Rosebank Writers Jo’burg (South Africa) is a vibrant group of fiction and non-fiction writers – essayists, journalists, article writers, poets and academics who meet several times a year to:
Rosebank Writers Jo’burg is a branch of Rosebank Writers Cape Town which had its first meet up on 16 July 2022. Rosebank Writers Jo’burg’s first meet up was on 12 August 2022 at The Winston Hotel in Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Rosebank Writers Cape Town was founded by:
Rosebank Writers Jo’burg was founded by:
For information on upcoming writing meet ups in Jo’burg please sign up for notifications below and/or join the Rosebank Writers Jo’burg Facebook group.
Thank you to The Hyatt House Rosebank, Jo’burg for hosting us.
Lynn Joffe, co-founder of Rosebank Writers Jo’burg and bestselling author, ran a workshop on the Author Info sheet. She’ll email all participants the session worksheets. Want to join the next one? Email info@beyondwords.ink and we’ll add you to our subscriber list, or join our Facebook group.
Kate van Es, Tanya Bester, Alexander Hughes, Yu Ke, Julie Hawa Diallo, Shams Essack and Lynn Joffe. Under Lynn’s guidance we got the first drafts our Author Info sheets done!
Thank you to The Hyatt House Rosebank, Jo’burg for hosting us.
Starting 2025 with a blast! Our first Meet Up on publishing by seasoned and best-selling publisher Rose Frances. Nzumbu Farisani, Rose Frances, Lydia Apon Akena and Dani Ka.
Dimitri, Nzumbu Farisani, Rose Frances (publisher), Lydia Apon Akena.
An informative masterclass on publishing in 2025 (because some aspects of publishing change from year-to-year), and a vibrant Q&A session.
Nzumbu Farisani, Rose Frances (publisher), Lydia Apon Akena, Dani Ka, Ayesha Kajee, Ronald Wesso, Yu Ke, Tanya Bester and Tharuna Devchand.
Shams Essack, Nzumbu Farisani, Rose Frances (publisher), Lydia Apon Akena, Dani Ka, Ayesha Kajee, Ronald Wesso, Yu Ke, Tanya Bester and Tharuna Devchand.
We appreciate you Rose, for a sharing your knowledge from the frontlines of publishing!
Rose Frances (publisher), Lydia Apon Akena, Dani Ka, Ayesha Kajee, Ronald Wesso and Shams Essack (a co-founder of Rosebank Writers).
Lynn Joffe (a co-founder or Rosebank Writers Jo’burg) in the foreground who also added a lot of value to the session, along with all our fellow writers. Many thanks, and let’s keep writing all the way to publication by Dec 2025!
Thank you to The Hyatt House Rosebank, Jo’burg for hosting us.
Author, Lynn Joffe (co-founder of Rosebank Writers Jo’burg), giving us our first fiction masterclass – something different!
Vuyo reading her piece of fiction, filled with symbolism, from Lynn’s narrative arc guideline.
Thandiwe Gaobepe, sharing her story with us, which really got us thinking.
Dr Miranda, reading her piece of writing which had three powerful words, and could be used in her work of non-fiction.
Margie holding her “tchotchke” which inspired her colourful story.
Ayesha sharing her story with us taking us back in time. Cindy, on the left – also read us her evocative writing.
Thabo reading his piece of fiction which had a dream-like quality to it.
Ashti sharing her fiction writing with us, also based on Lynne’s exercise. Her book, “Peaches and Smeets”, was published by Modjaji Books in 2022.
Annie’s animated reading of her very imaginative piece of writing. Matina on the right, also shared her fictional writing with us.
Our first Meet Up at the wonderful Hyatt House Rosebank Hotel – in a quiet section of this bustling suburb – conducive to writing, coffee and more.
Margie with Lynn and her book, “The Gospel According to Wanda B Lazarus”, published by Modjaji Books.
Thank you to The Winston Hotel, Rosebank, Jo’burg for hosting us.
Best-selling author, Joanne Joseph, giving us an insightful, value-adding talk about how to write and publish historical fiction – and more!
Mandisa Mzondeki; Busisiwe Hlatshwayo; Tharuna Devchand sharing her thoughts with us; Lynn Joffe.
Thandiwe Gaobepe; Ke Yu; Ronald Wesso; Alice Mbeya; Karabo Kgoleng absorbing the nuggets of research, writing and publishing knowledge and experience from Joanne Joseph.
Ronald Wesso; Alice Mbeya, the youngest writer of the group voicing her thoughts on creative fiction; Karabo Kgoleng; Veerash Srikison; Dr Miranda.
Veerash Srikison; Dr Miranda giving us her take on writing processes; Mandisa Mzondeki; Tharuna Devchand.
Joanne Joseph signing a copy of her book, “Children of Sugarcane” for Advocate Veerash Srikison.
Celebrating author Lerato Moletsane’s birthday. In addition to writing, increasing our knowledge, and sharpening our writing skills – we also have loads of fun at Rosebank Writers Jo’burg.
Thank you to The Winston Hotel, Rosebank, Jo’burg for hosting us.
Appreciation to the wonderful management and staff of the The Winston Boutique Hotel for the excellent experience.
An afternoon of high-level writing inspiration with Joanne Joseph, and camaraderie, sparked us into taking a group photo.
And that’s a wrap! Shams Essack, co-founder of Rosebank Writers Jo’burg. Thank you Joanne for giving so generously of your wealth of experience as a researcher, author, and media veteran. Thanks also to fellow members of Rosebank Writers Jo’burg for engaging so enthusiastically in this session.
Thank you to The Winston Hotel, Rosebank, Jo’burg for hosting us.
Ronald, writes training manuals and does his own writing for 30min, from Monday to Friday and has completed a fiction manuscript. His WIP is a film script.
Tharuna is a creative fiction writer, a screenwriter and won a place at screenwriting workshop in Germany. She is a former creative writing lecturer and journalist at The Witness.
Nzumbu, a lawyer, writes from 3am to 5am, from Monday to Friday. She is editing her 80,000 word fiction manuscript and a children’s book.
One of our members, Busisiwe Hlatshwayo MBA (2nd from L), had a chapter in the book, Real Life and Business Minds, recently published (April 2023). Read Chapter 4!
Ayesha (L) had her essay “Sagal” placed 3rd in the 2021 IHRAF Awards and her poem “Silence” won 2nd prize in the 2021 UN-aligned competition.
Cindy (R) has completed her autofiction manuscript.
Joanne Joseph’s book, “Children of Sugarcane” – a work of historical fiction, is a bestseller.
Thank you to The Winston Hotel, Rosebank, Jo’burg for hosting us.
Thank you to The Winston Hotel, Rosebank, Jo’burg for hosting us.
Thank you to The Winston Hotel, Rosebank, Jo’burg for hosting us.
If you’d like to start a Rosebank Writers group in your city contact Nancy Richards or Shams Essack (contact details in the banner below).
CONTACT
Email: shams@shamsessack.com
Mobile: +27 83 709 8109
Sandton, Johannesburg
South Africa
© 2025 Copyright Shams Essack