IN OTHER STORIES launched at Exclusive Books V&A Waterfront

We had a full house at Exclusive Books V&A Waterfront for the launch of In Other Stories, edited by Kerry Hammerton. Kerry was in conversation with Nancy Richards.

Most of the flash anthology contributors were present. A few are first-time published authors, which made the launch so much more special. It was an incredibly joyous occasion and a beautiful way to welcome the book into the world. Thank you to all for making it happen and to all who shared the celebration with us! Happy reading!

On 21 September, Kerry is running a flash fiction workshop in view of compiling the next anthology of flashes. Click here for details: FLASH FICTION WORKSHOP.

Karavan Press title: IN OTHER STORIES edited by Kerry Hammerton

The themes in this FLASH anthology range from grief to hope; from love to unrequired love, divorce and murder (in a few different forms); from personal sacrifice to personal reflection. The stories vary from a fable to science fiction, and include a flashback to 1994 and South Africa’s first democratic election, fires, swimming in the sea, supernatural beings, the horrors of institutionalised elderly care and much more.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Sally Cranswick | Stephen Symons | Werner Labuschagne | Sue Woodward | Karen Jennings | Yvonne Sliep | Siphosethu Siwaphiwe Zazela | Chantal Stewart | Sarah Buchner | Karina M. Szczurek | Máire Fisher | Kerry Hammerton | Stephen Devereux | Cynthia Kistasamy | Lerato Mahlangu | Nontobeko Mtshali | Erica Livingston | Anne Schlebusch | Bonnie Espie | Wentzel Lombard | Mary Grace McGeehan | Colleen Higgs | Gemma Allan | Megan Ross | Charisse Louw

Launch date: 11 September 2024

ISBN: 978-1-0672224-6-8

IN OTHER STORIES, edited by Kerry Hammerton, to be launched at Exclusive Books V&A Waterfront

This is an event that promises to be loads of fun! Please join us for the launch of In Other Stories, a collection of fiction and non-fiction flashes, compiled and edited by Kerry Hammerton.

Kerry will be in conversation with Nancy Richards and quite a few authors included in the collection will be present to read from and talk about their contributions.

Can’t wait!

RSVP: In Other Stories launch at EB V&A Waterfront

Kerry Hammerton and Athambile Masola reading at The Red Wheelbarrow

Kerry Hammerton and Athambile Masola will be reading to us at The Commons in Muizenberg on Wednesday, 7th August.

Kerry Hammerton lives in Cape Town, South Arica and has an MA in Creative Writing. She has published poetry and prose in various South African and international literary journals and anthologies – including Living While Feminist (Kwela Books, 2020), The Only Magic We Know (Modjaji Books, 2020) and Tiger (Karavan Press, 2023). Her fourth poetry collection, afterwards, was published in 2023 (Karavan Press). Kerry is a freelance tutor and supervisor for the Rhodes School of Literature and Language on their Masters in Creative Writing programme. You can find her on Instagram: kerry_hammerton

Athambile Masola is a writer, researcher and an award-winning poet based in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Cape Town. Her debut collection of poetry is written in isiXhosa, Ilifa (Uhlanga Press, 2021). She is the co-author of the children’s history book series, Imbokodo: Women who shape us (Jacana Media, 2022), with Dr Xolisa Guzula. Her latest book is a collaboration with Makhosazana Xaba; a collection of Noni Jabavu’s columns from 1977, A stranger at Home (Tafelberg, 2023).

As always, the reading by the featured poet(s) will be followed by an open mic session for poets from the audience. Poets are welcome to read from their own work as well as from the work of a favourite poet.
 
Date: Wednesday, 7th August 2024
Time: 19:30
Venue: The Commons, Surfer’s Corner, Beach Rd, Muizenberg, Cape Town, 7970
phone: 083 799 8294

Forthcoming from Karavan Press: IN OTHER STORIES edited by KERRY HAMMERTON

Cover design: Stephen Symons | Background image fragment: Greg Rosenke, Unsplash

In Other Stories, edited by Kerry Hammerton and forthcoming from Karavan Press, is an anthology of flash fiction and non-fiction.

Contributors

Sally Cranswick | Stephen Symons | Werner Labuschagne | Sue Woodward | Karen Jennings | Yvonne Sliep | Siphosethu Siwaphiwe Zazela | Chantal Stewart | Sarah Buchner | Karina M. Szczurek | Máire Fisher | Kerry Hammerton | Stephen Devereux | Cynthia Kistasamy | Lerato Mahlangu | Nontobeko Mtshali | Erica Livingston | Anne Schlebusch | Bonnie Espie | Wentzel Lombard | Mary Grace McGeehan | Colleen Higgs | Gemma Allan | Megan Ross | Charisse Louw

Great poetry news!

The shortlists of The 2024 Isele Prizes have been announced and the Poetry list features Melissa Sussens (Slaughterhouse, Karavan Press, 2022) and Kharys Ateh Laue (who has co-authored a collection of stories with Caitlin Stobie that Karavan Press will be publishing later this year). You can read their stunning poems here:

Instead Of Measuring My Life In Productivity | Melissa Sussens

Elegy | Kharys Ateh Laue

And: the winners of New Contrast‘s 2023 National Poetry Prize have been announced:

(Kerry published her latest collection of poetry, afterwards, with Karavan Press and Keith was the winner of the Short.Sharp.Stories competition last year and featured in Fluid: The Freedom to Be.)

All three winning poems will be featured in the upcoming issue of New Contrast at the end of April.

The 2023 judges were Sindiswa Busuku, Nondwe Mpuma and Sarah Lubala.

The National Poetry Prize sponsor is Bruce Jack Wines.

Congratulations to all!

TIGER: Karavan Stories 2023

Tiger is the result of the inaugural Karavan Stories Workshop & Anthology project. All the contributors gathered for a writing workshop at the end of April. Together, we discussed the intricacies of the short story, went through several writing exercises, decided on a theme for our anthology and began exploring ideas for individual stories. In the following months, we kept in touch, drafting and redrafting, until the book you are holding in your hands took shape.
The theme was inspired by a news story that dominated the headlines early this year: an eight-year-old tigress named Sheba escaped from a private farm in Gauteng and in the following days attacked a man and killed a few domestic animals before she was shot by officials. As it was impossible to safely contain and capture the wild feline in the area where she was eventually found, the decision was taken to euthanise her. Sheba’s death renewed debates around the injustice and cruelty inflicted on exotic animals held in captivity.
Touched by Sheba’s story, we chose her kind to inspire Tiger. Contributors could work with the theme in any way they wished, either reimagine it, see it as a springboard or a metaphor, or let their imaginations run wild. The stories which emerged interpret ‘tiger’ as the unknown, untamed or foreign in our lives – what we fear and what we long for, sometimes simultaneously. The authors play with phrases like ‘tiger mom’ and ‘when tigers smoked’ – the evocative Korean equivalent of ‘once upon a time’ – as well as wrestle with ideas, states and emotions which refuse to be captured in words. In their stories, they retrieve familiar fables and fairy tales to interpret the complexities of the present and speculate about the future …

Contributors: Lucienne Argent, ChatGPT, Gail Gilbride, Kerry Hammerton, Anna Hug, Desiree-Anne Martin, Karen Martin, Michelle A. Meyer, Warren Jeremy Rourke, Anita Shapiro, Caitlin Spring, Alexandra Wood

ISBN: 978-1-7764726-0-4

Publication date: December 2023

I would like to thank all contributing authors for embarking on this journey with Karavan Press: like the creature that inspired them, your stories purr, claw and pounce. A big thank you to Monique Cleghorn for the exquisite design of our anthology.
To our readers: enjoy!
Karina M. Szczurek
Cape Town, 2023