BY Nkosazana Ngwadla
The Ultimate Book Show is a new television series for Literature. A typical episode is a 46-minute encounter between the host, Sihle-isipho Nontshokweni, and one guest author in a setting that provides room for intelligent, insightful interviews with interesting subjects that go beyond standard talk-show conversation.
For positively impacting the world through storytelling in Film & Literature, living an indelible mark for generations, the show’s host and director, Sihle-isipho Nontshokweni was recently listed on Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans (2022). She holds two master’s degrees from the University of Cape Town and Peking University in Beijing (Summa Cum Laude).
Her creative endeavor began as a single story of Wanda and has since become a serialized storybook with international honors: Skipping Stones Honor Awards (Oregon, 2021), for promoting an understanding of cultures, cultivating cooperation and encouraging a deeper awareness of diversity; Best Children’s Book of the Year (2022) selected by the Bank Street College of Education (New York City, 2022), for its literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the emotional impact on young readers.
Sihle-isipho is the inspiring force behind The Ultimate Book Show, operating as the Head of Production of this pioneering documentary series that lifts the place of Literature in society. In just one year, Sihle-isipho has hosted the show in Cape Town and Qonce, Edinburgh International Book Festival and Festival de Cannes, and presented it in California at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival and MIPCOM in October 2022. Â
