The Wits Centre for Journalism was recently joined by South African authors Jonny Steinberg and Lesley Mofokeng to discuss how to approach history in narrative non-fiction and literary journalism.

While Steinberg’s first books were hailed as contemporary works of literary journalism, they included substantial historical research alongside in-depth interviewing, immersion and other journalistic techniques. His most recent book, Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage, seems to be a shift into a fully historical focus.

In The Man Who Shook Mountains, Mofokeng investigates the life of his remarkable grandfather, Mongangane Wilfred Mofokeng, a prominent Dutch Reformed Church evangelist who built a thriving community out of the dust of the far North West.

The panel discuss the challenges found in writing about events long past, and people who are gone.

Watch the full webinar below: