Jonathan Ball

An edited collection of over 40 essays in tribute to Jonathan Ball, the founder of Jonathan Ball Publishers. It includes contributions from Andrew Franklin, Mark Streatfeild, Nigel Newton, Stephen Page, Tim Hely Hutchinson, Mark Gevisser, Jonny Steinberg, Jenny Crwys-Williams and Michiel Heyns.

Jonathan Ball, the founder of Jonathan Ball Publishers, died on 3 April 2021 after a short illness. This collection of essays, commissioned in tribute to him, is edited by Michele Magwood.

Jonathan Ball left a deep impression on many different people in different ways. The 40 or so essays reflect the many facets of Jonathan: businessman, friend, brother, colleague, husband, father. But it is in the reading that we begin to understand the shape of him: publisher extraordinaire, history expert, gourmand, liberal thinker, suitor, philosemite and so on.

It cannot be exaggerated how deep an imprint Jonathan has left on the political and cultural life of South Africa, too. The shelves of Jonathan Ball Publishers are weighted with serious history and biographies of eminent figures, with books that other publishers didn't have the boldness to take on. But there are many smaller, more finespun stories that tell us too who we are as a people and as a nation.

Jonathan Ball: A Tribute includes contributions from Nick Britt, David Ball, Jonny Steinberg, Jeremy Gordin, Julian Askin, Jenny Crwys-Williams, Andrew Feinstein, Richard Steyn, Adrian Bourne, Thérèse Herbert, Hannes van Zyl, Claire Wright, David Welsh, Alison Lowry, Anika Ebrahim, Andrew Franklin, Mark Gevisser, Mark Streatfeild, Ebbe Dommisse, Michele Magwood, Tim du Plessis, Michiel Heyns, Doug Band, Michael Cardo, Anet Pienaar, Allan Greenblo, Gail Nattrass, Malcolm Edwards, Willem Burger, Kerneels Breytenbach, Milton Shain, Nigel Newton, Benjamin Trisk, Koos Bekker, Stephen Page, Antony Altbeker, Tony Leon, Tim Hely Hutchinson, Ton Vosloo, Jane Evans, and Belinda, Jamie and Jono Bowling