OLI AND THE ISLAND OF INTSOMI

127pp., colour illus., paperback, Penguin, Cape Town, 2026

ISBN: 9780637012171

Ten-year-old Olinde Ukuthiywa has always felt different - but when a powerful vulture appears and carries her away to the Island of Intsomi, she must learn to find her voice and claim her identity as the last in a long line of Storykeepers charged with protecting the power of iintsomi, the traditional stories that once connected worlds.

South African poet, playwright and actor Siphokazi Jonas was awarded a Best Short Film SAFTA Award as co-producer of the poetry film #WeAreDyingHere. Her debut collection of poems, Weeping Becomes a River, received the UJ Debut Prize, the Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry, and the 2025 Humanities and Social Sciences Award for Best Poetry (joint winner).