Please join us as we celebrate the official launch of Glass Tower by Sarah Isaacs, the inaugural Island Prize winner, published by Holland House in the UK and distributed locally by Karavan Press. Sarah will be in conversation with the prize’s founder, Karen Jennings. Let’s give both a warm welcome at The Book Lounge!
Hope to see you all there!
We are thrilled to announce that Nick Mulgrew, the author of Tunnel, A Hibiscus Coast, The First Law of Sadness and Stations (among others), has been shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award with Cambridge University for his story ‘The Storm’ – congratulations, Nick!
And congratulations to all other shortlisted authors!
NICK MULGREW was born in Durban in 1990. He writes novels, short fiction and poetry. Among his accolades are the 2016 Thomas Pringle Prize, the 2018 Nadine Gordimer Award, and a Mandela Rhodes Scholarship. His debut novel, A Hibiscus Coast, won the 2022 K. Sello Duiker Memorial Award. Since 2014 he has directed uHlanga, an acclaimed poetry press. He currently lives in Scotland, where he studies at the University of Dundee. Karavan Press published Nick’s first two novels and new editions of his short story collections:
Dear Dawn Garisch
I have just finished your book of short stories, What Remains. I am so sad. I am already missing my nightly fix of meetings with your panoply of thinking, suffering, worrying, reflective, ordinary-not-ordinary characters. Of stepping, albeit briefly, into their exquisitely word-painted lives, their shocking encounters, intriguing histories – in some cases deep into their hearts, their troubled psyches and relationships, in others, fathoms deep into their upbringings to touch on what makes them tick. Sometimes I could piece together the puzzle of their nostalgic pasts, and sometimes, at the endings, I was left wondering about their futures – their next steps, like sitting on the edge of a cliff …
Continue reading: Woman Zone
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:
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:
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
‘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.
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.
Karavan Press is delighted to be publishing Andrew’s new novel, The Bitterness of Olives.
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.
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.
karavanpress.com 