Dear book lovers,

There are loads of exciting things happening in the book world this month – where to start?!

Most exciting, is the launch of the online literary magazine, The Johannesburg Review of Books. Publisher Ben Williams and editor Jennifer Malec have put together a fantastic team on this very exciting project – sign up now at www.johannesburgreviewofbooks.com.

Talking of Jennifer Malec, you can catch her at the Kingsmead Book Fair this Saturday – she’s chairing a panel on ‘Africa’s Big Apple’ – that’s our beloved Jozi, as reflected in literature. Kingsmead have put together a fantastic programme this year – go to http://kingsmead.co.za/bookfair/ for tickets.

The Sunday Times Literary Awards are coming up – watch out for the shortlist announcements in the Sunday Times this Sunday.

Publishing news of the year is of course the release of Arundhati Roy’s second novel in 20 yearsThe Ministry of Utmost Happiness. It’s under strict embargo until 6 June but if you’d like to receive yours on that day, please send pre-orders to me on kate@lovebooks.co.za.

As always, the shop is groaning with tempting things, so do pop in. You never know what you might find. Here’s what you should be looking out for this May –  www.lovebooks.co.za

Yours in books,

Kate and Anna