SA writers may be non-essential but 30 of them got together to write about 'the virus'

Sentenced to lockdown and regarded as "non-essential", 30 South African writers get together in a virtual Corona Collective to pen Lockdown Extended, trying to make sense of a world held hostage by a virus.

Powerfully visceral, this gem includes a diverse list of South Africa's most celebrated writers, brilliantly capturing the effects of a global pandemic.

There's Sisonke Msimang (Always Another Country), Fred Khumalo (Bitches' Brew) and Pumla Dineo Gqola (Rape: A South African Nightmare).

The comic genius of Ben Trovato and Everyday Zulu Melusi Tshabalala shine while poet Lebo Mashile, Khaya Dlanga, Dudu Busani ­Dube, Rahla Xenopolous and Haji Mohamed Dawjee dig deep to find meaning in the Time Of Corona.

"I jotted down a list of dream authors and decided to take my chances to see whether any one of them would agree to go on this mad venture with me," says maverick publisher and contributor Melinda Ferguson.

"I hoped a few of them would say 'yes'. Turns out all 30 of them did."

Lockdown Extended is available as an eBook via Kobo and Amazon. 

• Article provided by NB Publishers