CapeTalk’s next edition of READ THE ROOM book club will tell the story of publishing.
Author and independent publisher Karina Szczurek of the multi-award-winning Karavan Press will join John Maytham to share the process of getting a book from an idea in an author’s head into a book that someone opens with delighted anticipation.
She and fellow writer, Kerry Hammerton, have set up a platform, Indeed Books, to help would-be published authors along the often fraught process of self-publishing.
Kerry, Indeed Books author Jenna Mervis and Karina will be in conversation with John.
All the ins and outs of publishing in READ THE ROOM on Thursday, the 27th of August, between 6 and 7PM at the CapeTalk Studios.
‘I watch the writer through this prism of water, the way she gobbles food, always rushing out the door. She sits and writes and types and talks to people through a screen. I have seen her weep, and lie down in the middle of the day, too tired to hold her head up. But always her words ring bright. I’m fine. I’m okay. Just busy, you know how it is.’
fromunderwater orchard
‘… an absorbing, exhilarating collection … this is Kerry Hammerton writing at the height of her powers.’ – Finuala Dowling
KERRY HAMMERTON lives in Cape Town, South Africa and has an MA in Creative Writing from Rhodes University. She has published poetry and prose in various South African and international literary journals and anthologies. Nothing is Lost is Kerry’s fifth poetry collection. Kerry is the editor of In Other Stories, first published in 2024, a series of anthologies of flash fiction and creative non-fiction published by Karavan Press. She facilitates her own creative writing workshops, and has also partnered with various literary festivals and organisations to deliver creative writing seminars. Kerry is a freelance lecturer and supervisor with the Rhodes University School of Languages and Literature on their Master’s in Creative Writing programme.
Together with Cheverells Farm and Liberty Books, we are delighted to invite you to the inaugural Elgin Poetry Festival in the stunning Elgin! Between 24 and 26 July 2026, Cheverells Farm and Liberty Books will be home to a series of events – discussions, readings, a launch and a workshop – celebrating poetry with all poetry lovers. The festival will commence with a Friday night fine dining & poetry evening and continue over the weekend.
Friday, 24 July 2026
18:30 for 19:00 Cheverells Farm: Friday night fine dining & poetry evening, featuring John Maytham reading words by Finuala Dowling.
An unforgettable evening of fine dining and poetry at The Cheverells Farm Shed as we celebrate the launch of the very first Elgin Poetry Festival on Friday, 24 July 2026.
Your ticket includes a welcome drink, delicious canapés, and a beautifully curated three-course meal – all enjoyed alongside a special live poetry reading by John Maytham, who will bring the words of Finuala Dowling to life in an intimate and atmospheric setting.
Proceeds from the ticket sales for this event will go to an NPO in Grabouw called Siphila Sonke. Funds will be donated to their Kids Club, which provides approximately 100 children a place for creative and academic stimulation in a safe and fun environment.
Workshop fee: R550. Tickets are limited. Please book early to avoid disappointment.
For visitors wanting to stay in Elgin during the Elgin Poetry Festival weekend, Cheverells Farm offers cosy cottages … soft linens, warm light, and peaceful farm mornings included. From 1 May 2026, book two nights and enjoy your third night on Cheverells Farm.
Slow down, breathe in the fresh air, and savour the simple pleasures of farm life.
A wonderful opportunity to explore a genre that teaches you how to tell great stories within a limited word count. Creativity, precision, discipline and care are needed to write flashes, and all these skills allow you to hone your craft as a writer like nothing else.
Please join Kerry for one or both of these workshops, and have the opportunity to submit your flash to one of her In Other Stories anthologies, published annually by Karavan Press.
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!
‘I am excited by the diversity of writing that is in the anthology, and the variety of stories. There are themes around birth, relationships, our society and death. There are African fables, historical pieces, endings and beginnings, humour and satire, surrealism.’
— Kerry Hammerton
Contributors
Rachel May Ferriman | Sarah Buchner | Megan Kay Rossouw | Máire Fisher | Karina M. Szczurek | Kerry Hammerton | Michelle A. Meyer | Jana van Niekerk | Jen Thorpe | Nontobeko Mtshali | Anna Hug | Karen Jennings | Chantal Stewart | Bongani Kona | Siphosethu Siwaphiwe Zazela | Stephen Symons | Michael Boyd | Limor Kay | Melissa Sussens | Sahra Ryklief | Anne Schlebusch | Tiisetso Tlelima | Petros Isaakidis
We are heading to Richmond again at the end of this month and hoping that many readers from across the country will follow. It is time for the Madibaland @ BookBedonnerd Literary Festival! Taking place between 30 October and 1 November, the festival brings together a wonderful mix of writers and readers.
Among the participants are Karavan Press authors Chantal Stewart, Kerry Hammerton and Holland House Books’ Andile Cele, whose wonderful debut novel, Braids & Migraines, we help distribute in South Africa.
Sometimes we have a personal story we want to tell but it feels too large or too overwhelming. What would it mean if you wrote that story as a piece of flash? Join writer and writing facilitator Kerry Hammerton to explore the art of writing flash creative non-fiction/memoir and fiction, or writing short. We will read interesting examples of flash and use them as a stepping stone to generate writing. The workshop will be interactive with a number of exercises and creative ways of exploring writing ideas. You will leave with a number of pieces of writing that you can edit and incorporate into a larger piece of work.
“Writing is a mode of reading is a mode of writing is a mode of thinking is a mode of feeling.” Lance Olsen
karavanpress.com 