MampoerShorts offers homegrown narrative journalism

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The long-form format, which lies somewhere between a normal article and a novel, is particularly suitable for narrative journalism. The writer can present an in-depth, well-researched piece without getting too long-winded or running out of space to fit in all the necessary bits.

In addition, because it takes less time to write a short than a book, it is possible to produce a comprehensive current affairs piece that is not restricted to two or three pages of a magazine quickly and introduce it while the topic is still hot.

Falling between 5000 and 15,000 words, MampoerShorts are "long enough to satisfy, short enough to grip your attention," says the website. An hour or two is all it takes to finish one.

There is reportedly a growing international trend towards this kind of writing, helped along by advances in digital publishing and mobile devices, so the concept is not new, but it is new to South Africa. The site was set up precisely to satisfy the gap in the local market for quality long-form journalism.

Books are an affordable US $2.99 (R27) and are available in various eBook formats from the website, as well as Kobo Books and iTunes via an app. They will soon be available from Kalahari.com and Exclusive Books. For those who like to do their reading the traditional way, they can also be printed on paper. The writer gets a royalty fee of 30% on all sales.

Meet team at Franschhoek Literary Festival

The brains behind the initiative are author Antony Altbeker and media stalwarts Anton Harber and Irwin Manoim. Altbeker approached Harber and Manoim with a proposal to develop a digital-only publishing platform for long-form journalism and the three then brought former Exclusive Books CEO, Fred Withers and Noko Makgato, of online publishers Big Media, on board.

MampoerShorts is scheduled to make its debut appearance at this year's Franschhoek Literary Festival, where Harber, Altbeker and Mampoer authors To Molefe, Fred de Vries and Justin Fox will discuss the venture. Now in its fifth year, the festival runs from 17-19 May 2013 in Franschhoek. Catch the Mampoer team at 1pm on 17 May in the Council Chamber.

Titles launched September 2012

The project took shape throughout 2012, with a test site up and running from May to experiment with different technologies and make sure the e-commerce process ran smoothly. "We launched officially in September 2012 with six titles," says Mampoer project manager Liana Meadon. "Our first author was Philippa Garson with her book 'My Child has Crohn's Disease'."

Garson discovered that her daughter had the disease only after the family had spent copious amounts of time and money on visits to doctors and expensive treatments, none of which was effective. Once a gastroenterologist made the diagnosis, she determined to learn as much as possible about the autoimmune disease and her book provides guidance and inspiration for parents grappling with the same challenge.

The next five titles were written by Harber (Gorilla in the Room); Kevin Bloom (Hating Goldstone); Fred de Vries (The Great Trek); Richard Poplak (Fifty shades of Jozi); and Alexandra Dodd (Spear and Loathing) - all highly regarded professionals with plenty to say.

Nineteen on offer, more to come

They were joined in short order by the likes of Justin Fox, Mandy Wiener, Tom Eaton and more. Categories range from health and sport to politics, environment and culture and there are currently 19 shorts on offer. More are in production.

The newest additions are 'Bearded Wonder: The Secret Life of Hashim Amla', written by Firdose Moonda, and Helmoed Heitman's 'The Battle in Bangui', an analysis of the disastrous military operation in the Central African Republic in March in which 13 South African troops died.

Other reads include 'Quiet Maverick: Tim Noakes chews the fat' by Daryl Ilbury, which explores the diet and food phenomenon that is Prof Tim Noakes; 'Unspotted' by Justin Fox, which follows his quest to save the near-mythical Cape mountain leopard; and 'Full Circle' by Tom Eaton, which delves into lessons the South African cricket team have learned from cricket great Sachin Tendulkar.

There is also 'Marikana' by David Bruce, which takes a hard look at the culture of a police force in which 'maximum force' has become doctrine; and the related 'Number 5' by Mandy Wiener, which looks at the challenge the latest national police commissioner Riah Phiyega faces in bringing discipline, pride and passion back to the South African Police Service.

Whether you want to learn more about the controversy of seal clubbing, get to know the ins and outs of media mogul Koos Bekker, or go behind the scenes of the country's sex industry in the wake of the Lolly Jackson murder, there is a Mampoer short for you.

The beauty of the format shows itself in the Bangui piece, which was written in 10 days, says Manoim, but is more substantial than newspaper or magazine offerings, and was still newsworthy by the time it was published.

"Our focus is on South African non-fiction at the moment, but as we learn more about digital publishing we'll add more genres," says Meadon. "Things are going well. We're seeing accelerated interest in our books as awareness grows, and many of our customers return."

Up-and-coming talent

Mampoer is nurturing two promising young talents through its new mentorship programme, which is funded through a grant from the independent Kgolo Trust.

"It's aimed at previously disadvantaged authors with potential and gives them an opportunity to work with established writers, develop their talent, and be published," explains Meadon.

The two writers are Thabo Jijana and Mugabe Ratshikuni, who are honing their skills with Alex Dodd and veteran editor, author and writing coach, Barbara Ludman respectively.

Jijana's book centres on taxi violence and Ratshikuni's relates the experiences of a young black man who was raised in a white family and subsequently left behind when the family moved to Cape Town. He moved back in with his mother, a domestic worker from Diepsloot township, but couldn't speak an African language and as a result struggled to fit into the community.

For more, go to www.mampoer.co.za.