The Interpreters: South Africa's New Nonfiction
The past three decades of South African democracy have produced an extraordinary body of nonfiction – journalism, memoir, essays, reportage, life writing, and experimental forms that continue to redefine how we tell our stories. The Interpreters: South Africa’s New Nonfiction, co-edited by Hedley Twidle and published by Soutie Press, brings together this dynamic tradition in one ambitious collection.
The anthology collects 33 outstanding works by some of the country’s most celebrated literary voices, including Nobel Laureate J. M. Coetzee, Njabulo S Ndebele, Rian Malan, Bongani Madondo, Lin Sampson, Jonny Steinberg, Mark Gevisser, and Antjie Krog, alongside powerful contributions from a new generation of writers such as Bongani Kona, Zanele Mji, Kimon de Greef, Julie Nxadi, Lindokhule Nkosi and Anna Hartford.
As a project, The Interpreters seeks to trace and celebrate nonfiction as a powerful mode of interpretation: of history, of memory, of contemporary life, and of the ways South Africans imagine their place in the world. The book brings together diverse voices and forms, offering both a reckoning with the past and a way of thinking through the present.
“This magnificent anthology", wrote Ferial Haffajee, "will surely emerge as one of the best books out of South Africa this year, if not this decade.”
In an essay for The Conversation, Twidle highlighted how nonfiction has emerged as one of the most vital and experimental genres in post-apartheid South Africa, listing five essential reads from the past 30 years. Ambitious and innovative nonfiction, he noted, has become a space where South Africans process change and continuity, as well as the challenges of justice, memory, and belonging.
The launch of The Interpreters became a national conversation in its own right. Events were held across the country – from Cape Town to Johannesburg, Durban and Pietermaritzburg – creating spaces where writers, editors, and readers could come together to discuss nonfiction as both literature and lived experience. These gatherings underscored the book’s central idea: that nonfiction is not just about recounting events, but about interpreting them, shaping meaning, and opening dialogue.
As part of this momentum, Soutie Press has been actively engaging audiences on social media (@soutiepress on Instagram), showcasing the contributors, sharing excerpts, and documenting the growing excitement around the anthology.
The Interpreters is more than a collection of texts. It is an invitation to see nonfiction as a creative, intellectual, and political practice, one that is helping to define South African literature for the next generation.