Notes from Porcupine's 'resident Writer'

WORKING AT PORCUPINE IS LIKE DRIVING A SCENIC ROUTE

The process of publishing is a bit like driving along a scenic route. New features appear on the horizon, some more remarkable than others, and steadily loom larger. Just so with manuscripts as they are transformed into books. Closest to the Porcupine bus as it trundles towards 2014 are several interesting publications. Here are brief descriptions of a few of them.

Faces and Footsteps by Morag Wade Mackay is the story of the author’s brush with death after a devastating motor cycle accident when she was seventeen. She lost an arm, and had numerous operations on her hips and legs. It’s a harrowing story, but one also of great courage and determination to live. This book is about to be printed.

Kate Shuttleworth Langa has written My Cousin’s Cousin, a South African saga that provides a view of a changing South Africa through the eyes of three families, all closely intertwined. There’s some powerful writing when one of the heroines, Susanna Malan, becomes involved with a political prisoner on Robben Island. The book is in the early stages of layout. Look out for it early next year.

A little further away, but rapidly approaching, is Deadly Justice by John Gosebo. This novel contains some gripping courtroom scenes, and probes into the darker reaches of tender fraud and government corruption in contemporary South Africa. We’re in the final stages of editing.

We’ve just started editing another interesting manuscript. Now that I am a Man by Monelo Nxozi is about the charismatic mega churches that operated in the old Ciskei when the author was growing up there. The book is an insider look at that part of the Eastern Cape where so many men are either pastors or what someone refers to as ‘tender pushers’.

In the middle distance, there’s a book by Hans Beukes which has no title yet. It’s part personal story and part history. His focus is the transformation of South West Africa into Namibia. Beukes was born in Rehoboth. While studying at UCT he was offered a scholarship to Oslo University. The authorities refused him a passport. He has now lived in Norway for forty years.

Everyone at Porcupine is looking forward to our scenic driving in the New Year.

Coolie Come Out and Fight : Franschoek Tatler, 01 December 2013

Season's Greetings

Branding and Marketing YOU through Teams: Media Update,November 2013

Donna Rachelson presents a must-read for marketers

Published: 19 November 2013

Author Donna Rachelson is a branding and marketing specialist who has gained valuable insights into how teams work together. Luckily, she shares these insights in her second book titled Branding & Marketing You through Teams.

Packed with real life case studies, inspirational quotes and insights, the book is a must-read for marketers, team leaders and anyone who wants to take their business to the next level.

The impetus for the book was a need to unravel the mystery of what drives an individual to perform well in a team. Rachelson reveals the mystery not through intangible theories but with real-life revelations gained from spending time with a number of South Africa’s high-performing teams.

Rachelson spent many hours with these teams, which include Microsoft Services Management, MTN-Qhubeka, Protea Hotels Group, Sanlam Personal Finance, Gift of the Givers and Demographica.

With a chapter dedicated to each company, the lessons are presented as conversations which are not only easy to follow but provide eye-opening learnings into what, exactly, makes for team brilliance.

Chris Moerdyk says this about Rachelson’s book: “There is no greater way in my opinion, of illustrating the power of marketing and particularly its branding component, than through the use of case histories. And this is what Rachelson does so well. She avoids all the clichés and airy-fairy theory that pervades and obfuscates the marketing industry today and just gets right to where the proof of the marketing pudding lies.”

Rachelson asks the questions that get to nitty-gritty of what excellent teams are all about – across personality types, innate ability to work with others, emotional intelligence and leadership. The insights that struck me the most were the ones from Microsoft and Gift of the Givers. Microsoft’s approach is an anti-hero one, they don’t condone a hero culture where one individual takes the credit.

The Microsoft Services Management team works towards the greater good of the client, even if it means bringing in a competitor to do the work, a concept that throws out the notion of competition and embraces and practices the concept of “co-opetition”. These individuals truly understand the meaning of client service.

Gift of the Givers practices the ideology of total transparency. Even in the media. Founder and chairman Dr Imtiaz Sooliman has a “tell in like it is” approach to media. He repeatedly tells members of the press, “Report what you want to report. Good or bad”.

It is not a provocation, but another example of the organisations’ totally transparent approach. Another salient point that allows the NGO to stand out of the “donation clutter” is to do things quickly. The team shares a common purpose and vision and volunteers for the crisis team are selected with care.

No matter how qualified a person is, selection depends on whether they have the psychological, emotional and physical resilience to deal with trauma, tragedy and disaster response and if that person can truly function as part of a team.

With regards to marketing, the brand identity is one of professionalism and visibility. Each volunteer team member wears a custom-made shirt with the South African flag on the left sleeve. Gift of the Givers functions as a professional organisation where “perfection is not good enough” - the team needs to go beyond this, even in its branding.

Rachelson believes that a good “outro” is as important as a good “intro” and she therefore leaves the reader with an extensive list of her learnings from the teams she interviewed. Branding & Marketing You through Teams is not only a quintessential guide to creating and maintaining a great team but a guide on how to market a company through that team. Valuable reading indeed.

Branding & Marketing You through Teams by Rachelson is available at all good bookstores across South Africa as well as www.kalahari.com and as an eBook on www.amazon.com. 

Why Israel?: Fordsburg Community Newspaper, September 2013

Why Israel? : Al-Qalam, October 2013

Blaze- The Beginnings:Drum, October 2013

Bob Mabena’s son launches book

By nandipha on October 26, 2013 E-mail

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Seventeen-year-old Reneiloe Mabena is the latest addition to South Africa’s list of young writers. Reneiloe, better known as Nay, is the son of famous Kaya FM breakfast show host Bob Mabena.

Nay is fast becoming a teen trailblazer, following the launch of his book Blaze, written in the genre of young adult science-fiction. He is a refreshing young talent entering the literary scene, having started writing the seven novel series at the age of 15 on his BlackBerry.

To date he has completed three of the books in the series and is already gaining some respect in literary circles. Zandile Nzalo and Bob Mabena, Nay’s parents who have careers in journalism attribute the success of the book to Nay’s humility and family support. Bob says his son should never forget what he tells him every day when he picks him up from school; “There’s a lot of love here for you, don’t hold back, just keep up the good work”.

Nay and his family have big dreams and they want to see them grow into a valuable brand. They are currently working on securing the rights to turn the story into a PlayStation game. They hope that one day it could be reproduced as a movie and possibly a comic book.

He is also a proud student of St David’s Marist college in Sandton and is highly revered by his English teacher and headmaster, Malcom Williams, who believes that the standard of Nay’s literary project can be equated to the work of Harry Potter author, JK Rowling. “To be a successful writer you need to be imaginative, original, hard-working and entertaining,” he said.

Some of Nay’s friends, who attended the first book launch at Montecasino in Joburg, said they were not completely surprised by the style in which the book was written because it explores many facets of Nay’s personality and they believe they can identify with it. Seventeen-year-old Dean Ralphs, Nay’s classmate, said he was surprised to find out that his friend was launching a book.

“When I get a chance to read it, I’m expecting to see his funny and creative side shine through.” When asked if he thought his friend would start acting differently once he becomes an even bigger success he replied that he doesn’t believe Nay would change because he’s pretty laid back and treats everyone with respect.He

5FM DJ Kabelo “KB” Ngakane, who attended the event with his wife, said he has known Mabena since he was a toddler and shelves his copy of Blaze between his favourite fiction and self-help books.

-DRUM reporter