THE PRESIDENT

134pp., paperback, First SA Edition, Pronk, Cape Town (2025) 2026

ISBN: 9781049284132

A political thriller set in South Africa in 2012, partly inspired by the vicious real-life backlash to Brett Murray’s painting, The Spear, which controversially depicted South Africa’s then-president, Jacob Zuma.

When a salacious piece of fiction about the president is published, the ruling party and its supporters are enraged. As pressure grows for the story to be erased, its young, queer author flees into hiding, carrying with him an explosive secret, and plans for revenge.

Xander Beattie is the fiction writing alter ego of journalist, arts critic and editor Alexander Matthews. He began his media career in London as an assistant to MONOCLE’s editor-in-chief, and later served as the magazine’s Southern Africa correspondent. His journalism has been published by the BBC, Mail & Guardian and Business Day amongst others. Born in Cape Town in 1988, he lives in a remote cabin in Northern California. The President is his debut novel.