Karina Event

Book sale & reading: uHlanga Press

Dear Poetry Lovers,

Karavan Press would probably not exist if it wasn’t for Nick Mulgrew‘s pioneering and inspiring publishing at uHlanga Press, and so it is with great pleasure that we will be hosting a uHlanga Press reading and book sale at our Karavan Press home next week on Tuesday, 9 September 2025, between 16:30 and 19:30.

Wine and snacks will be served. Great poetry will be read and sold, and most importantly, Nick will be here to celebrate ten years of award-winning poetry publishing!

Hope you will all join us!

Literary love, Karina

Karina Author, Book, Event

The one thing that will sell your story … by Cathy Park Kelly

Wonderful advice by Cathy Park Kelly, author of Boiling a Frog Slowly:

I only went to the monthly literary event, a conversation between author James Whyle, author of We Two from Heaven, and John Maytham, a local radio personality, at our local library because I had to.

I’m on the Friends of Fish Hoek Library committee and we were on duty one recent wintery Saturday morning.

The blurb of the book had done the opposite of grab me – words on the back like ‘palimpsest’ and ‘four-part fugue’ had convinced me it was not my kind of book. It sounded like hard work to read, and too ‘literary’ to enjoy.

But the interview with the author, James Whyle, by resonant-voiced and insightful John Maytham, convinced me otherwise. Whyle’s responses to the questions were sometimes rambling, sometimes off-beat, but always candid and thought-provoking. And so I bought the book.

Continue reading: “The one thing that will sell your story …”

Karina Author, Book, Event, Interview

The Book Revue with Frankie Murrey

Our first book event with the wonderful Pippa Smith of The Book Revue will be taking place next Wednesday at 11.30AM in the Christchurch Constantia Hall and will feature Frankie Murrey with her second collection of stories, A Collection of Gaps, published in a limited box edition. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Open Book Festival. You don’t want to miss this special celebration!

Karina Event

Woman Zone Book Swap

Join Woman Zone Cape Town for their first-ever BOOK SWAP, celebrating the power of stories FOR, BY, and ABOUT Women as part of the Artscape Women’s Humanity Arts Festival!

🗓 Date: Saturday, 16 August 2025
⏰ Time: 13:00 – 15:00
📍 Location: Theatre Foyer Well at Artscape

How it works:
Bring up to 10 books from your collection and swap them out for new reads to take home! Feel free to bring extra books; these will either be added to the WZ Library or donated to a charity supporting women’s literacy and empowerment.

Woman Zone is thrilled to partner with leading publishing houses who will contribute exciting new releases to the swap.

Swap Rules:

Please bring books that are in good, readable condition.
Only books you would personally recommend to others, to ensure quality and enjoyment for all.
Arrive early to get the best picks!
Come for the books, stay for the vibrant festival vibes! Don’t miss this unique opportunity to connect, share stories, and celebrate women’s voices. RSVP today and join the celebration! 

Karina Event

Salon Hecate at Noordhoek Art Point

Salon Hecate | 5 August, Noorhoek Art Point Gallery

We still have cold and wet months ahead, but it feels like winter might be on the wane. That means it’s time for the annual Nurture and Nourish Salon! Which will take place on Tuesday evening, 5 August. And although the way Women’s Month is marketed is problematic, August does turn our thoughts to the human qualities often assigned as “natural” to women — nurturing, co-operation, love in action — and it’s worth celebrating these.

The focus of the Salon will be on poetry: confirmed readers of words of beauty and comfort include poet, photographer, rower and bassonist Liesl Jobson; storyteller, singer and memorist Philippa Kabali-Kagwa; publisher extraordinaire Karina Szczurek; and chronicler of the Deep South, Diane Awerbuck. Fantasy fundi Nerine Dorman will give us a taste of none other than Tolkein’s writings on food, and there’ll be a short story featuring the humble sweet potato and a magical soup.

And yes, there will be homemade soup (vegan)! Paper cups will be provided, but if you remember, please bring your travel mug and a spoon.

This will be a time for warmth and closeness, for beautiful words, tastes and images. We are bitterly mindful of those suffering hunger, thirst and cold at present; this Salon will present a chance to appreciate and give thanks for our many comforts, including those supplied by friends, art, poetry, fynbos and beaches close by; the simple luxuries of boiling a kettle for a hot drink and food in the pantry.

If you are able, it would be much appreciated if you could bring along a tin of food, a jar of jam, spread or peanut butter, or a packet of seasoning or similar to pop into a box to donate to My Father’s House, which feeds two thousand vulnerable and unsheltered adults and children. Visit their website here for more information: https://www.myfathershouse.org.za/

Time: 5.30 for 6, to end at 7pm.

Attendance is free, with soup and wine/juice served. Donations are welcome, but absolutely not obligatory. Vegetarians/vegans are always catered for.