Exclusive Books pays homage to SA’s unparalleled wordsmiths

‘Homebru — Not the same old story’ campaign showcases imaginative flair, collective vigour and sheer transparency found within SA book pages

19 May 2022 - 08:00
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Book titles in the Exclusive Books' Homebru campaign encourage us to deepen our understanding, reinvent or reframe the narrative and find a story that serves us now.
Book titles in the Exclusive Books' Homebru campaign encourage us to deepen our understanding, reinvent or reframe the narrative and find a story that serves us now.
Image: Supplied/Exclusive Books

To celebrate and showcase outstanding SA writing. “Homebru”, now 25 years old, is a bookmarked highlight on the Exclusive Books calendar. Homebru — derived from the words “home”, meaning a place one lives, and “bru”, a familial SA term aimed at a friend — is synonymous with what the campaign strives for.

“Homebru — Not the same old story” illuminates the imaginative flair, collective vigour and sheer transparency found within SA book pages. Books are a place where many of us take refuge: alongside the intriguing storyline, between the pauses and spaces, chapter after chapter, holding each narration close.

The Homebru titles personify this experience as they encourage us to deepen our understanding, reinvent or reframe the narrative and, through the looking glass, find a story that serves us now.

Some of the featuring titles include  Milner, the Boer War in Colour, New History of South Africa, Spoilt Ballots and Stop Me If You Can, which offer a look at history through a fresh, 21st century lens. Here Be Dragons and Masters of Money excavate the opportunities in business.

The Exclusive Books Homebru campaign has been running for 25 years in SA.
The Exclusive Books Homebru campaign has been running for 25 years in SA.
Image: Supplied/Exclusive Books

Truth to power is shouted by authors like Jackie Phamotse and Haji Mohamed Dawjee in the hope of creating a brighter future. In Ghetto Ninja and Too White to be Coloured, Too Coloured to be Black, real life is illuminated.

Unsung heroes that haven’t yet been given their due are now celebrated in Goodnight Golda and Mensches in the Trenches. New heroes and quintessential SA characters, such as Wanda the Brave, Lerato Morolong in Two Tons O’ Fun, the Chasing Marian quartet, and Sally Andrew's Tannie Maria entertain and inspire us.

The Homebru podcasts, now a standard annual feature, will be anchored by hosts Jonathan Ancer and Lerato Sibanda, who will be in conversation with an esteemed line-up of Homebru authors.

Exclusive Books pays homage to the unparalleled South African spirit and humour, illustrated on poster displays in-store and on social media, bringing to life the “Homebru -Not the same old story perspective. Quick-witted lexicon and prose juxtaposes with classical lines resulting in funny, quirky and quintessential SA lines.

Their catalogue, which boasts the local selection and author interviews, poses a question to all the writers: “What have you found to be a truly South African experience?” All responses conveyed personal, yet shared experience — from humour and resilience, hard work and hustle, to landscape and the electric — which are eccentric South African energy. 

Welcome yourself back home with the enthralling collection of Homebru reads at Exclusive Books. 

This article was paid for by Exclusive Books.  

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