September 2, 2023 Karina Author, Book, Event, Festival

Karavan Press and Friends at Open Book Festival 2023

In their latest newsletter, The Book Lounge, wrote the following about Karavan Press:

Karavan Press is a small publishing house owned and run by Karina Szczurek, seriously punching above its weight. We are so grateful to Karina for publishing so many wonderful books that we thought we should shine a light on some of the books she is responsible for that will be featured at Open Book Festival:

Everyone Dies by Frankie Murrey ~ An exquisite debut collection of stories – I will be cajoling Frankie on to the stage to talk about Everyone Dies. – Mervyn

A Crowded Lonely Walk by Sipho Banda ~ In this riveting poetry collection, Sipho Banda delves into the daily happenings of the ubiquitous but anonymous working class, and restores dignity to those whose lived experiences so often go overlooked. – Belinda

Glass Tower by Sarah Isaacs ~ Glass Tower is the winner of the inaugural Island Prize for debut fiction from Africa.

Inside your body there are flowers by Diane Awerbuck ~ an incredibly versatile writer who returns to the genre for which she is best known – the short story – in this new collection which is nothing short of superb.

The Bitterness of Olives is set in Gaza and Israel and is Andrew’s finest novel. Empathetic, thought provoking, beautifully written with the pace of a thriller. – Mervyn

Striving for Social Equity edited by Joy Watson and Ogochuku Nzewi ~ an invaluable gathering of voices touching on the very real challenges facing South Africans today.

What Remains by Dawn Garisch ~ new collection of stories from one of our best-loved writers that deals with relationships, ageing and so much more.

Karina will be participating in a discussion about the future of publishing.
The Book Lounge

We are immensely grateful for the encouragement and support! And this is how we will be “punching” at Open Book Festival 2023:

Open Book Festival 2023 Programme

Watch out for Karavan Press authors and Friends (we are lucky distribution partners for Glass Tower by Sarah Isaacs and Cat Therapy by Gail Gilbride):

Book your tickets here:

Open Book Festival – Webtickets

September 1, 2023 Karina Book

Karavan Press title: Striving for Social Equity edited by Joy Watson and Ogochukwu Nzewi

Dear Readers,

We’re putting this precious book into your hands. May the stories in it touch your hearts and your sense of patriotism – may it inspire you to be a part of changing the gross inequities in our society. May it grant you grace in truly ‘seeing’ others who are different. May it inspire you to reimagine what our future can look like. We have a beautiful country, let’s find ways of saving it.

Yours in striving for social equity,
Joy Watson and Ogochukwu Nzewi
August 2023

CONTRIBUTORS:

Cover illustration: Zoe Maralack

Publication date: September 2023

ISBN: 978-1-7764581-7-2

September 1, 2023September 1, 2023 Karina Author, Book, Review

Steve Kretzmann reviews ‘Everyone Dies’ by Frankie Murrey

The first review is in. The book will hit our bookshelves next week!

… It is an unsettling series of stories, as death is, and could be considered a book of poems rather than prose; rare is the paragraph that does not contain an arresting image or original turn of phrase. It is a world in which, refreshingly, expectations are not met:

“My doctor said I should watch my diet and suggested a pacemaker. I ignored him. And my son. Who I knew was hoping to one day have it out with me. I had been avoiding serious conversations with him since he started showing an interest in them at age thirteen. There would no doubt be consequences. And now, hospital-bound, tied to a bed by tubes, I can no longer escape him.” – Extract from ‘She said she was from the future’.

And yes, everyone does die, and not in a climactic Game of Thrones sense, despite the subtitle: A series. The drama here is internal, muted. Often it is not so much that someone – mostly the narrator – dies, as life having escaped, or at the very least been let go of …
Read the entire review here: The Critter

August 31, 2023February 5, 2024 Karina Author, Book

Karavan Press title: The Bitterness of Olives by Andrew Brown

‘Why can you not be friends anymore?’

It was the story of his country, he supposed. Perhaps they could have been friends. Perhaps they were once. The reasons were complex, full of feeling, disappointment, resentment. And, of course, betrayal. This was the Middle East after all.

Avi Dahan, a retired detective mourning his beloved wife in Tel Aviv, and Khalid Mansour, a Palestinian doctor confronting the precarious reality of living in Gaza City, are still reeling from the political fallout that jeopardised their delicate friendship. When a mysterious corpse scarred by history and forbidden love shows up in Khalid’s emergency room, he reaches out to Avi for help. Though the detective is the only one who might be able to assist, he is the last person on earth to agree …

The stage is set for Andrew Brown’s unforgettable new novel, The Bitterness of Olives.

Did it really matter? In the face of chaos, was it important how she had died? That was the guidance he needed from Avi now. He needed to understand that question: did it matter anymore? Was it of any significance, how you died in a war?

ISBN: 978-1-7764581-2-7

Kindle: The Bitterness of Olives by Andrew Brown

Publication date: September 2023

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ANDREW BROWN is an advocate and a sergeant in the saps reserves and police liaison officer for the Child Protection Unit at Red Cross Children’s Hospital. He is the author of two non-fiction books and five novels, including Coldsleep Lullaby, winner of the Sunday Times Prize for Fiction in 2006, and Refuge, shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Literature (Africa Region) in 2009. Street Blues: The Experiences of a Reluctant Policeman was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award the same year. Andrew’s books are published in Germany, the Netherlands and the USA. He has three children and lives in Cape Town.

August 31, 2023 Karina Author

Author: Andrew Brown

Karavan Press is delighted to be publishing Andrew’s new novel, The Bitterness of Olives.

August 31, 2023 Karina Book

Karavan Press title: SINDIWE’S GIFT compiled by Thokozile Sayedwa and Nancy Richards

In celebration of Sindiwe Magona’s 80^th birthday, a collection of tributes from friends, family and colleagues on how this literary icon has touched their lives.

Her strong message to all of us is that no matter what life throws at us, it is possible to push through adversity and do what we never imagined we could. Only if that adversity – those rocks – does not make us give up on how we think of ourselves. She mined for her gold and found it. And it is not her gold only while others claw at stones. It is a gold that she offers for all of us to grow rich on. — Zubeida Jaffer

CONTRIBUTORS:

Finuala Dowling • Thokozile Sayedwa • Mamphela Ramphele • Penelope Magona-Dano • Lindy Wilson • Bergliot Dallas • Jean Williams • Marie Philip • Lyndall Gordon • Mamatebele Hoohlo • Rajendra Chetty • Renée Schatteman • Rosemary Gray • Tanya Barben • Kamoji Wachira • Tessa Dowling • Nigel Vermaas • Sarah Davies Cordova with Hélène M. Coutrot and Sophie Barthélémy • Carol Lindsay Shore • Sara CF de Gouveia • Motlatsi Motsoasele • Maralin Vanrenen • Dianne Shober • Elinor Sisulu • Helen Moffett • Margaret Clough • Zubeida Jaffer • Janice O’Brien • Nancy Richards • Theo Krynauw • Unathi Kapa • Antjie Krog

All profits from the publication of Sindiwe’s Gift will be donated to Sparklekids.

Publication date: 27 August 2023

ISBN: 978-1-7764581-1-0

August 27, 2023 Karina Author, Book, Event

Sindiwe Magona’s 80th

Dr Sindiwe Magona turns 80 today and on behalf of all of us in the literary community whose lives she has touched with her inspiration, wonder and wisdom, I would like to simply say: HAPPY BIRTHDAY and THANK YOU!

Together with compilers – Sindiwe’s daughter, Thokozile Sayedwa, and Nancy Richards – as well as all the amazing contributors, Karavan Press celebrates Sindiwe’s 80th with the publication of Sindiwe’s Gift, a collection of personal essays by only a few of the people whose journeys have been enriched by Sindiwe’s presence in their lives.

Yesterday, family, friends and Sindiwe’s Gift contributors gathered at Artscape to honour Dr Sindiwe Magona at 80 and to celebrate her own collection of essays, I Write the Yawning Void (Wits UP, 2023), as well as Sindiwe’s Gift as part of the Woman Zone / Artscape Women’s Humanity Festival MILESTONES: Celebrating, Supporting and Empowering Women of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.

The first copy of Sindiwe’s Gift was presented to Sindiwe by Thoko, who also praised her mother and thanked her for being her best friend. The all-woman marimba band Women Unite welcomed everyone with the warmth of their sound, happy birthday was sung, dancing occurred spontaneously, contributors said a few words, Nancy interviewed Sindiwe, the birthday cake was delicious, there was a lot of laughter and hugging, and tears of joy were shed.

If we could have bottled the energy of the occasion, it would have powered the country for the next decade. And if she were put in charge of things, Sindiwe would need only a tenth of the time to sort us all out. Her intellect, talent, compassion and generosity have no equals. It is impossible to put into words what a gift she and her work have been to all of us in South Africa, and way beyond.

“Wake up to yourself!” Sindiwe said.

Thank you, Sindiwe!

Gratitude to Thoko, Nancy, Woman Zone, Artscape and all who celebrated with us. Danielle Clough, thank you for allowing us to use your portrait for the cover, and Monique Cleghorn, for the beautiful design of the book! And thank you to all the Sindiwe’s Gift contributors:

Two of our contributors, Bergliot Dallas and Rosemary Gray, celebrate their birthdays with Sindiwe today. Happy Birthday to you!

All profits from the publication of Sindiwe’s Gift will be donated to Sparklekids, an organisation close to Sindiwe’s heart.

August 27, 2023 Karina Author, Book, Event

“Twenty tales about life’s great challenges”: Karen Watkins reports on the launch of WHAT REMAINS by Dawn Garisch

Kalk Bay author Dawn Garisch launched a collection of short stories, What Remains, at the Book Lounge on Thursday August 17. She was in conversation with Mignonne Breier, winner of the 2022 Sunday Times Literary Award for non-fiction.

Published by Karavan Press, the book of 20 stories has taken Dr Garisch, who is also a medical doctor, poet, playwright, film producer and teacher, 20 years to complete …

Continue reading: Sentinel News

Here are a few more images from the launch:

August 24, 2023 Karina Author, Book

‘Still beating, reflecting on heart attacks and writing in the City of Gold’ by Mike Boyd

I listen to Johannesburg move around me, and I wonder how she is still able to act like nothing is wrong. When that is all I can see. Why she is not angry. I’m tired of being angry.
…

I have started to walk everywhere. I tell myself it is because I want to research my next novel. I’ve had an idea, and it involves walking the streets of the city. It’s got a big concept, but I want it to be written with a low-key, tangible realism. There are angels and monsters. I want the reader to experience Johannesburg from the ground. So, I walk to the shops whenever we need anything. I find myself making excuses to go, despite the winter darkness approaching earlier and earlier. Even better. But it’s not just the unwritten novel that pulls me onto the road. It’s not that I need to be healthier now. It’s not that I want to get my 10 000 steps each day. The real reason is more complicated. I want to hold onto the present. Be present. Slow down time. Slow it down so much that I might somehow return to a time before now, when I used to walk more.

I listen to the city move around me. The ever-present highway hums in the distance, in time to my step and the passing cars and the other walkers. To feel a part of this great madness, I realise, makes me feel smaller. And that’s what I need right now. As I pass under the shadows of the bare trees in the pale winter sun, I am reminded of what one of the main characters from my novel says: “I don’t know what to believe anymore … it all feels so heavy on my mind. The weight.” Although I was able to explain this away with convoluted literary ideas when asked about it at book launches, for the first time I understand it for myself. The weight of thoughts can have a bearing on one’s spirit …

Continue reading: LitNet

August 24, 2023December 15, 2025 Karina Author, Book, Distribution

Karavan Press becomes local distribution partner for GLASS TOWER by Sarah Isaacs

WE ARE DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THAT KARAVAN PRESS IS THE SOUTH AFRICAN DISTRIBUTION PARTNER FOR GLASS TOWER BY SARAH ISAACS, THE INAUGURAL WINNER OF THE ISLAND PRIZE.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Leilah meets Frankie, and the two misfits become the closest of friends at their new school – until secrets, betrayal, and sexuality drive them apart …

It’s 1997, three years after the official end of Apartheid in South Africa. Two girls from very different backgrounds, Leilah, who is mixed race, and Frankie, who is white, are drawn together when they start at a new school, one that remains racially divided despite the country’s new laws. Their friendship deepens and intensifies before suddenly falling apart when each tells the other a secret. The girls must grapple with young womanhood alone, leaving Leila with only her troubled family to fall back on.

Glass Tower is a powerful, beautiful story of two young people on a journey of sexual hurt and personal discovery which asks questions of who we are and why we love, set against a new and confusing social order.

Winner of the 2022 Island Prize for debut African novels

‘Sarah Isaacs writes with sensitivity and care about the pains of adolescence in a changing society coming to terms with the dark history of South Africa.’ — Karen Jennings, An Island, longlisted for the Booker Prize 2021

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SARAH ISAACS is a writer and visual storyteller based in Cape Town, South Africa. Born in 1985 to a Coloured father and white mother, she occupied an undefinable place within the Apartheid system of racial division. Not belonging to one group or another has informed much of her life experience and continues to be one of the key drivers in her work. After graduating from a psychology degree at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in 2009, Sarah shifted her professional focus to portrait and documentary photography, creating safe spaces for South African women to share their everyday struggles. Boosted by the voices of those women she photographed, she was able to explore her own relationship to issues of identity, gender-based violence and the impact of infertility on a woman’s sense of self. In 2018, she invited victims of GBV to be photographed as a way of sharing their stories of sexual trauma and turned the lessons she learnt from that portrait series into a 2019 TEDx talk, which centred on survivor shame and its implications for the expression of vulnerability. Sarah completed Glass Tower in 2021. It went on to win The Island Prize for debut fiction from Africa in 2022.

Publisher: Holland House Books, UK

Publication date: 24 August 2023

ISBN: 978-1-7391047-4-0

HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY, SARAH!

If you are a bookseller, please contact BOOKSITE to order copies of Glass Tower. If you are a reader, please ask your local bookshop to order the book for you via Booksite.