Maverick publisher Melinda Ferguson joins forces with NB Publishers

After a whirlwind seven years of publishing bestsellers under the imprint MFBooksJoburg, with Jacana Media, Melinda Ferguson has signed a promising new joint venture with South Africa’s leading trade publisher, NB Publishers.

"I felt like it was time for change," says Ferguson. "I admire the work NB has been delivering in the past few years and am impressed by their exceptional marketing and distribution capacity. I look forward to the next stage of my publishing career, supported by the very impressive skills at NB."

MFBooks’ backlist includes highlights such as Sunday Times Alan Paton Award winner Rape: A South African Nightmare by Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola.

This year will see Ferguson's new imprint, Melinda Ferguson Books, publish no less than 10 titles, including the much-anticipated new title from Gqola, Female Fear Factory, which will address the scourge of gender-based violence in South Africa.

Ferguson says: "Pumla and I have a long history, collaborating on groundbreaking bestsellers like Rape and Reflecting Rogue. I can't wait for her new book."

Ferguson's year kicks off on  April 1 with Sex, Lies Declassified by Eva Mazza, the sequel to Sex, Lies & Stellenbosch, one of the top-selling fiction titles of 2019.

Ferguson takes with her a host of previous bestselling memoirs including, I Choose to Live by Letshego Zulu, Get Me to 21 by Gabi Lowe, Brutal Legacy by Tracy Going and Killing Karoline by Sara-Jayne King Makwala.

Eloise Wessels, managing director at Media24 Books, says, “At NB Publishers we have long admired Melinda Ferguson’s impressive publishing skills and her superb networking capacity. We are very proud to be associated with her.”

• Article provided by NB Publishers