Hope to see you all there!
Open Book Festival 2023 – Bestsellers
Five of our books are among the fifteen bestselling books at Open Book Festival 2023!
Everyone Dies by Frankie Murrey (Karavan Press)
Glass Tower by Sarah Isaacs (Holland House Books, locally distributed by Karavan Press)
The Bitterness of Olives by Andrew Brown (Karavan Press)
Inside your body there are flowers by Diane Awerbuck (Karavan Press)
Striving for Social Equity edited by Joy Watson and Ogochukwu Nzewi (Karavan Press)
Thank you to all who bought a book!
Nick Mulgrew shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award
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:
Nancy Richards reviews What Remains by Dawn Garisch for Woman Zone
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
Karavan Press and Friends at Open Book Festival 2023
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:
Open Book Festival 2023 Programme
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:
Open Book Festival – Webtickets
Karavan Press title: Striving for Social Equity edited by Joy Watson and Ogochukwu Nzewi
Dear Readers,
We’re putting this precious book into your hands. May the stories in it touch your hearts and your sense of patriotism – may it inspire you to be a part of changing the gross inequities in our society. May it grant you grace in truly ‘seeing’ others who are different. May it inspire you to reimagine what our future can look like. We have a beautiful country, let’s find ways of saving it.
Yours in striving for social equity, Joy Watson and Ogochukwu Nzewi August 2023
CONTRIBUTORS:
Joy Watson | Oma Zewi | Sibahle Serpent Daniel | Liberty Matthyse | Marc Smit | Kgothatso Mokgele | Mishka Wazar | Thabiso Zulu | Lenora Mars | Kirsten Deane | Cassandra Roxburgh | Sindiswa Mkhwanazi | Zazele Mabaso | Anita Gcolotela | Zamasomi Precious Mbonambi | Sinelizwi Ncaluka | Ben Uys | Jos-lene Benekema | Anastasia Witbooi | Irvin Kinnes | Carmine Rustin | Ali Rhida Khan | Sydney Gololo | Thandokazi Mshumpela | Zuko Yigi | Mandisa Roji | Lulama Portia Ngoqwana | Vuyokazi Dyosi | Frankie Murrey | Glenda Tambu Muzenda | Joline Young | Sonwabile Mfecane | Lerato Mathonsi
Cover illustration: Zoe Maralack
Publication date: September 2023
ISBN: 978-1-7764581-7-2
Steve Kretzmann reviews ‘Everyone Dies’ by Frankie Murrey
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
Karavan Press title: The Bitterness of Olives by Andrew Brown
‘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.
Author: Andrew Brown
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.
karavanpress.com 