Pagecast conversations at the KBF 2025: "The Authors Rewriting Childhood in South Africa"

Loading player...
In this special episode of Pagecast, we bring you an inspiring conversation recorded live at the 2025 Kingsmead Book Fair. Hloniphile Mzangwa is in conversation with four South African children’s authors who are transforming childhood through stories that celebrate empathy, inclusion, cultural pride, and representation.

Meet the incredible voices behind these powerful books:

Lara Nathan, author of Jamie Shai and his Superpower, shares how her special-needs son inspired a story rooted in empathy and inclusion.

Professor Claudine Storbeck, founder of the Centre for Deaf Studies, explores the importance of Deaf culture and sign language in children’s literature and education.

Salamina Mosese, acclaimed actress and author of Disaster at Gogo’s Spaza, brings township family life vividly to the page through her storytelling.

Refiloe Moahloli, award-winning author and founder of Twelve Animation Studios, celebrates multilingualism, joy, and self-confidence in her work.

Together, they answer thought-provoking questions about the importance of representation in South African children’s literature, how social themes like inclusion and identity are woven into their stories, and the core values they hope young readers will embrace.

Whether you’re a parent, educator, or book enthusiast, this episode offers a look at the stories shaping the future of childhood in South Africa.

#KingsmeadBookFair #SouthAfricanAuthors #ChildrensBooks #InclusionInLiterature #RepresentationMatters #EmpathyThroughStories #AfricanChildrensBooks #LiteraryFestival #BookLoversSA #StorytellingForChange #BookPodcast
30 May 2025 English South Africa Books · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

Pagecast at OBF 2026: Lọlá Ákínmádé and Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele in conversation

Next up in the Pagecast studio at Open Book Festival 2026, Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele is joined by bestselling author, keynote speaker and award-winning photographer Lọlá Ákínmádé. Lọlá's work has appeared in National Geographic, BBC, CNN, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Travel, The Daily Telegraph, The New York Times and Lonely…
5 Sep 13 min

Pagecast at OBF 2026: Krystle Zara Appiah and Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele in conversation

Joining Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele next in the Pagecast studio at Open Book Festival 2026 is Krystle Zara Appiah, a British-Ghanaian writer, editor and screenwriter based in London. In 2020, Krystle was one of 40 writers selected for the London Library’s Emerging Writers Programme. Her debut novel, Rootless, was highly acclaimed,…
5 Sep 17 min

Pagecast at OBF 2026: Jessica Horn and Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele in conversation

Joining Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele in the Pagecast studio at Open Book Festival 2026 is (East) African feminist practitioner, writer, ideamonger and award-winning poet, Jessica Horn. Her book, African Feminist Praxis: Cartographies of Liberatory Worldmaking (Sage, 2025), chronicles decades of feminist mobilisation. Taking her archival passion into film, she recently directed…
5 Sep 15 min

Pagecast at OBF 2026: I.O. Echeruo and Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane in conversation

Joining Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane of The Cheeky Natives is I.O. Echeruo, author of the debut novel The Comfort of Distant Stars - a bold coming-of-age tale where physics, philosophy and Igbo cosmology collide. Echeruo's debut story collection, Expert in All Styles, was published by Nigerian publisher Farafina, and his short fiction…
5 Sep 13 min