Join Pippa Smith and Melissa A. Volker, author of Chasing Waves: The Rise of Women’s Surfing in South Africa, for tea and scones at Pippa’s house (7 Michael Storer Avenue Constantia) on Wednesday, 28 October 2026. 10AM for tea and 10.30AM for the talk. RSVP to Pippa by email on pippa@thebookrevue.co.za. No cost and books will be on sale. The book traces the rise of women’s surfing in South Africa starting from the days when women were regarded as eye candy at the competitions to the present where we surf the waves more or less equally.
The Fish Hoek Library is hosting a new literary festival on Saturday, 24 October 2026. Please join the authors for amazing conversations and readings. Free entry. Books will be on sale.
We are thrilled to invite you to the launch of Melissa A. Volker’s Chasing Waves: The Rise of Women’s Surfing in South Africa at Exclusive Books Cavendish on 22 October 2026, 5.30 for 6PM. Melissa will be in conversation with journalist and fellow surfer Amy MacIver. Later that evening, Cavendish Mall will also be hosting another sports book event you might be interested in attending. When we heard the news, Melissa said, “We will be like the opening act for a rock band …”
In 1977, the world surf tour comes to South Africa and the final event of the SA Pro Contest Circuit runs at Umhlanga Rocks, north of Durban. Zigzag Surfing Lifestyle Magazine reports that ‘thousands of young, foxy, tanga-clad ladies’ request autographs from the surfing stars.
Prior to the final matchup between the male surfers, the women’s surf contest, a single heat, paddles out. It is called the ‘comedy interlude’ in the press.
A little over four decades later, Melissa A. Volker watches the women’s surfing Gold Medal Match at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. South African surfer Bianca Buitendag is competing against USA’s Carissa Moore and wins the first ever Olympic surfing medal for South Africa. Thinking about the challenges South African women had to overcome to charge the waves, Melissa wonders who paved the way for Buitendag. She decides to find out. Chasing Waves chronicles the journey and tells the story of the remarkable women who have defined the local surfing scene.
Praise for Chasing Waves
‘In Chasing Waves, Melissa Volker gives voice to the girls and women who shaped South African surfing’s past and continue to make waves in the present. Weaving in reflections on her research journey and her own surfing life, Volker crafts a tapestry detailing the choices and challenges of courageous female surfers since the Sixties. In documenting their life stories, Volker surfaces hidden surf histories and shows how the waves have become more inclusive. This is not only a book for those who surf but also for those who wish to wade into the unfolding history of South African beach cultures.’ – Glen Thompson
‘An extraordinary book. Chasing Waves, and the women surfers it recognises and celebrates, will inspire you both in and out of the water. I know I will return to it often.’ – Qarnita Loxton
And the “rock band” at Cavendish later that evening will be no other than Cheslin Kolbe …
Join us as we sidestep the odds and make literary waves together!
Kerry Hammerton‘s new poetry collection, Nothing Is Lost, is out and we will be celebrating its launch at Exclusive Books Cavendish next week on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, 5.30 for 6PM. Kerry will be in conversation with Finuala Dowling.
Please join us for a Blown Away by Books event with Burning Down the House. Contributors Ché Adams, Charisse Louw and Cassidy Robinson will be in conversation with Sarah Prince.
Fish Hoek Library, Saturday, 17 October 2026, 9.30AM tea, 10AM event.
We are delighted to announce that End & Beginning by Athol Williams (Karavan Press, 2025) is among the longlisted titles for the CANEX Prize for Publishing this year.
“13 titles have been selected for the CANEX Prize for Publishing 2026, representing publishers from across Africa and the Diaspora. This year’s longlist puts the spotlight on the books, authors and publishers selected for the next stage of the prize.”
Congratulations to all other publishers and books! We are honoured and proud to feature on this wonderful list:
Congratulations, Athol! Thank you for publishing your brave and beautiful poetry with Karavan Press. It has been such a privilege to work with you!
Thank you to all the Judges for their time and consideration and thank you to all who make the CANEX Prize for Publishing possible!
The 2026 Sunday Times Literary Awards shortlists have been announced earlier today and we are thrilled to share the news that Roger Lucey’s How to Build a House in the Mountains has been shortlisted for the Non-Fiction Award!
Non-Fiction Award Criteria
The illumination of truthfulness, especially those forms of it that are new, delicate, unfashionable and fly in the face of power; compassion; elegance of writing; and intellectual and moral integrity.
Chair of judges Shylock Matsunyane says of How to Build a House in the Mountains: “a prime example of a plain, truthful story that is beautifully written, told and deeply owned by the author.”
Judges say: “A pure pleasure to read. You fall in love with the narration of the story and its humorous descriptiveness.”
Congratulations, Roger, and all shortlisted authors!
Please join us for the launch of Gail Gilbride’s An Unsuitable Woman – a bold exploration of love in all its confusing guises – the much-awaited second novel from the author of Under the African Sun, on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, 5.30 for 6PM, at Exclusive Books Cavendish. Gail will be in conversation with Penny Haw. Not to be missed!
‘What happens when a young woman from the city suddenly marries a widowed farmer believing that he, his young daughter and country-living will cure her post-traumatic stress disorder and broken heart? Is it possible to sustain the role of traditional wife under any circumstances by simply willing it? What does she do when encounters, events and lingering looks remind her who she truly is and what she really wants? Heartbreaking, heartwarming, and oh-so very true, An Unsuitable Woman delivers a pitch-perfect tribute to the complexities of relationships, misplaced longing, and the general messiness of life. Gilbride excels in exploring how characters are shaped over time by politics, family dynamics and tragedy. An insightful, sharply observed gift of a book!’
– Penny Haw, author of The Invincible Miss Cust and The Woman and Her Stars
Jenna Mervis, author of Braided River (Indeed Books), is hosting a writing workshop on 10 October 2026 in Hout Bay. Please email Jenna to book your place.
As dramaturg is Louis Viljoen bekend vir sy fyn, ingewikkelde taalgebruik en die ongemaklike intimiteit in sy dramas wat gehore vasgenael hou. Die versamelbundel Selected Playsbring vir die eerste keer tien van Viljoen se kragtigste toneelstukke byeen. Die aktrise Emma Kotze, een van Viljoen se gereelde medewerkers, gesels met die dramaturg oor die vakmanskap, chaos en die aard van die Suid-Afrikaanse teater, asook die uitdagings om sy donker werk op te voer.
Erika Viljoen se memoires, Aggressiewe water, is gebore uit briewe wat sy aan familie en vriende geskryf het toe die gesin uitgewyk het na ’n stuk veld in die Klein-Karoo waar niemand anders nog permanent gewoon het nie. Wat vir baie mense net ’n droom is, het vir haar gesin ’n werklikheid geword – met al die swoeg en sweet wat daarmee saamgaan. Erika se kind, Roland du Preez, kunstenaar, akteur en skrywer van die toneelstuk Rescue Remedy, tree met haar in gesprek.
Also featured on the programme are authors Lethokuhle Msimang and Zubayr Charles – Lethokuhle with the short film Soil and Grass, written, directed and narrated by her; and Zubayr with his novel, Haram (JB Publishers), and his poetry collection, the sad boy’s starter pack and other poems (Jacana). Lethokuhle published The Frightened and Zubayr published Please, don’t call me moffie with Karavan Press.
Soil and Grass follows three traditional artisans in KwaZulu-Natal: a wire basket maker; a potter; and a palm weaver, whose practices move between rural heritage and urban adaptation. As materials are collected, transformed, and re-created, the film traces how knowledge persists in the midst of displacement. Interwoven with a personal story of departure and return, Soil and Grass reflects on what of loneliness, uncertainty, abandonment, survives in the search for a true sense of home. It is also a meditation on women who create alone.
