Karina Author, Book, Event

Chasing Waves by Melissa A. Volker to be launched at Exclusive Books Cavendish

We are thrilled to invite you to the launch of Melissa A. Volker’s Chasing Waves: The Rise of Women’s Surfing in South Africa at Exclusive Books Cavendish on 22 October 2026, 5.30 for 6PM. Melissa will be in conversation with journalist and fellow surfer Amy MacIver. Later that evening, Cavendish Mall will also be hosting another sports book event you might be interested in attending. When we heard the news, Melissa said, “We will be like the opening act for a rock band …”

RSVP: Exclusive Books Cavendish

About the book

In 1977, the world surf tour comes to South Africa and the final event of the SA Pro Contest Circuit runs at Umhlanga Rocks, north of Durban. Zigzag Surfing Lifestyle Magazine reports that ‘thousands of young, foxy, tanga-clad ladies’ request autographs from the surfing stars.

Prior to the final matchup between the male surfers, the women’s surf contest, a single heat, paddles out. It is called the ‘comedy interlude’ in the press.

A little over four decades later, Melissa A. Volker watches the women’s surfing Gold Medal Match at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. South African surfer Bianca Buitendag is competing against USA’s Carissa Moore and wins the first ever Olympic surfing medal for South Africa. Thinking about the challenges South African women had to overcome to charge the waves, Melissa wonders who paved the way for Buitendag. She decides to find out. Chasing Waves chronicles the journey and tells the story of the remarkable women who have defined the local surfing scene.

Praise for Chasing Waves

‘In Chasing Waves, Melissa Volker gives voice to the girls and women who shaped South African surfing’s past and continue to make waves in the present. Weaving in reflections on her research journey and her own surfing life, Volker crafts a tapestry detailing the choices and challenges of courageous female surfers since the Sixties. In documenting their life stories, Volker surfaces hidden surf histories and shows how the waves have become more inclusive. This is not only a book for those who surf but also for those who wish to wade into the unfolding history of South African beach cultures.’ – Glen Thompson

‘An extraordinary book. Chasing Waves, and the women surfers it recognises and celebrates, will inspire you both in and out of the water. I know I will return to it often.’ – Qarnita Loxton

And the “rock band” at Cavendish later that evening will be no other than Cheslin Kolbe …

Join us as we sidestep the odds and make literary waves together!

Karina Author, Book, Prize

The CANEX PRIZE FOR PUBLISHING 2026 LONGLIST features END & BEGINNING by ATHOL WILLIAMS

We are delighted to announce that End & Beginning by Athol Williams (Karavan Press, 2025) is among the longlisted titles for the CANEX Prize for Publishing this year.

“13 titles have been selected for the CANEX Prize for Publishing 2026, representing publishers from across Africa and the Diaspora. This year’s longlist puts the spotlight on the books, authors and publishers selected for the next stage of the prize.”

Congratulations to all other publishers and books! We are honoured and proud to feature on this wonderful list:

Congratulations, Athol! Thank you for publishing your brave and beautiful poetry with Karavan Press. It has been such a privilege to work with you!

Thank you to all the Judges for their time and consideration and thank you to all who make the CANEX Prize for Publishing possible!

Karina Author, Book, Literary Award

How to Build a House in the Mountains by Roger Lucey shortlisted for the 2026 Sunday Times Non-Fiction Award

The 2026 Sunday Times Literary Awards shortlists have been announced earlier today and we are thrilled to share the news that Roger Lucey’s How to Build a House in the Mountains has been shortlisted for the Non-Fiction Award!

Non-Fiction Award Criteria

The illumination of truthfulness, especially those forms of it that are new, delicate, unfashionable and fly in the face of power; compassion; elegance of writing; and intellectual and moral integrity.

Judges

Shylock Matsunyane (chair), Bronwyn Williams, Lorraine Sithole

Chair of judges Shylock Matsunyane says of How to Build a House in the Mountains: “a prime example of a plain, truthful story that is beautifully written, told and deeply owned by the author.”

Judges say: “A pure pleasure to read. You fall in love with the narration of the story and its humorous descriptiveness.”

Congratulations, Roger, and all shortlisted authors!

For more details, please see: Sunday Times

Karina Author, Book, Event

An Unsuitable Woman by Gail Gilbride to be launched at Exclusive Books Cavendish

Please join us for the launch of Gail Gilbride’s An Unsuitable Woman – a bold exploration of love in all its confusing guises – the much-awaited second novel from the author of Under the African Sun, on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, 5.30 for 6PM, at Exclusive Books Cavendish. Gail will be in conversation with Penny Haw. Not to be missed!

RSVP: Exclusive Books Cavendish

Praise for An Unsuitable Woman

‘What happens when a young woman from the city suddenly marries a widowed farmer believing that he, his young daughter and country-living will cure her post-traumatic stress disorder and broken heart? Is it possible to sustain the role of traditional wife under any circumstances by simply willing it? What does she do when encounters, events and lingering looks remind her who she truly is and what she really wants? Heartbreaking, heartwarming, and oh-so very true, An Unsuitable Woman delivers a pitch-perfect tribute to the complexities of relationships, misplaced longing, and the general messiness of life. Gilbride excels in exploring how characters are shaped over time by politics, family dynamics and tragedy. An insightful, sharply observed gift of a book!’

– Penny Haw, author of The Invincible Miss Cust and The Woman and Her Stars

Karina Author, Book, Event, Festival

Karavan Press authors at the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees

We are heading to Stellenbosch for the annual Woordfees that is taking place between 3 and 11 October this year.

Two authors feature with their Karavan Press titles on the programme, Erika Viljoen and Louis Viljoen:

MONDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2026, 11:30 | EasyEquities Skrywerskamer
Louis Viljoen: Selected Plays

As dramaturg is Louis Viljoen bekend vir sy fyn, ingewikkelde taalgebruik en die ongemaklike intimiteit in sy dramas wat gehore vasgenael hou. Die versamelbundel Selected Playsbring vir die eerste keer tien van Viljoen se kragtigste toneelstukke byeen. Die aktrise Emma Kotze, een van Viljoen se gereelde medewerkers, gesels met die dramaturg oor die vakmanskap, chaos en die aard van die Suid-Afrikaanse teater, asook die uitdagings om sy donker werk op te voer.

TUESDAY, 6 OCTOBER 2026, 14:30 | EasyEquities Skrywerskamer
Aggressiewe water

Erika Viljoen se memoires, Aggressiewe water, is gebore uit briewe wat sy aan familie en vriende geskryf het toe die gesin uitgewyk het na ’n stuk veld in die Klein-Karoo waar niemand anders nog permanent gewoon het nie. Wat vir baie mense net ’n droom is, het vir haar gesin ’n werklikheid geword – met al die swoeg en sweet wat daarmee saamgaan. Erika se kind, Roland du Preez, kunstenaar, akteur en skrywer van die toneelstuk Rescue Remedy, tree met haar in gesprek.

Also featured on the programme are authors Lethokuhle Msimang and Zubayr Charles – Lethokuhle with the short film Soil and Grass, written, directed and narrated by her; and Zubayr with his novel, Haram (JB Publishers), and his poetry collection, the sad boy’s starter pack and other poems (Jacana). Lethokuhle published The Frightened and Zubayr published Please, don’t call me moffie with Karavan Press.

3 OCTOBER 2026, 13:30 | Road House Cinema at The Neelsie
Soil and Grass

Soil and Grass follows three traditional artisans in KwaZulu-Natal: a wire basket maker; a potter; and a palm weaver, whose practices move between rural heritage and urban adaptation. As materials are collected, transformed, and re-created, the film traces how knowledge persists in the midst of displacement. Interwoven with a personal story of departure and return, Soil and Grass reflects on what of loneliness, uncertainty, abandonment, survives in the search for a true sense of home. It is also a meditation on women who create alone.

Director, Writer, Narrator Lethokuhle Msimang
Cinematographer Thebe Gee
Editor Kgaugelo Mpyana
Sound Yang Wen Liang

3 OCTOBER 2026, 17:30 | EasyEquities Skrywerskamer

Writers on Writers: The Young Guns with Mia Arderne (How to Stop Being a Naai) and Zubayr Charles (Haram)

4 OCTOBER 2026, 16:00 | EasyEquities Skrywerskamer

Three Part Harmony with Sarah Uheida (Not This Tender), Paula Fourie (Inked in Bone) and Zubayr Charles (the sad boy’s starter pack and other poems)

Full programme: WOORDFEES

Karina Author, Book, Prize

Malika Lueen Ndlovu wins the 2026 University of Johannesburg Prize for South African Writing

The University of Johannesburg Prize for South African Writing (UJ Prize) in English has announced its 2026 winners: Michelle Kekana was awarded the Debut Prize for The Fragile Mental Health of Strong Women (Jacana), and Malika Lueen Ndlovu the Main Prize for Griefseed (Karavan Press).

The prize is open to South African works in English across genres and was judged this year by a five-person panel from three universities: Prof Nedine Moonsamy of the University of Johannesburg (Chair), Prof Sikhumbuzo Mngadi and Prof Marzia Milazzo, both also of UJ, Prof Rebecca Fasselt of the University of Pretoria, and Dr Wisani Mushwana of the University of Cape Town. Prof Moonsamy described the judging process as an encouraging one for South African letters. “The quality of submissions was exceptionally high and offered a reassuring view of the contemporary South African literary landscape,” she said. “As usual, we have read across genres to select our winners.”

Kekana’s The Fragile Mental Health of Strong Women took the Debut Prize by unanimous decision, with judges praising the novel’s raw, refreshing portrait of Black South African women and its experimental, luminous quality.

Ndlovu’s Griefseed emerged as this year’s uncontested Main Prize winner. Jury member Marzia Milazzo called the collection, which weaves together poems, reflections, essays, and images, “an extraordinary collection on grief that moves, empowers, and, ultimately, heals.” Milazzo pointed to the book’s insistence on expression over suppression, quoting Ndlovu’s own line from the work: “Let the wound weep.”

Congratulations to all nominated authors and the winners, especially Malika Lueen Ndlovu – thank you for publishing this exceptional book with Karavan Press!

For more information, see: Brittle Paper