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

Karina Author

Author: 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.

Karavan Press is proud to publish ten of Viljoen plays in Selected Plays.

Karina Book, Event, Festival

Secrets and other stories at Blown Away by Books

Please join us for another Blown Away by Books event at the Fish Hoek Library on 18 April 2026, at 9.30AM – this year celebrating Secrets, the latest Karavan Stories anthology (2025) and the stories that have flown into and from the project. Secrets contributors Lucienne Argent, Christine Coates, Máire Fisher, Michelle A. Meyer, Helen Nevin, Joëlle Searle and Jana van Niekerk will be in conversation with Karina M. Szczurek about the anthology and their other writings. Now in its fourth year, the Karavan Stories project has gathered a wonderful community of writers who have continued writing and collaborating together. Come and be inspired by their remarkable stories, those already written and those in the making!

Karina Book, Event

Flash writing workshops with Kerry Hammerton

A wonderful opportunity to explore a genre that teaches you how to tell great stories within a limited word count. Creativity, precision, discipline and care are needed to write flashes, and all these skills allow you to hone your craft as a writer like nothing else.

Please join Kerry for one or both of these workshops, and have the opportunity to submit your flash to one of her In Other Stories anthologies, published annually by Karavan Press.