Congratulations, Nick! It is a huge joy to be able to celebrate this special award with you.
This is the second year in a row that a Karavan Press author is recognised with this award and it means the world to all of us. Thank you, S.A. Literary Awards!
One of the creatives Kim Gurney interviewed for her latest book, Panya Routes: Independent art space in Africa (Motto Books, 2022), Nana Oforiatta Ayim, the founder and director of the ANO Institute of Arts and Knowledge in Accra, said that she “wanted to set this place up so that others like me who wanted to write and express something could come and have a home, a place to think collectively, create, push boundaries.”
Earlier today, Kim was in discussion about Panya Routes with Joy Watson – both belong to the Rosebank Writes group, recently founded by Kim and other writers who live and work in and/or are affiliated with the suburb of Rosebank, Cape Town (we have a sister organisation in Johannesburg). The event was hosted by another member, Shireen Mall, in her beautiful lounge that was transformed into an independent art space for the day. Writers, readers and creatives gathered to celebrate the publication of Panya Routes (which Karavan Press and Protea Distribution have the honour of distributing in South Africa along independent panya routes of their own) and listen to Kim and Joy discuss the book, its origins and consequences.
It was a morning of illumination, and I cannot thank Kim, Joy, Shireen and all who attended, enough for inspiring us all to search for our individual panya routes which allow us to be creative in spaces where, in the words of NgĹ©gÄ© wa Thiong’o, “the progress of any one person is not dependent on the downfall of another” (quoted in Panya Routes).
We are delighted to announce that the South African Literary Awards (SALA) nominated A Hibiscus Coast by Nick Mulgrew for the 2022 K. Sello Duiker Memorial Literary Award.
Congratulations, Nick! May it soar.
Melissa Sussens will be the feature poet at The Red Wheelbarrow on Thursday, 20 October, at 19:30 SAST / 13:30 ET. She will share poems from Slaughterhouse, her debut collection coming soon from Karavan Press.
There will also be an opportunity to ask her questions and to share a poem or two of your own in the open mic that follows the reading.
Register here: The Red Wheelbarrow
Wednesday, 19 October 2022, 18:00, Karen Jennings will be in conversation with Jennifer Malec, editor of the Johannesburg Review of Books, at the Origins Centre, Eland Room.
Join them for a fascinating evening!
Please join us for this exciting Rosebank Writers event on the 29th of October! All welcome, but please RSVP for catering purposes.
“When you live a life of reading, you live like a cat, you experience nine lives,” Premier Alan Winde said at the opening ceremony of the second Cape Flats Book Festival, and added: “There’s nothing like a good book, nothing.” Totally agreed!
And when you live a life of reading, you get to hang out with the coolest of people – readers and writers!
This weekend, readers and writers gathered at the West End Primary School in Mitchells Plain to celebrate the wealth and wonder of literature, and it was an honour to participate. According to the organisers, the festival is “an act of hope, an opportunity to dream beyond our circumstances.” Indeed. And every minute of it was literary delight.
Great vibes, great sessions, laughter and wisdom, lots of connecting and reconnecting and simple sharing – of experience, ideas and the love of books.
Karavan Press authors participating: Joy Watson, Nancy Richards, Lester Walbrugh, Cathy Park Kelly and Joanne Hichens.
The second day of the festival was a little bit quieter, but smaller audience create more intimate interactions and often strong bonds are forged not only between authors and their fans, but also between the authors themselves. Writing is mostly a solitary and often lonely occupation, and it is simply wonderful to encounter others in the same boat and feel slightly less alone in the world.
And when you are lucky, you get to hug Oaky 🙂
Thank you to everyone who made this fantastic event possible!
Hope to see everyone at the next Cape Flats Book Festival!
Can’t wait for this one!
Lester will be in conversation with Joy Watson. Not to be missed!
See you at EB Cavendish on the 26th of October.
karavanpress.com 