Karina Author, Book, Event

Salon Hecate: Salt-splashed authors Melissa A. Volker and Glen L. Thompson in conversation

On 1 September 2026, Helen Moffett’s Salon Hecate will be having a ‘full circle’ celebration: many of you heard novelist Melissa ‘Missy’ Volker read extracts from her work in progress at one of the surfing salons in World Ocean Month. Likewise, you’ll have heard Glen Thompson, historian and surf scholar (there is such a thing!), read his poems on sea and surf. Both are familiar faces at Salon Hecate: they’re great supporters of local authors, they’re passionate about preserving the ocean and its denizens for the future, and share the Noordhoek Art Point gallery’s commitment to all things green and blue.

So we’re delighted to announce that we will launch not only Missy’s important new book – Chasing Waves: The Rise of Women’s Surfing in South Africa – but we’ll be celebrating the arrival of Glen’s debut collection of poetry – In the Slowness of Melting – as well! This is particularly special because he read those poems for the first time at the Salon.

The salt-splashed pair will interview each other, complementing each other’s approach to waves in words. Don’t miss this event, and be sure to tell all your surfing buddies to come along. (Remember, entrance is free, and there’ll be wine and small snacks.)

Details: Noordhoek Art Point | 1 September | 5.30 for 6PM.

Karina Author, Book, Event

In the Wild Garden of Grief with Malika Lueen Ndlovu and Marcelle Sprong

This gathering facilitated by Malika Lueen Ndlovu is part of the ongoing series ‘In the Wild Garden of Grief’. The latest iteration of the unfolding grief-tending creative practice is inspired and informed by Malika’s book Griefseed – published in February 2025. Participants receive a signed copy when booking to be part of this deeply immersive, site-specific gathering.

Saturday, 22 August 2026, 11AM-4PM, Hout Bay, booking details above.

Karina Author, Book, Event

Love Books launch of 185: The Janine van Wyk Story as told to Firdose Moonda

The Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) is taking place in Morocco this year and Banyana Banyana are playing their first match in the competition against Tanzania tonight. South Africa won the Cup only once – in 2022. One of the women who lifted the trophy that year was Janine van Wyk. In 185: The Janine van Wyk Story as told to Firdose Moonda, you can read all about the successful campaign and Janine’s path to record-breaking glory as well as the incredible background story of South Africa’s women footballers’ quest to compete on the African continent and beyond, and to be counted among the best! Janine and Firdose will be in Johannesburg to celebrate the launch of the book – fittingly during the women’s month of August – and we hope to see you all at Love Books on 11 August for the occasion. Janine and Firdose will be in conversation with speaker, broadcaster and host of The Enhanced Pod, Leigh-Ann Paulick. Not to be missed!

Karina Author, Book, Event

Consuelo Roland & Lucienne Bestall join ‬Tyra Asia‭ ‬& ‬Christelle Connor in conversation

Mortality forms a thematic throughline in both Consuelo’s first novel, The Good Cemetery Guide (2005), and Lucienne’s debut collection of non-fiction essays, Except for Breath: Reflections on Image and Memory (2025). The authors’ mutual curiosity about death – and what it might teach us about love and longing – is differently explored in their respective genres. While Consuelo tells the story of a funeral director who leads a double life alongside the recently departed, Lucienne considers the ways art and literature have pictured and described ‘the only possible ending’.

🍎 Friday, 24‭ ‬July 2026, 11am–12.30pm, Bellville Library

Please RSVP by Wednesday 22‭ ‬July: bellville.library@capetown.gov.za, 021‭ ‬444‭ ‬0300

Consuelo is a writer working across fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Her debut novel, The Good Cemetery Guide, was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize and the Olive Schreiner Award, and was recently reissued by Karavan Press.

Lucienne is a curatorial researcher and writer. She has contributed to leading local and international art publications and journals, and her essay collection, Except for Breath: Reflections on Image and Memory, was published by Karavan Press in 2025.

Consuelo and Lucienne live in Cape Town.

Karina Author, Book, Event

A Fiction Writing Masterclass with Anna Stroud

Please join an online masterclass with the Jacana Literary Foundation, presented by Anna Stroud, author of the award-winning Who Looks Inside, on Wednesday, 24 June, at 19:00 via Zoom. Tickets are R150.

Anna Stroud offers practical advice and exercises to help aspiring fiction authors tap into their hidden selves. Learn how to fight imposter syndrome by getting out of your head and into your work. Bring pen and paper for a hands-on 1-hour fiction writing workshop, followed by 30 minutes of reflection, sharing (if you want to) and questions.

Click here for details: A Fiction Writing Masterclass with Anna Stroud

Karina Author, Book, Event, Festival

Stephen Symons is headline guest of this year’s Karoo Writers Festival

Taking place in Cradock, Olive Schreiner’s childhood home, in the Eastern Cape from 18 to 20 June 2026, this year’s edition of the Karoo Writers Festival is hosted jointly by Amazwi South African Museum of Literature and the Victoria Manor Hotel.

The headline guest this year is Stephen Symons, whose fifth poetry collection The Algebra of Insignificance won the 2026 Olive Schreiner Prize for Poetry.

Catch him at the following events:

Thursday, 18 June, Victoria Manor Hotel, 19:00

AVBOB Showcase with music by ACCESS Music, featuring Stephen Symons, 2026 Olive Schreiner Prize Winner for Poetry for The Algebra of Insignificance & Clinton V du Plessis, AVBOB Afrikaans Poetry Winner, reading from his latest poetry collection, Maar steeds sal daar miskien.

Friday, 19 June, Victoria Manor Hotel, 08:30-10:30

Stephen Symons: ‘Why poetry matters … especially in the classroom’

Saturday, 20 June, Victoria Manor Hotel, 10:00

Stephen Symons: ‘The highs and lows of my writing journey’

More info: Brittle Paper

Full programme: Karoo Writers Festival