The Cheeky Natives

Send us Fan Mail What do we inherit from our parents when the past they hid turns out to be the country's past too?  In this live Pagecast recording from Open Book Festival 2026, Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele sits down with researcher in mental health and human rights, Commonwealth Short Story Prize winner and debut novelist Faraaz Mahomed to talk about Motherland .  The conversation moves through the...

Send us Fan Mail What does a family owe the son it loved but never quite managed to reach? I In this live Pagecast recording from Open Book Festival 2026, Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane sits down with Glasgow-born doctor and debut novelist Selali Fiamanya to talk about Before We Hit the Ground , his novel longlisted for Scotland's Fiction Book of the Year.  On his first trip to South Africa, Fiamany...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a woman who built her name behind a camera picks up a pen to tell the story a photograph cannot hold?  In this live Pagecast recording from Open Book Festival 2026, Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele sits down with Nigerian-American author, photographer and international bestseller Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström to talk about Bitter Honey , her first historical novel spanning four de...

Send us Fan Mail What does a body do when the world was never built to hold it?  In this live Pagecast recording from Open Book Festival 2026, Advocate Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane sits down with poet, disability awareness activist and lead editor of English Alive Kirsten Deane to talk about Disabled, But , her debut poetry collection from uHlanga Press.  The conversation moves through the unfinished &...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a god no one believes in anymore still has something to say? In this live Pagecast recording from Open Book Festival 2026, Letlhogonolo sits down with Nigerian writer I.O. Echeruo to talk about his debut novel Comfort of Distant Stars, a 2026 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction finalist. The conversation moves through the novel's opening: a three-year-old led...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to remember what a continent keeps trying to forget? In this live Pagecast recording from Open Book Festival 2026, Dr Alma-Nalisha Cele sits down with East African feminist practitioner, writer and award-winning poet Jessica Horn to talk about Feminist Practice: Cartographies of Liberatory Worldmaking, her landmark book chronicling decades of African feminist mob...

Send us Fan Mail A freedom fighter can be a legend to the world and still feel unreachable to her own child. Kagiso Lesego Molope, acclaimed author and playwright, unpacks the raw emotional core of We Inherit the Fire , where mother-daughter love lives beside anger, disappointment, and the kind of silence that grows when survival takes up all the oxygen. You'll discover how the novel's a...

Send us Fan Mail Most women endure silence and sacrifice because of societal expectations — but what if that silence is a form of violence?  Dr. Kopano Matlwa, acclaimed author and public health physician, unpacks the hidden costs of womanhood, the trauma of Gender Based Violence, and the myth of the perfect family in her powerful novel Bosadi. This conversation challenges us to confront uncomfort...

Send us Fan Mail We sat down with Nadia Davis, author of Cape Fever, to honour the quiet strength and resilience that hidden stories bring to our lives.  In a beautifully tender conversation, we explored themes of silent resistance, personal empowerment, and the power of internal archives.  We explored narratives that challenge conventional tales of survival and authentic connection.  Nadia reflec...

Send us Fan Mail We sat down with Siphokazi Jonas, author of  "Weeping Becomes a River," to honour the wisdom and relatability that poetry brings to our lives. Together, we explored themes of cultural reclamation, personal transformation, and linguistic identity. Our conversation journeyed through narratives that challenge traditional tales of resilience and genuine connection. Siphokazi...

Send us Fan Mail In the final installation of the acclaimed trilogy, Zibu Sithole, the acclaimed author of the beloved Zola series, reveals why she’s choosing to tell stories of gentle, soft Black love. We journeyed with characters who challenged the traditional narratives of suffering and resilience by prioritising self-love and genuine connection. In a heartfelt conversation, Zibu reflects on Zo...

Send us Fan Mail Frank Sayi grew up in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, in the 1970s. His childhood straddled two very significant periods in his country's history, both of which heavily influenced his memoir. The first was the war of liberation (1975-1979), closely followed by the post-independence internecine war (1981-1987). Frank and his two older sisters, Thoko and Gift, lived with their grandmot...

Send us Fan Mail As a high-performing, excellence-driven, successful black woman, being in control of everything in her life was crucial to her survival and success for Nozipho Tshabalala. For much of her life, it had always served her well until it no longer did.  The book begins with her receiving the news of her mother’s passing while she stood on the biggest stage of her career. This formative...

Send us Fan Mail In the captivating 100th episode, we engaged in a profound conversation with Andile Cele, the author of the compelling debut novel Braids and Migraines. This enlightening discussion delved into a rich exploration of identity, mental health, and the complexity of human relationships. Braids and Migraines chronicles the journey of a young girl navigating life in a post-apartheid tow...

Send us Fan Mail “Part theory, part manifesto, part history” – this book sparked a black feminist movement in Brazil. Patricia Hill Collins writes: “Where We Stand boldly claims a space for Black feminism in Brazil. This long-awaited translation offers new audiences a rare opportunity to encounter the rich ideas of an emerging generation of Black women academics and activists who are fearless in p...

Send us Fan Mail In a world where the lines between privacy and exposure blur increasingly, Onyi Nwabineli's latest novel, " Allow Me to Introduce Mysel f," offers a profound exploration of identity, familial bonds, and the often untidy experiences of coming of age.  The novel centers around the complex world of Anuri, a child raised in the public eye as the offspring of a popular m...

Send us Fan Mail We sat down for a candid and vulnerable discussion on rebellion, compliance and the intricacies of language and place with Mubanga Kalimamukwento , author of the prize winning Obligations to the Wounded . The collection transcends physical spaces and time with Mubanga navigating the interplay of memory and geographical place. Her stories, woven in rich narratives, explore the land...

Send us Fan Mail In ‘The Girl With The Louding Voice’, the book ends with Adunni winning the scholarship and her dream of school seems close to fruition.  In this triumphant book that breaks the curse of the sophomore novel, Adunni and Ms Tia are back. This story unfolds over the course of 24 hours, with Adunni being forced to return to her home village just hours before the new school year commen...

Send us Fan Mail In Zukiswa Wanner’s latest novel, we are confronted with couples battling secrets, betrayals and endings. This book is a meditation on the weight of betrayal, difficult choices and navigating moral quandaries. The characters are flawed, making bad choices and yet still remain relatable. This page turner deftly manages to deal with a wealth of topics including gendered social behav...

Send us Fan Mail Set in Zambia, this novel introduces us to a young lawyer, named Grace and her client Wilbess (Bessy). After a string of unfortunate events, Bessy has been arrested for having sex with another man. A crime according to Zambian laws which prohibit same sex relations. Following Grace’s initial visit, Bessy disappears from custody without a trace.  Thus begins Grace’s fight for justi...

Send us Fan Mail We Were Girls Once is the sequel to Tomorrow I Become a Woman, honing in on the lives of Ego, Zina, and Eriife, the daughters of Uju, Chinelo, and Adaugo from the first book. It explores their journey of they transition from being girls to women. Ego, who moves to the United Kingdom to further her studies but despite experiencing relative success while working in a firm, she is co...

Send us Fan Mail The Comrade’s Wife follows a turbulent marriage between a rising politician and an academic, told through her life and lens. The novel features a whirlwind romance between a charming rapscallion and a maiden fair who has been wronged in her past.  With deliciously crafted sentences, Boswell's prose is thought-provoking and emotionally impactful.   Anita is not only a victim o...

Send us Fan Mail In this collection of interconnected stories, we are introduced to four women: Solape, Remi, Nonso and Aisha whose lives trajectories are bound by friendship, loss and the business of life.  Spanning diverse geographical locations and time period, this collection traverses the past and looks to the future. In an ode to globalisation and the rapidly shrinking nature of the world, t...

Send us Fan Mail I Do… Don’t I? is the eagerly awaited sequel to the The Thing with Zola.  In it there is a continuation of the love story between Zola and Mbali, traversing the unique location of Kigali and Johannesburg while navigating the complications of a long-distance relationship and the underlying question of commitment.  Will they say I do?  Zola's teenage sister adds to the drama as...

Send us Fan Mail In Only Big Bum Bum Matters Tomorrow, Damilare Kuku introduces a protagonist, Témì with big plans for a drastic change to her appearance in the form of a BBL.  In her debut novel, Damilare examines familial relationships, beauty standards and the quest for desirability in modern day Nigeria.  Témì is a young university student, grappling with her body image all while navigating lo...