Karina Author, Book, Festival

Karavan Press and Indeed Books at the KBF 2026

The Kingsmead Book Fair always offers a fabulous lineup, and this year is no different. Hosted by the Kingsmead College, the 14th iteration of the annual Book Fair, will be taking place on Saturday, 23 May 2026, from 08h30 to 18h00, in Johannesburg, opposite the Rosebank Gautrain station.

This year, Karavan Press and Indeed Books feature on the children and teen programme:

School Girl or Celebrity? – It’s All Alien to Me!
It’s not easy being a famous television star especially when you must navigate your first day at high school ever! 🌟 As she longs to be a ‘normal’ teen, Lexi James faces school bullies, an online stalker, and family challenges. Through fun activities and discussions, with author Pamela Newham, uncover Lexi’s journey of self-discovery and the importance of friendship in My Three Names. Can Lexi find her true self amidst the chaos? Let’s find out together!
Age: 14+

Blast Off with Laughter!
Join us for an out-of-this-world adventure with Farting in Outer Space by Nick Clelland! This colourful and humorous picture book explores the themes of gender and acceptance, reminding us that girls and boys are all human—and that’s something to celebrate! Get ready for giggles and engaging discussions as we discover how differences can bring us together, one funny fart at a time!
Age: 5+

Watch out also for Anna Stroud and Michael Boyd, who are chairing sessions on the programme for adult readers.

FULL PROGRAMME HERE: KBF 2026

TICKETS: WEBTICKETS

Karina Author, Book, Festival

24 May: Karavan Press at the KBF

The literary festival season continues and we are delighted to announce that the following Karavan Press authors will be participating in the Kingsmead Book Fair this year:

09:30-10:00 DOT TO DOT | The Book Room

Meet the Freckolions and the Spots who are bitterly arguing over Face’s vast landscape. Then one day an alien craft descends on Face and sends the Freckolions and Spots into panic! SA actress Lisa Trudoux introduces her first charming and quirky children’s book Dot To Dot which teaches kids the invaluable lessons of self-love and kindness towards others in the most enchanting way.

09:30-10:30 WRITING OUR PAIN: Contending with traumatic narratives | Chapel

Sewela Langeni (Making Friends with Feelings) provides a safe space for Jeffrey Rakabe (Led by Shepherds) and Thobeka Yose (In Silence My Heart Speaks) to chat about transferring pain to the page.

11:00-12:00 PRETTY PROTAGONISTS: Crafting heroines with humanity | Mackenzie 1

Amy Heydenrych (Chasing Marian) examines the creation of the powerful women at the centre of the works of Zukiswa Wanner (Love Marry Kill), Michelle Kekana (The Fragile Mental Health of Strong Women) and Qarnita Loxton (What’s Wrong with June?).

12:30-13:30 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: People and place in historical fiction | Lange Hall

Penny Haw (Follow Me To Africa: A Novel), Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu (The Creation of Half-Broken People) and Louisa Treger (The Paris Muse) discuss facets of historical fiction – beyond the period in which it’s set – that really matter with Michael Boyd (Weight of Shade).

12:30-13:30 Life is the greatest teacher: Writing from experience | Music Centre

Merle Levin (World According to Merle: Memoir of a Deliciously Daring Granny), Costa Ayiotis (Matriarchs, Meze and the Evil Eye: A Memoir) and Glenn Orsmond (Crash and Burn: A CEO’s Crazy Adventures in the SA Airline Industry) tell Karina Szczurek (Karavan Press) about their weird uncles and the strange lady from the office.

14:30-15:30 LITERARY FITION VERSUS GENRE FICTION: What makes a book ‘literary’? | Chapel

Peter-Adrian Altini (Salt Water Pool Boy) and Charl-Pierre Naudé (The Equality of Shadows) discuss style and complexity with Craig Higginson (The Ghost of Sam Webster).

16:00-17:00 Navigating our life stories: Lessons learned and unlearned | Lange Hall

Khaya Dlanga (Life is Like That Sometimes) and Gavin Evans (Son of a Preacher Man) tell Anna Stroud (Who Looks Inside) about what they have learned while writing about themselves.

16:00-17:00 Stretching the imagination: Pushing boundaries in storytelling | Mackenzie 3

Onke Mazibuko (Canary) follows Nick Clelland (Good Hope), Siya Khumalo (The Queer Book of Revelation) and Sam Wilson (The First Murder on Mars) into the detailed, fresh worlds of their books.

16:00-17:00 Publish or perish: Women in the publishing industry | Chapel

Queen bees Karina Szczurek (Karavan Press), Melinda Ferguson (Melinda Ferguson Books) and Zukiswa Wanner (Paivapo Publishing) underline the importance of curating stories from a feminine perspective with Sewela Langeni (Book Circle Capital).

Full programme: KBF 2025

Get your KBF tickets here: Webtickets

Karina Author, Book, Interview

Pagecast at Kingsmead Book Fair 2024: Amy Heydenrych

In this captivating discussion, Pagecast host Nompumelelo Mgidlana engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Amy Heydenrych, the talented author behind the thrillers Shame on You and The Pact, and co-author of Chasing Marian. Her latest novel, Bad Luck Penny, was released by Karavan Press in April and is another thrilling read.

Join Nompumelelo and Amy as they delve into Amy’s literary journey and explore her latest release, Bad Luck Penny. Amy shares her insights on what makes stories literary, a topic she discussed on one of her panels at this year’s Kingsmead Book Fair. They also discuss the significance of festivals like Kingsmead for authors and the local literary community.

Don’t miss this enlightening episode as it uncovers the gripping narratives and creative process behind Amy’s work.

The episode is live and can be found here:

Online | Spotify | Apple Podcast

Enjoy!

Karina Festival

Spoilt for choice at the KBF 2024

The Kingsmead Book Fair took place yesterday – a day of gorgeous weather, glorious encounters and the most amazing exchanges of stories. Literary fun has been had! The programme this year was so rich that the one persistent comment throughout the day was “I wish I could have attended all the other sessions!”

Anna Stroud made her literary debut as a novelist with Who Looks Inside. She has a bright literary career ahead of her, and it is such a privilege to publish her debut novel and to see her shine on this stage. The official launch of the book will take place at Love Books on 19 June. She will be in conversation with Michael Boyd.

Other session highlights in photographs:

The short story panel was a joy:

“Make a virtue out of your quirk!” – Diane Awerbuck

“Genius is not a constant thing.” – Frankie Murrey

In the Green Room and around Kingsmead grounds:

Personal highlights:

Thank you to everyone who makes this annual event possible, especially Alex Bouche and the KBF Team, Kingsmead College, Standard Bank, Timberland and Exclusive Books! #KBF24

Thank you to Mike and Family for hosting me, to Khalida and Dawn for the photos, and to all the other Writers for their generosity of sharing – stories and kindness!

Until next time! 🙂

Karina Author, Book, Festival

Karavan Press at the Kingsmead Book Fair 2024

We are all looking forward to the next Kingsmead Book Fair, taking place at Kingsmead College on Saturday, 25 May 2024. Hope to see you there!

09:30-10:30 | Mackenzie 2

Dawn Garisch (What Remains) confirms, with Diane Awerbuck (Inside your body there are flowers), Frankie Murrey (Everyone Dies: A Series), Alex Latimer (Love Stories for Ghosts), and Barbara Ludman (Moving On), that brevity is the soul of wit. And drama. And romance.

09:30-10:30 | Mackenzie 3

Fiona Snyckers (The Hidden) asks Owen Salmon (A Weakness to Die For) and Andrew Brown (The Bitterness of Olives) to unpack the male gaze in storytelling.

12:30 – 13:30 | Music Centre
Georgina Geddes asks Alistair Mackay (The Child), Craig Higginson (The Ghost of Sam Webster), Shubnum Khan (The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil) and Amy Heydenrych (Bad Luck Penny) what it is that makes stories ‘literary’.

12:30 – 13:30 | Chapel

Diane Awerbuck (Inside your body there are flowers) answers the call of nature with Adam Welz (The End of Eden), and Nick Norman (The Woodpecker Mystery: The Inevitability of the Improbable).

12:30 – 13:30 | Mornington

Kate Sidley (Katie Gayle – Julia Bird Mysteries) asks Saaleha Bhamjee (Home Scar), Anna Stroud (Who Looks Inside) and Janine Jellars (When the Filter Fades) what it takes to really own your writing space as a woman.

14:30 – 15:30 | Mornington
Amy Heydenrych (Chasing Marian, Bad Luck Penny) sees if she can find a reason why the characters created by Ashling McCarthy (Down at Jika Jika Tavern), Marina Auer (Double Edged), Femi Kayode (Gaslight) and Natalie Conyer (Present Tense) need to worry about their welfare.

16:00 – 17:00 | Lange Hall
Police reservist Andrew Brown (The Bitterness of Olives) guides Daniel Steyn (The Thabo Bester Story), Naledi Shange (Killer Cop – The Rosemary Ndlovu Story), Karl Kemp (Why We Kill: Mob Justice and the New Vigilantism in South Africa) and Nechama Brodie (Domestic Terror) into the minds of murderers both famous and anonymous.

16:00 – 17:00 | Music Centre

Alex Latimer (Love Stories for Ghosts) discovers if the future is fantastic or frightening with Mandla Moyo (The Fallen Angel), Sarah M Naidoo (A Remedy for Death), Alistair Mackay (The Child) and Babette Gallard (Future Imperfect).

Full programme:

KBF 2024

Tickets:

Webtickets

Karina Author, Book, Festival

Kingsmead Book Fair 2023

Another highly successful Kingsmead Book Fair (KBF) is behind us. And we had so much literary fun! Joanne Hichens, Lester Walbrugh and I were on the same flight going up to Johannesburg. We all spoke at the festival – Lester and I about Elton Baatjies, and Joanne and I about Fluid: The Freedom to Be.

We ‘met’ Joy Watson and Lethokuhle Msimang at the airport on the bookshelves of Exclusive Books.

What is the best way of passing flight time? Reading, of course.

We joined Joy on the morning of the book fair and dived into the busy, amazing programme of this year’s KBF that had something to offer for EVERYONE.

Authors met up in the Green Room for refreshments and a bit of rest between the fascinating sessions.

Exclusive Books pop-up shop at the KBF. Two of our titles sold out at the book fair!

It was wonderful to meet Jarred Thompson and Lerato Moletsane in person – both contributed to Fluid: The Freedom to Be.

Thank you to the organisers of the book fair, to everyone who came to listen to us, to all who bought books and made the KBF 2023 such a joyous book fair. Already counting the days until KBF 2024!

Happy reading!