Karina Author, Book

Karavan Press title: Swartbooij & Titus by Karen Jennings

IT WAS IN 1739 when the wars in the northern frontier of the Cape began. Ten settler farmers with ox wagons and trading goods, and several Khoisan servants, spent a month with the Groot Namaqua at the kraal of Chief Gal. Bribed with promises of cattle, the servants broke into the kraal. The foray resulted in several deaths, including that of the Chief. The settlers, however, reneged on their promise …

Two individuals played a key role in these events, the formerly loyal Khoisan servant Swartbooij and his son Titus. Enraged by being tricked, the two incited various raids on the settler community in retaliation. The ensuing cycles of revenge eventually led to a brutal massacre of Khoisan women and children.

Part prose, part poetry, Swartbooij and Titus reimagines the story of the unyielding father and son and the times that shaped them.

KAREN JENNINGS is a South African writer whose novel, An Island, was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2021. Her most recent novel, Crooked Seeds, came out in 2024 and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize. Karen has also published a collection of poetry, a collection of short stories, and several other books. From 2022 to 2024, Karen was the writer-in-residence with LEAP at Stellenbosch University, where she first came across the story of Swartbooij and Titus.

Publication date: November 2025

ISBN: 978-0-6398626-6-8

Karina Author, Book, Festival

Karen Jennings and Andile Cele at the iLembe Book Festival – 25 October 2025

‘Reading is a Right, Not a Privilege.‘

The iLembe Book Festival (IBF) is a collaborative literary event that brings together readers, writers, and creatives from the iLembe District Municipality and surrounding communities. The festival features panel discussions, a school outreach programme, poetry workshops, and a slam poetry event, all aimed at fostering a deeper appreciation for literature and the spoken word.

This year’s festival is taking place on Saturday, 25 October 2025. Karen Jennings and Andile Cele feature on the programme. For more details, see: iLembe Book Festival.

Karina Author, Book, Literary Awards

The 2025 Sunday Times Literary Awards longlists announced

The Sunday Times Literary Awards longlists have been announced and we are delighted that they feature five Karavan Press titles. Congratulations to all longlisted authors!

Thank you to all who make these awards possible!

Mountains of gratitude to Karavan Press authors on the lists:

FICTION
Crooked Seeds by Karen Jennings (co-published with Holland House Books)
Who Looks Inside by Anna Stroud
Good Hope by Nick Clelland

NON-FICTION
In Silence My Heart Speaks by Thobeka Yose
Dayspring by C. J. Driver (co-published with uHlanga Press)

For all details, see: Sunday Times Literary Awards

Karina Author, Book, Distribution, Event

Braids & Migraines by Andile Cele to be launched at The Book Lounge

Happy publication day to Andile Cele and Holland House Books! Today, Andile’s debut novel, Braids & Migraines, runner-up in The Island Prize for unpublished African novelists 2023, is officially making its way into the world. Together with Protea Distribution, we are delighted to be the South African distribution partner for the moving debut novel. Please join us on Thursday, 24 April 2025, for the Cape Town launch of Braids & Migraines at The Book Lounge. Andile will be in conversation with Karen Jennings, founder of The Island Prize. Can’t wait!

Karina Author, Book, Event, Festival

Karen Jennings at Time of the Writer

Catch Karen Jennings at Time of the Writer this year:

A Crime for our Times – shaping violence through story: This sizzling panel focuses on crime fiction from the pen of some of the best South African crime writers. We delve deep into the dark underbelly of society, cults and psychopathy, murder and mystery.

Date: Sunday, 23 March 2025

Time: 14:00

Duration: 70min

Participants: Fiona Snyckers, Marina Auer, Karen Jennings, Zukiswa Wanner

Facilitator: Angelo Fick

Venue: Alliance Francaise, Durban

Full programme:

Time of the Writer, 18-23 March 2025

Karina Author, Book, Festival

Karavan Press at Books on the Bay 2025

Please join us between 14 and 16 March 2025 for Books on the Bay, a wonderful celebration of local literature and inspiration, now in its third year.

Karavan Press authors participating:

Saturday, 15 March 2025

10:15-11:00 METHODIST CHURCH

In the famous words of Lorrie Moore, “A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage.” Award-winning short story exponents Dawn Garisch and Diane Awerbuck discuss with Bongani Kona the joys and challenges of their relationship with the alluring genre.

13:15-14:15 METHODIST CHURCH

The art of memoir: Anthony Akerman, Lucky Bastard; Thobeka Yose, In Silence My Heart Speaks; Julia Martin, The Blackridge House. Led by Jo-Anne Richards, three leading exponents reflect on life-writing and the life-changing process of memoir writing.

Sunday, 16 March 2025

9:00-10:00 TOWN HALL

Karen Jennings – Crooked Seeds, longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction

11:30-12:30 TOWN HALL

Andrew Brown – The Bitterness of Olives: In this remarkable novel set in Gaza City, Andrew Brown – current Sunday Times Fiction Award holder – explores a complex friendship battered by political forces. In conversation with Michele Magwood.

Karina Author, Book, Prize

Crooked Seeds by Karen Jennings longlisted for the 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction

The 2025 Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist has been announced and we are thrilled to share the news that Crooked Seeds by Karen Jennings is among the sixteen nominated titles.

The full list in alphabetical order by author surname is:

  • Good Girl by Aria Aber (published by Bloomsbury Publishing)
  • The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (published by Sceptre, Hodder & Stoughton, Hachette)
  • Somewhere Else by Jenni Daiches (published by Scotland Street Press)
  • Amma by Saraid de Silva (published by Weatherglass Books)
  • Crooked Seeds by Karen Jennings (published by Holland House Books)
  • All Fours by Miranda July (published by Canongate Books)
  • The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami (published by Bloomsbury Circus, Bloomsbury Publishing)
  • The Persians by Sanam Mahloudji (published by 4th Estate, HarperCollins)
  • Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (published by 4th Estate, HarperCollins)
  • Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell (published by Scribner, Simon & Schuster)
  • A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike (published by Fig Tree, Penguin General, Penguin Random House)
  • Birding by Rose Ruane (published by Corsair, Little, Brown Book Group, Hachette)
  • The Artist by Lucy Steeds (published by John Murray, John Murray Press, Hachette)
  • Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout (published by Viking, Penguin General, Penguin Random House)
  • The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden (published by Viking, Penguin General, Penguin Random House)
  • Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis (published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Orion Publishing Group, Hachette)

Congratulations, Karen and all other longlisted authors!

Karina Author, Book, Event, Festival

Cape Flats Book Festival 2025

The first book festival of 2025 is just around the corner – Cape Flats Book Festival – and we are delighted to announce the following events featuring Karavan Press authors:

SATURDAY, 1 February, 10:45-11:25 | IN OTHER STORIES

SATURDAY, 1 February, 11:40-12:20 | STORYTELLING FOR CHILDREN

SATURDAY, 1 February, 12:35-13:15 | COURAGEOUS SURVIVORS: OVERCOMING A TRAUMATIC PAST

SATURDAY, 1 February, 15:20-16:00 | TRIBUTE TO POET IN EXILE: ATHOL WILLIAMS

Lester Walbrugh will also be at the Festival, speaking about the book he co-wrote with Karin Kortje – not to be missed!

SUNDAY, 2 February, 12:45-13:25 | DIE HELE STORIE / THE WHOLE STORY

For details about other events, please see:

Cape Flats Book Festival

Please join us for these two days of literary wonder!