You’re never too young to start saving. Manage Your Money Like a Grownup, by bestselling author Sam Beckbessinger, aims to get younger readers thinking about the basics of money, laying a solid foundation in financial education that most grownups today never had.
With illustrations, jokes and fun facts designed to appeal to even the most easily bored reader, this book covers all the basics South African teenagers need to know about money, such as:
Informed by discussions with real teens and their parents, this book equips readers with practical tips for earning and investing money at any age, as well as providing questions to spark lively dinner-table conversations.
Upshot is an anthology of short stories exploring how today's investment decisions can impact the future.
Two of my stories were included in the collection: "Undercurrency", a love story about kelp farming and climate change; and "According to Plan", about whether an AI could come up with better life-goals for you than you can.
Upshot was curated by Lauren Beukes, edited by Helen Moffett, and includes stories by Bongani Kona, Angela Makholwa, Charlie Human, Tade Thompson and Mohale Mashigo.
A child has lost their favourite toy. They are so sad. Will some kind strangers help?
Lost Toy is a wordless picture book aimed at children aged two to five, freely published under a Creative Commons license for Book Dash. Illustrations by Amy Slatem and design by Natalie Pierre-Eugene.
A new serialised fiction project I worked on with Lauren Beukes, Vita Ayala, Zoe Quinn, and Elsa Sjunneson. Available on Serialbox from May 2020.
Jessica Jones has made an art of ignoring her particular brand of super-powered trauma. But these days, she’s giving the whole “self-care” thing a try. Seeing a therapist, finding healthier coping mechanisms (read: no business-hours drinking), working toward not wanting to punch things all the time. Maybe even taking the occasional case that won’t eat her alive. A simple missing persons case seems like just the ticket. But when a boy’s body turns up under an overpass in what looks like a cut-and-dried OD, Jessica can’t let it go and dives headlong into an obsessive search for answers.
Written by Lauren Beukes, Vita Ayala, Sam Beckbessinger, Zoe Quinn, and Elsa Sjunneson. Narrated by Fryda Wolff.
A paid web publication about one girl's adventures in learning how to adult. This is where superfans can join the community, receive a weekly newsletter, ask me anything, and get inundated with cat photos.
In her bestselling book, money dork Sam Beckbessinger tells it to you straight: how to take control of your money to take control of your life.
You’ll learn:
With exercises, flowcharts and informative illustrations (also: kittens), this book is empowering and helpful – and f*cking funny, too.
You’re going to earn millions of rands over your lifetime. Are you going to waste it on stupid crap that doesn’t make you happy, or let it buy your freedom and your most audacious dreams?
Do you feel like you’re just faking knowing how to adult? Me too! No-one gave us a guide to any of this stuff. This is a show where we take all the big scary questions you’ve always felt too embarrassed to ask, and try to find solutions.
I recently co-wrote a little horror story with two of my besties, Lauren Beukes and Dale Halvorsen, called "This Book Will Find You".
It's featured in the excellent anthology, The Outcast Hours, edited by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin. It also features stories by Marina Warner, China Miéville, Frances Hardinge, Will Hill, Sally Partridge, S.L. Grey and more.
A new CG-animated series from Nickelodeon Italy about a magical football-obsessed zebra and his friends.
Being on the writing team for this show, trying to figure out how to make six-year-olds laugh, is probably the most fun job I've ever had.
Lettuce brings your whole financial world into one place, by letting you track the value of your investments, anywhere in the world.
I built this app because I was sick of maintaining seventy-three spreadsheets to keep track of my investments. It's also an extremely fun excuse to hang out with some of my best friends every day and make stuff together.
One of my dearest humans Simon Dingle and I sometimes have conversations on the internet about how to be more productive and live the best versions of our lives. Sometimes we release these chats as a podcast! We've been doing this off and on since 2017.
Back in the long ago times of 2015, I was part of setting up an entrepreneurship bootcamp project focussed on South Africans setting up small businesses outside of the usual big cities. Here I am with my friend and co-conspirator Mhlanganisi Madlongolwana, and two of our facilitators Lynette Ntuli and Murendi Mafumo. Mhlanganisi continues to run DSBCs, so look out for a bootcamp near you!
Email me to chat about events, workshops, writing opportunities or whatever else.