Karina Author, Book

Karavan Press title: GOOD HOPE by Nick Clelland

THE WESTERN CAPE IS NOW AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY.
SUCCESSFUL, SAFE,
MURDEROUS

Lisa Robinson has moved from Durban to Cape Town to be with Grant, the prospective next First Minister of the Good Hope Territory. The GHT is the safest and most prosperous country in the southern hemisphere – at a price. Citizens contract to be tracked by drones, executions are synchronised to the Noon Gun and only those with qualifications are permitted to vote in the Qualified Franchise system. Life here is picture-perfect. The Mother City is pristine. Everyone has a job. Tourism is booming. But this shiny new state has decided that Lisa is a problem, and problems here disappear quickly and quietly.

‘A riveting read and a scary glimpse into what happens when liberty is traded for order. Unputdownable.’ — GEORDIN HILL-LEWIS

Publication date: 29 April 2024

ISBN: 978-1-0672224-1-3

About the author:

NICK CLELLAND is a political animal. He was elected to the Durban Metropolitan Council in 1996 at the age of twenty-four, and three years later as a Member of Parliament. Though quickly tired of elected politics, he has made a career of it all the same. He has worked as a political advisor, consultant and coach with mayors, ministers, premiers and prime ministers around the world, and was the brains behind Cape Town’s ‘Day Zero’ behaviour change strategy. A keen yet mediocre cyclist, Nick lives in Cape Town.

Karina Author

Author: Nick Clelland

NICK CLELLAND is a political animal. He was elected to the Durban Metropolitan Council in 1996 at the age of twenty-four, and three years later as a Member of Parliament. Though quickly tired of elected politics, he has made a career of it all the same. He has worked as a political advisor, consultant and coach with mayors, ministers, premiers and prime ministers around the world, and was the brains behind Cape Town’s ‘Day Zero’ behaviour change strategy. A keen yet mediocre cyclist, Nick lives in Cape Town.

Karina Author, Book, Event

The Algebra of Insignificance by Stephen Symons launched at Wordsworth Books Gardens

Being in a bookshop always makes me happy. Being in a bookshop while a poet is reading his work and discussing it with insight and care makes me extra happy. So when we gathered at Wordsworth Books Gardens at the end of a long, windy day to celebrate the launch of The Algebra of Insignificance by Stephen Symons the world immediately felt like a better place.

Stephen is one of the finest poets I know, and it is a great joy to work with him and to share his writing with other readers. He was in conversation with John Maytham, who asked all the right questions to allow the audience to get a real taste of what lies at the heart of Stephen’s creative process.

An audience member shared how he always marvels at Stephen’s ability to not only remain accessible, but to allow nearly each line of his poems to shine as a poetic gem in its own right. And so it is …

Half the city is drunk on the black liquor of February heat.

A wad of forgotten letters from which a type of longing germinates.

Two lovers inhale the scene
and unfurl their white flags of surrender
over each other’s salt-sticky flesh.

Day will eventually
beat its wings and become flight …

Thank you to Wordsworth Books Gardens for hosting the evening and for being so supportive of Stephen’s work and of so many other local writers! Thank you to Stephen and John for the conversation. And thank you to all who attended!

Far beyond the rummage of whitewater
the sail of a yacht argues with the wind,
rolling and pitching in hesitancy
as if about to make
a life-changing decision.

Happy poetry reading, Everyone!

Karina Prize

Great poetry news!

The shortlists of The 2024 Isele Prizes have been announced and the Poetry list features Melissa Sussens (Slaughterhouse, Karavan Press, 2022) and Kharys Ateh Laue (who has co-authored a collection of stories with Caitlin Stobie that Karavan Press will be publishing later this year). You can read their stunning poems here:

Instead Of Measuring My Life In Productivity | Melissa Sussens

Elegy | Kharys Ateh Laue

And: the winners of New Contrast‘s 2023 National Poetry Prize have been announced:

(Kerry published her latest collection of poetry, afterwards, with Karavan Press and Keith was the winner of the Short.Sharp.Stories competition last year and featured in Fluid: The Freedom to Be.)

All three winning poems will be featured in the upcoming issue of New Contrast at the end of April.

The 2023 judges were Sindiswa Busuku, Nondwe Mpuma and Sarah Lubala.

The National Poetry Prize sponsor is Bruce Jack Wines.

Congratulations to all!

Karina Author, Book, Event

Love, ghosts, stories, death and rooibos at The Book Lounge

Alex Latimer launched his brilliant short story collection, Love Stories for Ghosts, at The Book Lounge last night. Sam Wilson asked the questions, and there was no doubt how much the stories had moved him. The two authors spoke about the inspirations, facts and fictions behind the collection, and asked us to see the world in a different light, making us laugh in the process. We all face and fear death, but in his stories, Alex shows us that there are ways of thinking about death and grief that are astounding and life-affirming.

Thank you to Alex and Sam, to Guy Neveling whose stunning photographs illustrate the stories, to The Book Lounge, and to all humans and ghosts who attended!

Karina Author, Book, Event

Woman Zone Book Club with Dawn Garisch

Woman Zone Guest Author for April:
Novelist, poet, playwright, doctor and founder of the Life Righting Collective, focusing on the healing power of writing, DAWN GARISCH will give a talk on What Remains, her book of short stories which recently won the HSS Award for Best Fiction Short Stories. She will also be giving us some insight into the art and craft of short story writing.

Date: Saturday 13 April
Time: 10.30 to 12.30
Venue: The Woman’s Library,
Ground Floor, Artscape (next to Box Office) 

Donation: R30 for refreshments 
RSVP: hipzone@mweb.co.za before 11 April

Karina Author, Book, Event

Bad Luck Penny by Amy Heydenrych to be launched at The Book Lounge

Amy Heydenrych is visiting our beautiful Cape later this month, and we will be launching her latest novel, Bad Luck Penny, at The Book Lounge on 18 April. Amy will be in conversation with one of her Chasing Marian co-authors, Qarnita Loxton. A literary celebration awaits!

About the book:

IN THE WAKE OF HER beloved grandfather’s death, Lou and her family gather at their coastal family home for a long-awaited family reunion. The windswept and wild surroundings remind Lou of who she was before being a mother, a wife, and a professional failure. They bring back memories of Michael, her toxic first love and, according to the family, her ‘bad luck penny’. A shocking crisis in the country disrupts the funeral arrangements and forces the family together for longer than planned. As secrets rise to the surface, the threads of Lou’s life unravel and she faces a difficult choice – after all, it’s only a bad luck penny if you pick it up.

Karina Author, Book

Karavan Press title: Bad Luck Penny by Amy Heydenrych

About the book:

IN THE WAKE OF HER beloved grandfather’s death, Lou and her family gather at their coastal family home for a long-awaited family reunion. The windswept and wild surroundings remind Lou of who she was before being a mother, a wife, and a professional failure. They bring back memories of Michael, her toxic first love and, according to the family, her ‘bad luck penny’. A shocking crisis in the country disrupts the funeral arrangements and forces the family together for longer than planned. As secrets rise to the surface, the threads of Lou’s life unravel and she faces a difficult choice – after all, it’s only a bad luck penny if you pick it up.

Publication date: 18 April 2024

ISBN: 978-1-7764726-7-3

Kindle: Bad Luck Penny

About the author:

AMY HEYDENRYCH is a writer who lives in Johannesburg with her  husband and son. Her first two novels, Shame on You and The Pact, were published internationally, and she was a co-author on the South African bestseller, Chasing Marian. She has also published several award-winning short stories and poems.