The South African magazine New Contrast has released its 196th “summer” issue.

The magazine, founded in 1960, is one of South Africa’s oldest surviving journals. It’s latest editor is the Caine Prize-nominated author and professor Masande Ntshanga.

There are many perks to getting a copy of this new issue. It features some of the finest pieces of writing from some of South Africa’s widely-read authors and comes with a delightfully colorful cover, at a fairly affordable price of R50. The magazine is available for print as well as digital purchases.

Ntshanga explains the concept behind the new issue in an editorial note:

In going through our latest round of contributions, this month, which included entries for the National Poetry Prize, judged this year by the young poets Nathan Trantraal, Siphokazi Jonas and Maneo Mohale, I discovered in the work a return in focus to the interrogation of the self – or of the individual – which I found fitting after a year of looking outward to a world that felt, and perhaps still feels, threatened by collective destruction.

Check out the list of featured works, writers, and artists below and follow this link to order.

  • Interviews
    • David Griessel in Conversation with Pola Maneli 7
  • Poetry
    • Dogma, Nick Mulgrew 14
    • Identity as a Wormhole in a Hotel Window, Jim Johnstone 18
    • Trompe L’Oeil, Jim Johnstone 19
    • Hillbrow, Then, K. Goddard 21
    • Motherhood, Anastasia DiFonzo 23
    • die land wat wild klap, Marieta McGrath 25
    • My Body, My Temple, Megan Gieske 26
    • in a language of verbs, Robert Keeler 27
    • Two Dreams, Maya Pillay 28
    • Not Lost in Translation, Rizwan Akhtar 30
    • daai klas geskiedenis, Marieta McGrath 31
    • Sondag in die suburbs, Wessel Stoltz 32
    • Melting Faces at the Park, Sisanda Kubeka 33
    • Travelling to the Crematorium, Stuart Paterson 34
    • from M of the Southern Downpour Velez Street, Alton Melvar M. Dapanas 35
    • Still in the Ring When the Circus Is Over, Consuelo Roland 37
    • The Mantis, T.J. Masluk 39
    • last things last, Haidee Kotze 40
    • lighthousekeeping / tachyon, Haidee Kotze 43
    • Anxiety, Zeenit Jacobs 45
    • Offer, Jemima Meyer 46
    • Die Middel, Marieta McGrath 47
  • Prose
    • Always Goodbye, Ntando Taro Nzuza 51
    • What Ma Says, Kharys Ateh Laue 60
    • The Little Skeleton, Stacy Hardy 62
    • Rain, David Mann 67
  • Artwork
    • Balekane Legoabe: Arranger-re 12, Baby Blue 48, You are the first of your kind 78, Elsa 86

Buy the issue here.