South African poetry since 2014

Athambile Masola wins NIHSS Award for Poetry, Kopano Maroga shortlisted

April 1, 2022

We’re proud to announce that Athambile Masola’s debut collection of poems in isiXhosa, Ilifa, has won the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences award for Best Fiction (Poetry). An amazing result for poetry in isiXhosa!

In addition, Kopano Maroga’s collection, Jesus Thesis and Other Critical Fabulations, was named on the shortlist.

The awards were announced at a ceremony on 31 March 2022 at the Javett-UP Arts Centre. Thank you to the judges and organisers, and congratulations to the other winners.

About uHlanga

uHlanga is a small South African poetry press run by Nick Mulgrew.

Our books are available to order from all retail bookstores in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. Our distributors are Protea Distribution in Cape Town and can be reached at +2721 001 7618.

Outside of South Africa, many of our books are available print-on-demand through the African Books Collective.

On social media

Due to demand, we have organised a special Sunday afternoon event on 31 August for @mantipoetry's 'Rootbound' in central Johannesburg, in which the author will be in conversation with @kopano.maroga. Thank you to our friends at @Bri@bridgebooks 🍃 we can't wait to see you there! #RootboundPoems #MantiMoila

“An independent Scottish publisher, Batis Books, with a focus on Southern African books will launch in early 2026.” – The Bookseller We’re thrilled to announce the arrival of our sister press, Batis Books, which lands in 2026 🔥 Batis will publish fiction, nonfiction & other literary work by Southern African writers. 🐦‍⬛ Read more at our link in bio. #uHlanga #BatisBooks #Batis2026

Catch us at Open Book Festival this September! 🫱Swipe to find out when and where uHlanga authors will be appearing, and of course, for all the details of our 10 year celebratory reading on 6 September 🎉 #uHlanga #OpenBookFestival #obf2025