This publication showcases twenty stories and twenty-four poems collected from forty-two southern African writers about HIV/AIDS in southern Africa. The editors requested writers to submit writing and over two years, collected, selected and published this anthology. The writers come from across the region - Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe - and from all walks of life. Some are established, recognised writers. Others are published for the first time in this anthology and according to the publisher, the youngest was 15 years old at the time of submitting her writing.

The anthology foreword is by Njabulo S Ndebele (writer and vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town, South Africa) and the writers published include include Michael Cope, Achmat Dangor, Ingrid de Kok, Betty Govinden, Ashraf Jamal, Rustum Kozain, Antjie Krog, Sindiwe Magona, Dambudzo Marechera, Phaswane Mpe, Kaizer M Nyatsumba, Karen Press and Jenny Robson.

According to the publisher, "HIV/AIDS is not about statistics: it is about people living and dying with the disease, dealing daily with its impact. Here we hear their voices, bearing witness; responding to the silence of taboo with an outpouring of creative expression. Tender and honest, the twenty stories and twenty-four poems collected here explore love, sexuality, stigma and loss. These are the intimate stories that, in all the technical and academic writing on HIV/AIDS in southern Africa, have never been told."

Click here to order this publication online, or contact Peter Ceasar Pceasar@naspers.com or Gavin Ludski Gludski@onthedot.co.za