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.

Karina Author

Author: Amy Heydenrych

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. Karavan Press is publishing her latest novel, Bad Luck Penny.

Karina Author, Book, Event

‘The Algebra of Insignificance’ by Stephen Symons to be launched at Wordsworth Books Gardens

“This poet is a gem,” says David Keplinger, and anyone who has ever encountered Stephen Symons’s poetry will understand the sentiment. The Algebra of Insignificance is as beautiful and intriguing as its title. Don’t miss this special launch at Wordsworth Books Gardens. Stephen will be in conversation with John Maytham. We look forward to seeing you all there!

Karina Author, Book, Event

Love Stories for Ghosts by Alex Latimer to be launched at The Book Lounge

Alex says: “If you’re in Cape Town on the 4th of April, come along to the launch of my first ever short story collection – Love Stories for Ghosts. (I normally make books for children, but this one isn’t.) I’ll be chatting to Sam Wilson and there’ll be wine for free and books for sale. I’m really very proud of this collection – I’ve been writing these stories over the past eight years and they’re fun and weird and sincere and often Death shows up with a cup of rooibos tea. Plus the stories are accompanied by some truly incredible photographs by Guy Neveling. Hope to see you there!”

Love Stories for Ghosts will make you think about the mystery of death, and it will make you delight in the beauty of life. Can’t wait to listen to Alex and Sam talk about this remarkable collection and its ghosts!

Karina Literary Award, Literary Awards

Karavan Press at the HSS Awards 2024

The National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) announced the winners of the 9th Annual Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) Book, Creative Collection, and Digital Contribution Awards last night.

It gives me great pleasure to share the news that Dawn Garisch won the HSS Award for Best Fiction Short Stories for her collection, What Remains. And Frankie Murrey won the HSS Award for Best Emerging Author in the Fiction Category for her debut, Everyone Dies.

Congratulations,

Dawn and Frankie!

FLUID: The Freedom to Be, edited by Joanne Hichens and me won in the Best Fiction Edited Volume category! To say that we are delighted would be the understatement of the year. The Short.Sharp.Stories anthology was published by Tattoo Press and is distributed by Karavan Press. Thank you, Joanne, for inviting me to be part of this wonderful project! It is an honour to call myself your wingwoman.

Congratulations to all other winners! We are thrilled to be in your company.

Thank you to the NIHSS for recognising and celebrating our work.

Cheers to the Short Story!

Karina Festival

Short and Sweet, and wonderfully successful

The third Karavan Press Literary Festival: Short & Sweet took place at the Fish Hoek Public Library on 9 March 2024. This year, we worked in cooperation with the Blown Away by Books and Friends of the Fish Hoek Library, and focused entirely on the SHORT STORY!

It was difficult to predict how a whole day of short story events, including a workshop, would be received, but we need not have worried. I cannot thank all those who attended enough for their incredible support. The short story is alive and well in our literary community. It was so heartening to see.

I am immensely grateful to all the participating Authors – you are all so talented and inspiring. Listening to you made me fall in love with the short story all over again. Thank you for writing and being part of the Karavan Press journey. What an adventure we are having!

A special thank you to Rachel Zadok of Short Story Day Africa for everything she has done for the short story in South Africa, on the continent and beyond. Her FLOW Workshop showed us how creativity flows in our veins, connecting and empowering us to tell our stories. Also, a huge thank you to Joanne Hichens of Short.Sharp.Stories. The two of you are champions of the short story in South Africa. Deepest gratitude for all the love and energy that you devote to this fascinating form of storytelling!

Photo gallery by Kerry Hammerton, who is working on her first short story collection and compiling an anthology of flashes!

And – of course! – THANK YOU to the Friends of the Fish Hoek Library, especially Debi Hawkins, without whom none of this would have been possible. Thank you for all your amazing support in organising and hosting this day of literary fun!

To all the Readers who took our books home: THANK YOU! And happy reading!