Karina Author, Book, Event, Festival

ELGIN POETRY FESTIVAL: 24-26 July 2026

Together with Cheverells Farm and Liberty Books, we are delighted to invite you to the inaugural Elgin Poetry Festival in the stunning Elgin! Between 24 and 26 July 2026, Cheverells Farm and Liberty Books will be home to a series of events – discussions, readings, a launch and a workshop – celebrating poetry with all poetry lovers. The festival will commence with a Friday night fine dining & poetry evening and continue over the weekend.

Friday, 24 July 2026

18:30 for 19:00 Cheverells Farm: Friday night fine dining & poetry evening, featuring John Maytham reading words by Finuala Dowling.

An unforgettable evening of fine dining and poetry at The Cheverells Farm Shed as we celebrate the launch of the very first Elgin Poetry Festival on Friday, 24 July 2026.

Your ticket includes a welcome drink, delicious canapés, and a beautifully curated three-course meal – all enjoyed alongside a special live poetry reading by John Maytham, who will bring the words of Finuala Dowling to life in an intimate and atmospheric setting.

Proceeds from the ticket sales for this event will go to an NPO in Grabouw called Siphila Sonke. Funds will be donated to their Kids Club, which provides approximately 100 children a place for creative and academic stimulation in a safe and fun environment.

BOOK YOUR TICKET HERE: FINE DINING AND POETRY EVENING

On Saturday we are hosting the following events (for the free events please book your ticket as the numbers are limited):

Saturday, 25 July 2026

At The Shed, Cheverells Farm

09:00–10:00 Poetry as Resistance

10:15–11:15 Writing Between Languages

11:30–12:30 Writing What’s Hard

14:00–15:00 The Geography of Poetry

15:15–16:45 OPEN MIC (free event)

At Liberty Books, Peregrine Farm Stall

18:00–19:30 Karavan Press poetry anthology book launch (free event, booking essential)

BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE: ELGIN POETRY FESTIVAL

Sunday, 26 July 2026

10:00–13:00 An intimate poetry workshop with Kerry Hammerton and Melissa Sussens.

BOOK BY EMAILING KARAVAN PRESS: POETRY WORKSHOP

Workshop fee: R550. Tickets are limited. Please book early to avoid disappointment.

For visitors wanting to stay in Elgin during the Elgin Poetry Festival weekend, Cheverells Farm offers cosy cottages … soft linens, warm light, and peaceful farm mornings included. From 1 May 2026, book two nights and enjoy your third night on Cheverells Farm.

Slow down, breathe in the fresh air, and savour the simple pleasures of farm life.

BOOK HERE: CHEVERELLES FARM ACCOMMODATION

Karina Author, Book, Event

Karavan Press and Indeed Books at the FLF 2026

The Franschhoek Literary Festival is nearly upon us and what a fabulous programme to look forward to again this year! Taking place between 15 and 17 May 2026, it will host many stunning literary events, with some food and music and other delights thrown into the mix. Three of our writers – DAWN GARISCH, ROGER LUCEY and SHERYL JAMES feature on the programme. Please come and join us for their and many other events. We look forward to celebrating the joy of storytelling with you.

Dawn Garisch
Roger Lucey
Sheryl James

BREAKING THE FORM: EXPERIMENTAL FICTION

  • Friday, 15 May, 2026
  • 11:30 – 12:30
  • Hospice House

Not all novels move in straight lines. Some fracture, circle or whisper. In this conversation, writers Dawn Garisch (The Consulting Room) and Rémy Ngamije (Only Stars Know the Meaning of Space) join Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane to explore narrative risk, structure, style and why some stories refuse to behave.

STORYTELLING AND SONG WITH ROGER LUCEY

  • Friday, 15 May, 2026
  • 16:00 – 17:00
  • Church Hall

Roger Lucey’s music career was silenced by apartheid’s security police. In this intimate performance of songs and storytelling, he reflects on survival, rebuilding and finding his way back to creativity in the Breede River mountains, inspired by his memoir How to Build a House in the Mountains.

MOVING BEYOND LIMITS

  • Sunday, 17 May, 2026
  • 11:30 – 12:30
  • Council Chambers

South African Paralympian, Sheryl James (Unbridling), has spent her life pushing past boundaries. She joins Africa Melane to reflect on defying expectations, silencing doubt and redefining the limits of human potential.

Full programme: FLF 2026

Tickets: Webtickets

Karina Event

COFFEE WITH KARAVAN PRESS: May 2026

You are invited to the first Coffee with Karavan Press this year where you can chat to me, Karina, founder and publisher of Karavan Press, and likeminded writers and readers over a cup of coffee – or tea or hot chocolate, of course – about anything related to book-writing-editing-publishing-reading. Karavan Press’s home will be open, and I will be ready to answer your questions and discuss your projects.

No need to RSVP. Just ring the bell between 10AM and 12PM on Saturday, 9 May 2026. Coffee, tea and hot chocolate will be served. Karavan Press books will be on sale at great prices.

Karina Author, Book, Event

UNBRIDLING by Sheryl and Sandy James to be launched at Exclusive Books Cavendish

One of the most inspirational stories I have ever encountered, the remarkable memoir Unbridling by mother-daughter duo Sheryl and Sandy James, will be launched at Exclusive Books Cavendish on Tuesday, 12 May 2026, at 6PM.

Born cerebral palsied, Sheryl James spends the early years of her life arguing with the world and God about her disability. After a strange encounter with Him, she sets out to defy the possibilities defined for her by the crowd, experts and her family. When doors close on her quest to compete as a para-athlete, she abandons a dream she has secretly nurtured, opting instead for long-distance running against able-bodied athletes. With one failed and two successful Comrades marathons behind her, she resigns from her job to seek her real purpose. At the unlikely age of 33, longing to address the marginalisation of people with physical disabilities in rural South Africa, she is unexpectedly launched into the world of sprinting. Her trajectory is set for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Perhaps her scary dream is, indeed, possible. With the odds already stacked against her, what more can life hurl at her as she pursues what most believe impossible?

Sheryl and Sandy James will be in conversation with Mpumelelo Mhlongo, whose triumphs earned him the Shield of Jove, South Africa’s highest sporting honor, awarded by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Beyond the Paralympics, Mhlongo is the reigning world champion in the 100 m T44 from the 2023 Paris and 2024 Kobe World Para-Athletics Championships, where he claimed gold. He has been named South Africa’s Sportsman of the Year with a Disability for two consecutive years (2024 and 2025) at the Regional Annual Sports Awards, a flagship event of the African Union Sports Council Region 5, among other accolades.

RSVP:

Exclusive Books Cavendish

Karina Author, Event

The Craft – online live poetry editing workshop – with Melissa Sussens, Nikki Allen, Lexi Pelle, and Carson Wolfe

The Craft brings you the intimacy of a workshop with the energy of a live event. Hosted by four published poets with a wealth of experience in teaching and editing – Nikki Allen, Lexi Pelle, Carson Wolfe, and Melissa Sussens (author of Slaughterhouse, published by Karavan Press, and editor of our forthcoming poetry anthology).

In a landscape ripe with open mics and generative workshops, we offer something different – insight into the editing process and direct access to the craft of revision. No pre-reading, no homework, no lesson plans – we just show up and edit your poems.

Using a fishbowl style of teaching, as inspired by the renowned online poetry course, Poems That Don’t Suck by Megan Falley. We pull four names at random from the attendee list and live-edit these ‘fishes’ before audience participants, followed by a short Q&A.

SUNDAY, 3 MAY 2026, 6-7.30PM

To purchase a ticket and get more info, see: Buy a Ticket – The Craft – Zoom

Karina Author, Book, Event

SELECTED PLAYS by Louis Viljoen to be launched at The Book Lounge

Please join us at The Book Lounge on Tuesday, 5 May 2026, for the launch of the first (of many, I hope) book of plays that Karavan Press has published: Selected Plays by Louis Viljoen. Described as ‘one of South Africa’s most exciting playwrights’, Louis’s gripping writing is known for its intricate use of language and an uneasy intimacy that keeps audiences enthralled. Ten of his plays, selected by the playwright, feature in the book.

Louis will be in conversation with John Maytham, who as an actor has been working with Louis for many years and starred in two of the plays included in the book.

To RSVP, click here: The Book Lounge

Karina Festival

SAVE THE DATE: Poetry is coming to Elgin!

We have exciting poetry news to share! Together with Cheverells Farm and Liberty Books, we are organising a poetry festival in the stunning Elgin! Between 24 and 26 July 2026, Cheverells Farm and Liberty Books will be home to the inaugural Elgin Poetry Festival. Expect a series of events – launches, discussions, readings and workshops – celebrating poetry with all poetry lovers. The festival will commence with a Friday night fine dining & poetry evening and continue over the weekend. Keep a look out for details!

Karina Author, Book

Karavan Press title: Selected Plays by Louis Viljoen

LOUIS VILJOEN is a Cape Town-based playwright and director. Described as ‘one of South Africa’s most exciting playwrights’, Viljoen’s gripping writing is known for its intricate use of language and an uneasy intimacy that keeps audiences enthralled.

He has written and produced numerous plays, including The Bile Boys, The Frontiersmen, The Verbalists, CHAMP, Porno 88, The Kingmakers, The Pervert Laura, Oh Baby, I’m A Wild One, The Emissary, The Eulogists, The Demon Bride, The Hucksters, The Grass Widow, The Visigoths, The Sin Drinkers, Mrs. Mitchell Comes to Town and The Vulgarians.

Viljoen has won the Fleur du Cap Theatre Award for Best New South African Script for CHAMP (2013) and The Kingmakers (2015). He was the recipient of the Rosalie van der Gucht Best New Director Award for his plays The Kingmakers and The Pervert Laura.

For the first time, the following ten of Viljoen’s plays, selected by the playwright, are published by Karavan Press in Selected Plays:

THE PERVERT LAURA

THE KINGMAKERS

OH BABY, I’M A WILD ONE

DANGLED

THE DEMON BRIDE

THE HUCKSTERS

THE OUTLAW MUCKRIDGE

THE GRASS WIDOW

THE VISIGOTHS

THE SIN DRINKERS

Publication date: 16 April 2026

ISBN: 978-1-7764726-6-6