Karina Author, Book, Review

What readers say about BAD LUCK PENNY by Amy Heydenrych

“This novel touched me in surprising and unexpected ways. We all know Amy Heydenrych can write, but Bad Luck Penny takes her body of work to new and exciting heights. By telling the intimate, personal story of one family grappling with the aftermath of COVID, the novel evokes themes of generational trauma, broken hearts and shattered dreams. Yet her wry and witty writing style makes it a highly entertaining read. What captured me most was Lou’s story, with which, without giving too much away, many South African women can identify.” – Anna Stroud, author of Who Looks Inside

“Bad Luck Penny by Amy Heydenrych is a stunning book. It’s going to win all the literary awards. The writing is beautiful, introspective and melancholic. I loved reading this book slowly, so I could fully appreciate the beautiful writing … it was delicious. A book about family, grief, trauma, making mistakes and dealing with a mid-life crisis all set in an unmistakably South African context. Definitely my book of the year so far!” – Catherine Jarvis, YA author

“A heartwarming family drama – deliciously and dangerously nostalgic.” – Gail Schimmel, author of, among others, Never Tell a Lie, Little Secrets, and most recently, The Finish Line

“The most beautiful family story I have read in a long time.” – Anna Vaulina, reader

“One of my favourite niche genres is the story of the female protagonist who returns to her childhood holiday home as an adult. These books are often set in America (think the Hamptons and Martha’s Vineyard) or the UK (the Cornish coast). The protagonist unearths family secrets and quite often rekindles – for good or for ill – her relationship with the old flame who never left. Bad Luck Penny belongs firmly in this genre, but is set – delightfully enough – in False Bay, near Simon’s Town. Lou returns to her grandparents’ home with her husband and child in tow, to celebrate the life of her beloved late grandfather. She is also determined to revitalise her flagging literary career by telling her grandmother’s story while she is still alive. The Australian branch of the family is there too with their tone-deaf expat comments that are sure to set her teeth on edge. Also lurking in the village is that old flame, whose hotness burns as high as ever. The novel also reckons with some aspects of our recent apartheid and post-apartheid past. A lovely read! IYL The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller.” – Fiona Snyckers, author of, among others, Now Following You, Lacuna, and most recently, The Hidden

“My book of the month … is Amy Heydenrych’s (aka Amy Johnstone’s) Bad Luck Penny. It’s set in Scarborough in the Cape during the time of Covid and the July riots but also deals with the protag’s gran’s story from when she was young. It’s poignant and funny and the family dynamics in the book are so gorgeously written, I feel like it might just be Amy’s best book yet. My favourite line (amongst many favourites) ‘Her love language was martyrdom’. Fam, I snorted my coffee.” – Pamela Power, author of, among others, Ms Conception, Things Unseen, and most recently, The Sick Room

“Bad Luck Penny adeptly balances the hilarious with the heartfelt in its exploration of midlife, motherhood and a family in crisis. A deeply honest and compassionate story about a woman looking to the future while wrestling with her past.” – Hayley Chewins, author of The Turnaway Girls and the upcoming I Am the Swarm

“An epic tale of family, storytelling at its very best.” – Qarnita Loxton, author of the Being Series and most recently, What’s Wrong with June

Karina Author, Book, Event

IN SILENCE MY HEART SPEAKS by Thobeka Yose launched at Woman Zone

In Silence My Heart Speaks by Thobeka Yose – officially: Queen Thobeka – was launched at Woman Zone as part of the Artscape Women’s Humanity Festival yesterday. Thobeka was in conversation with Nancy Richards, who has been a champion of Thobeka’s memoir from the start when she first met this courageous woman and heard her remarkable story.

Yesterday’s launch interview was followed by a deeply moving Q&A during which other women praised Thobeka, her book, and shared their own stories of becoming, resilience and power. It was an honour to be present and to listen. We all went away inspired.

Thank you, Queen Thobeka, for your strength, wisdom and willingness to be vulnerable and to open up spaces for vital conversations. Thank you to Nancy for all the encouragement and support, and for leading the conversation. To Woman Zone – deepest gratitude for championing women’s lives & stories. And to Artscape for hosting. Thank you to all who attended and made this occasion beyond special!

Note Thobeka’s shoes! Definitely the most fabulous launch shoes in Karavan Press book launch history! Fitting for a Queen!

You can listen to the launch conversation here:

Woman Zone Stories – Meet the Author: Thobeka Yose
Karina Author, Book, Prize

Slaughterhouse by Melissa Sussens shortlisted for the Ingrid Jonker Prize

The following collections of poetry were selected by the judges to be on the shortlist of the Ingrid Jonker Prize 2024 – in alphabetical order:

  • Sarah Lubala – A History of Disappearance
  • Irya EM Maharaj – Earth Circuit
  • Sizakele Nkosi – unGrand Malume
  • Caitlin Stobie – Thin Slices
  • Melissa Sussens – Slaughterhouse

Congratulations to all shortlisted poets! A special note of appreciation to Melissa Sussens – thank you for publishing your stunning debut collection with Karavan Press!

Karina Author, Book

Karavan Press title: The Smell of Blood by Caitlin Stobie and Kharys Ateh Laue

The Smell of Blood and Other Stories is the product of a years-long conversation between Caitlin Stobie and Kharys Ateh Laue about feminism, power, and narrative positioning. The stories follow the lives of mothers, daughters, schoolgirls, and sisters soon after the 1994 democratic elections, tracing their coming of age as women in post-apartheid South Africa. Voices in this collection flit in and out of focus as they navigate the everyday violence surrounding them. Together, they create a short story cycle that reflects on both privilege and trauma, on cherished memories and shame.

ISBN: 978-1-0672224-7-5

Publication date: September 2024

Caitlin Stobie
Kharys Ateh Laue

CAITLIN STOBIE is an author of fiction, poetry, and literary criticism. Her writing has won the Douglas Livingstone Creative Writing Competition, the Heather Drummond Memorial Prize for Poetry, and an Authors’ Foundation Award. She is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Leeds.

KHARYS ATEH LAUE is a writer and editor based in Cape Town. She is the author of Sketches, and has written for various literary journals, such as Pleiades, Isele Magazine, Brittle Paper. She is an Associate Lecturer at the University of the Western Cape.

Karina Author, Book, Event, Festival

In Silence My Heart Speaks by Thobeka Yose to be launched as part of Artscape Women’s Humanity Festival

“Can we truly celebrate 30 years of democracy when so many women and children are still prevented from freely and fairly exercising their right to democracy, freedom, equality and above all, humanity?” These words from Marlene le Roux, CEO of Artscape the Theatre Centre, sum up the thinking behind this year’s Artscape Women’s Humanity Festival (AWHF), planned in association with Woman Zone for Women’s Month. — LitNet

Together with the AWHF and Woman Zone, we will be launching Thobeka Yose‘s inspirational memoir, In Silence My Heart Speaks, during the AWHF. Thobeka will be in conversation with Nancy Richards, who has accompanied Thobeka on her writing journey from the beginning and who wrote a beautiful foreword to the book:

Writing your own story, I imagine, must be like running barefoot. Whatever the ground texture, you are going to feel it intensely. But you have to finish. At the end of her ‘run’, I suspect, Thobeka Yose may have had sore soles, not only from reliving her own story, but that of her mother. Neither of them easy journeys.
When I first met Thobeka at a group workshop with Ntsiki Sigege at the Artscape Resource Centre back in 2016, she, like everyone else, shared a bit about herself. It was clear she’d introspected long and hard on her situation. But instead of shying away from the issues, she’d obviously decided to confront and interrogate them, both from her own perspective and those of others whose actions had had such impact on her.
I suggested she write it down as a way, perhaps, of making sense of it and getting it off her chest. The workshop over, richer for the shared experiences, we all went our separate ways.
A few short months later, I was amazed to get an email from Thobeka saying, ‘I took your advice and wrote! My manuscript is with a publisher as we speak.’ …

It is truly special for us to be launching this stunning book at Artscape and with Woman Zone – spaces that nurture and support women’s creativity and make dreams come true. And how fitting that it is during August and the AWHF. Please join us for this wonderful occasion on Saturday, 17 August, at 10:30 a.m.

Full programme of the Festival: AWHF

About the memoir:

In Silence My Heart Speaks

I show my scars now with pride because I survived. This is me owning my story, all of it, the good and the bad.

A searing and brave memoir chronicling the author’s resilience, compassion and growth as she moves from a childhood of trauma, through the challenges of dealing with the early loss of her beloved husband and becoming a single parent as well as subsequently accompanying her child on a difficult journey of self-discovery, to a life of acceptance and forgiveness. Thobeka Yose confronts the taboos surrounding mental health, abuse, betrayal and sexual identity with fearless honesty, kindness and understanding that will inspire countless others.

Karina Author, Book, Event

Kerry Hammerton and Athambile Masola reading at The Red Wheelbarrow

Kerry Hammerton and Athambile Masola will be reading to us at The Commons in Muizenberg on Wednesday, 7th August.

Kerry Hammerton lives in Cape Town, South Arica and has an MA in Creative Writing. She has published poetry and prose in various South African and international literary journals and anthologies – including Living While Feminist (Kwela Books, 2020), The Only Magic We Know (Modjaji Books, 2020) and Tiger (Karavan Press, 2023). Her fourth poetry collection, afterwards, was published in 2023 (Karavan Press). Kerry is a freelance tutor and supervisor for the Rhodes School of Literature and Language on their Masters in Creative Writing programme. You can find her on Instagram: kerry_hammerton

Athambile Masola is a writer, researcher and an award-winning poet based in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Cape Town. Her debut collection of poetry is written in isiXhosa, Ilifa (Uhlanga Press, 2021). She is the co-author of the children’s history book series, Imbokodo: Women who shape us (Jacana Media, 2022), with Dr Xolisa Guzula. Her latest book is a collaboration with Makhosazana Xaba; a collection of Noni Jabavu’s columns from 1977, A stranger at Home (Tafelberg, 2023).

As always, the reading by the featured poet(s) will be followed by an open mic session for poets from the audience. Poets are welcome to read from their own work as well as from the work of a favourite poet.
 
Date: Wednesday, 7th August 2024
Time: 19:30
Venue: The Commons, Surfer’s Corner, Beach Rd, Muizenberg, Cape Town, 7970
phone: 083 799 8294