News24 is pleased to welcome Shaun de Waal to its expanding stable of contributors in the role of freelance books editor.
Shaun previously worked for the Mail & Guardian (and Weekly Mail) from 1989 to 2019, in various capacities, including books editor, arts editor, movie critic, opinion editor, and later editor at large.
He has written hundreds of reviews of books and films and other arts coverage for the Mail & Guardian and other publications over the years. He is the author, editor or co-editor of several books, including These Things Happen, Exposure: Queer Fiction, Pride: Protest and Celebration, To Have and to Hold: The Making of Same-Sex Marriage in SA, and 25 Years of the Mail & Guardian.
He did an MA in creative writing and critical theory between 2003 and 2005.
"It’s an absolute privilege to welcome Shaun to our News24 family. With his background and level of expertise, our readers are in for a feast of in-depth books coverage," says News24’s lifestyle editor Herman Eloff.
"Shaun will have a baptism by fire as he chairs our first-ever virtual book launch this week. He will be talking with Erika Bornman, author of Mission of Malice: My Exodus from KwaSizabantu, this Thursday, 12 August, at 19:00. I invite our subscribers to secure their spots now and join us from the comfort of their homes."
The new literature content will sit side-by-side with the quality arts coverage on Arts24, which this month officially celebrated a year since its launch.
News24's editor-in-chief Adriaan Basson said: "Shaun's years of experience and his collected work makes him an invaluable addition to the News24 team. His contribution to our book coverage is a further show by News24 that we're delivering on the promise of investing in quality, premium journalism."