageous, compassionate and resilient,” says Nicolson.
Publisher Colleen Higgs describes the process of choosing only 26 women for the project as almost impossible: “What we loved about the American version is that the women featured were not the usual suspects, they were such a diverse group of women all united by a certain steely irreverence. We have worked hard to ensure that An A to Z of Amazing South African Women features a really interesting mix of women from all walks of life and all eras of South Africa’s past and present.”
Modjaji Books has also launched a crowdfunding campaign, through Thundafund, to support the publication of An A to Z of Amazing South African Women. Supporters of the campaign can not only pre-order their copy of the book but also buy an additional copy at a discounted rate that will be given to a young person who would not be able to afford one through Fundza, the South African nonprofit dedicated to improving literacy among teens and young adults.
The campaign will run for six weeks until 13 June 2017.
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