On Thursday, 18 June, Painted Dog Press celebrated the launch of The Crying Bride & Other Hallucinations, the latest book by acclaimed South African writer Dominique Botha, at the striking Johannesburg art gallery CIRCA.
Welcoming guests, Painted Dog Pressβs John Hunt spoke about the vision behind the independent publishing house. βThese are not books for the algorithm,β John remarked. βIn a world of AI sameness, Painted Dog Press is a bespoke publishing house that values writers and their work above all else.β
The Crying Bride & Other Hallucinations is a collection of Dominique Bothaβs shorter writing, showcasing the range and depth of a writer whose debut novel False River is on Rapport newspaperβs list of 100 best Afrikaans novels ever published. Painted Dog Pressβs publisher, Fourie Botha, introduced Dominique, who, in a moving presentation accompanied by photographs and other visual material, reflected on her childhood on a Free State farm β a landscape that served as both home and microcosm of South African society, and which continues to shape her writing.
Saxophonist Kayode Ogunkoya (@saxokay) provided the perfect soundtrack, Boekenhoutskloof served fine wines, and guests gathered around an open rooftop fire beneath the Johannesburg sky late into the night.
The Crying Bride & Other Hallucinations is available in English and Afrikaans.
To buy a physical copy, visit: The Crying Bride and Other Hallucinations | Painted Dog
E-book editions available here: The Crying Bride & Other Hallucinations - Kindle edition by Botha, Dominique. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make the evening such a memorable celebration of books and stories. Special thanks to Mark Read and the CIRCA team for their hospitality and for providing a setting as remarkable as the book itself.
