We bring you Trade Secrets, tales with a twist. Whether secrets of State, the workplace or of the family, Trade Secrets delivers a range of stories guaranteed to titillate, delight and surprise. As ever, we bring you memorable characters and settings which reflect our South African diversity. Trade Secrets is the fifth of the annual Short Sharp Stories Awards anthologies, produced with the support of the National Arts Festival of South Africa. The 2017 judges were Liesl Jobson, Phakama Mbonambi and Tim Richman.
Reception
“I read Trade Secrets and experienced being enchanted, amused and curious. The stories range in style: you move from what is futuristic to the ‘bad old days’, you’re a fighter pilot, you’re a young girl getting a hair-cut, suddenly you know magic, you discover fashion can fight crime and then, at the turn of a page, you are privy to the remarkable details involved in diamond merchanting; one story, I was intrigued to see, is delivered in point-form. Regardless the pace and wide range of tone, we are ensured an entertaining read from start to finish.”
– Yewande Omotoso, award-winning author of The Woman Next Door
“The stories come from a wide range of external geographies and internal experiences, opening seams of contemporary experience from the most personal places of loss, violation, recovery and aspiration.”
– Liesl Jobson