Karina Author, Book

Karavan Press title: The Shadow of Elsewhere by Angie Butler

The Shadow of Elsewhere: A Journey Home is a tender yet unsparing account of two women, their lives interwoven by one woman’s yearning for Africa and the other’s attempt to escape it.

Thandiwe Sebata was born in Zimbabwe and died alone in an Oxfordshire hospital. Broken by her country, she jumps the border into South Africa and becomes stateless, stripped of identity and hounded by authorities. An unlikely bond forms between her and Angie Butler who is visiting her mother country. Angie’s gesture of goodwill turns Thandiwe’s life into a horrific ordeal of displacement in England, history repeating itself. The Shadow of Elsewhere tells of an impossible fight for justice. It uncovers what it is to be caught between borders, with little chance to hide in no man’s land. And yet, from the dark shadows, light and love outpace the loss in the quest to find home. With all its agonies, Africa calls the two women back, and bewitched, they return, if by no other means, as phantoms, as ghosts.

This story needs to be told, not because it is comfortable, but because it is true. Too many women have suffered in silence, carrying stories the world never hears. Thandiwe’s voice may now be silent, but her words still speak. We owe it to her, and to countless women whose stories remain untold, not to allow fear or shame to bury the truth. Her telling is an act of remembrance, it is an act of courage. Let her story be told.–Zulu Nkululeko

We have to do everything we can to amplify Thandiwe’s voice. We owe it to her to break the silence.–Thenjiwe Kona

Publication date: November 2026
ISBN: 978-1-0671781-7-8

About the author

ANGIE BUTLER was born and raised in Johannesburg, where she worked in film and theatre before moving to London in her mid-twenties. She attained a degree in Sculpture at the City & Guilds of London Art School. She is the author of several books on polar history, including Ice Tracks – Today’s Heroic Age of Polar Adventure, The Quest for Frank Wild, which was turned into a BBC documentary, and co-author of Shackleton’s Critic. Her passion for Antarctica led her to co-founding the expedition travel company Ice Tracks Expeditions and she spent seventeen years travelling to the Arctic and Antarctica. She married the late Royal Academician sculptor James Butler and they have five daughters between them. She lives in England, returning to South Africa several times a year. When she is not writing, she is in her studio in East Sussex. The Shadow of Elsewhere is based on a true story.

Karina Author

Author: Angie Butler

ANGIE BUTLER was born and raised in Johannesburg, where she worked in film and theatre before moving to London in her mid-twenties. She attained a degree in Sculpture at the City & Guilds of London Art School. She is the author of several books on polar history, including Ice Tracks – Today’s Heroic Age of Polar Adventure, The Quest for Frank Wild, which was turned into a BBC documentary, and co-author of Shackleton’s Critic. Her passion for Antarctica led her to co-founding the expedition travel company Ice Tracks Expeditions and she spent seventeen years travelling to the Arctic and Antarctica. She married the late Royal Academician sculptor James Butler and they have five daughters between them. She lives in England, returning to South Africa several times a year. When she is not writing, she is in her studio in East Sussex. The Shadow of Elsewhere is based on a true story.

Karina Author, Book, Event

The Book Revue with Melissa A. Volker

Join Pippa Smith and Melissa A. Volker, author of Chasing Waves: The Rise of Women’s Surfing in South Africa, for tea and scones at Pippa’s house (7 Michael Storer Avenue Constantia) on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. 10AM for tea and 10.30AM for the talk. RSVP to Pippa by email on pippa@thebookrevue.co.za. No cost and books will be on sale. The book traces the rise of women’s surfing in South Africa starting from the days when women were regarded as eye candy at the competitions to the present where we surf the waves more or less equally.

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