The Franschhoek Literary Festival is nearly upon us and what a fabulous programme to look forward to again this year! Taking place between 15 and 17 May 2026, it will host many stunning literary events, with some food and music and other delights thrown into the mix. Three of our writers – DAWN GARISCH, ROGER LUCEY and SHERYL JAMES feature on the programme. Please come and join us for their and many other events. We look forward to celebrating the joy of storytelling with you.
Dawn GarischRoger LuceySheryl James
BREAKING THE FORM: EXPERIMENTAL FICTION
Friday, 15 May, 2026
11:30 – 12:30
Hospice House
Not all novels move in straight lines. Some fracture, circle or whisper. In this conversation, writers Dawn Garisch (The Consulting Room) and Rémy Ngamije(Only Stars Know the Meaning of Space) join Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane to explore narrative risk, structure, style and why some stories refuse to behave.
STORYTELLING AND SONG WITH ROGER LUCEY
Friday, 15 May, 2026
16:00 – 17:00
Church Hall
Roger Lucey’s music career was silenced by apartheid’s security police. In this intimate performance of songs and storytelling, he reflects on survival, rebuilding and finding his way back to creativity in the Breede River mountains, inspired by his memoir How to Build a House in the Mountains.
MOVING BEYOND LIMITS
Sunday, 17 May, 2026
11:30 – 12:30
Council Chambers
South African Paralympian, Sheryl James (Unbridling), has spent her life pushing past boundaries. She joins Africa Melane to reflect on defying expectations, silencing doubt and redefining the limits of human potential.
One of the most inspirational stories I have ever encountered, the remarkable memoir Unbridling by mother-daughter duo Sheryl and Sandy James, will be launched at Exclusive Books Cavendish on Tuesday, 12 May 2026, at 6PM.
Born cerebral palsied, Sheryl James spends the early years of her life arguing with the world and God about her disability. After a strange encounter with Him, she sets out to defy the possibilities defined for her by the crowd, experts and her family. When doors close on her quest to compete as a para-athlete, she abandons a dream she has secretly nurtured, opting instead for long-distance running against able-bodied athletes. With one failed and two successful Comrades marathons behind her, she resigns from her job to seek her real purpose. At the unlikely age of 33, longing to address the marginalisation of people with physical disabilities in rural South Africa, she is unexpectedly launched into the world of sprinting. Her trajectory is set for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Perhaps her scary dream is, indeed, possible. With the odds already stacked against her, what more can life hurl at her as she pursues what most believe impossible?
Sheryl and Sandy James will be in conversation with Mpumelelo Mhlongo, whose triumphs earned him the Shield of Jove, South Africa’s highest sporting honor, awarded by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Beyond the Paralympics, Mhlongo is the reigning world champion in the 100 m T44 from the 2023 Paris and 2024 Kobe World Para-Athletics Championships, where he claimed gold. He has been named South Africa’s Sportsman of the Year with a Disability for two consecutive years (2024 and 2025) at the Regional Annual Sports Awards, a flagship event of the African Union Sports Council Region 5, among other accolades.
The Cape Flats Book Festival 2026 is just around the corner and it is the perfect start to the literary festival calendar of the new year. A few Karavan Press and Indeed Books authors feature on the wonderful programme that has something to offer for every literary desire. We can’t wait for these two days of bookish encounters. Please join us!
Twenty new titles, several prize nominations, three wins, a big move and an abundance of stories to tell – that in a nutshell was 2025. And what a ride it has been; again! No wonder my body is telling me to rest. And I am about to, but before I put my keyboard away for a month of restoring my well-being, I would like to celebrate the highlights of the publishing year that is coming to an end …
PRIZE NOMINATIONS
Crooked Seeds by Karen Jennings longlisted for the Women’s Prize
Land | Lines by Shari Daya and Good Hope by Nick Clelland shortlisted for the HSS Awards
In Silence My Heart Speaks by Thobeka Yose, Good Hope by Nick Clelland and Who Looks Inside by Anna Stroud longlisted for the Sunday Times Literary Awards
Crooked Seeds by Karen Jennings shortlisted for the Sunday Times Literary Awards
Who Looks Inside shortlisted for the UJ Debut Prize
The JDL Award for Poetry: honourable mention given to Land | Lines by Shari Daya
Good Hope by Nick Clelland shortlisted for the SALA Novel Award
A Collection of Gaps by Frankie Murrey and Lone Wolf Living by Werner Pretorius shortlisted for The Book Lounge’s Book of the Year Award
WINS
Who Looks Inside by Anna Stroud won the HSS Award for Best Fiction Emerging Author
Love Stories for Ghosts by Alex Latimer won the HSS Award for Best Fiction Short Stories
Karavan Press won the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) Book Factory Prize for Publishing in Africa for In Silence My Heart Speaks by Thobeka Yose
IN OTHER GOOD NEWS
Mannequin Pictures optioned Good Hope by Nick Clelland
Ice Shock by Elleke Boehmer has been picked up by Valley Press and will be published in the UK next year
NEW TITLES OF 2025
Among these is our first boox (the book that is a box) – Frankie Murrey’s stunning new collection of short stories which we published in a limited, special edition – as a box containing stories and other treasures: A Collection of Gaps.
Ek’t Act by Klara du Plessis, a collection of exquisite poetry, is our first book written in Afrikaans and English.
And I am thrilled that we are continuing with two story projects: IN OTHER STORIES edited by Kerry Hammerton, now in its second year, and KARAVAN STORIES Workshop & Anthology, now in its third year, are both thriving.
ALL ABOUT PHILIPPI
One of the greatest honours for Stephen Symons and me this year was to assist Andrew Brown with the publication of this incredible book: All About Philippi
Towards the end of 2024, Andrew visited iThemba Labantu Primary School in the crime-stricken area of Philippi, Cape Town, to talk to the Grade 7 learners about creative writing. To welcome him, the learners prepared short pieces on how they experienced life as a child growing up amidst poverty and violence. These are their unedited writings. At their request, some names have been changed and some withheld. This publication is distributed for free and aims to highlight the extraordinary trauma that our youth are exposed to every day, and their resilience and determination to express themselves nonetheless.
Andrew will be speaking about this remarkable book at the Cape Flats Book Festival 2026. Not to be missed! You can get a free copy of All About Philippiat The Book Lounge.
INDEED BOOKS
Recognising a need for a carefully curated platform where self-published authors can find a home, Kerry Hammerton and I started INDEED BOOKS. Our first three titles:
COFFEE WITH KARAVAN PRESS
A new tradition began at Casa Karavan this year: I hosted five Coffees with Karavan Press – Saturday mornings when readers and writers gathered at my home to chat about their books, the publishing journey and their favourite reads. I loved every one of these mornings and will continue hosting them in 2026.
THE BIG MOVE
Karavan Press had to change distributors this year and we are thrilled that we have now successfully moved to our new distribution partner – BOOKSITE.
All Karavan Press and Indeed Books titles can be ordered by booksellers via Booksite now. Together, we also continue bringing the titles we assist in distributing in South Africa to our local readers.
It has been an astounding year. Despite and because of its many challenges, Karavan Press was forced to grow and restructure and find new ways of being in the world. Not all of it went smoothly, and I have dropped many balls in the process and could not deliver on all my promises this year, but I am not giving up – and I hope that some waits are worth it.
I would like to thank EVERYONE who makes Karavan Press possible – the journey so far has surpassed all my expectations and my wildest dreams. I would like to especially thank the authors who have been waiting patiently for me to deliver on my promises. (The good thing about having to put my keyboard away is that I can finally tackle the pile of manuscripts that has been waiting to be read for a very looooooong time …)
It is time for rest, for Festive Season and holiday reading, and for another amazing year for Karavan Press, Indeed Books and our Friends!
karavanpress.com 