Karina Author, Book, Literary Awards

Dawn Garisch wins the Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award for her collection, What Remains

We are delighted to announce that Dawn Garisch won SALA‘s Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award 2024 for her collection, What Remains! This is the second prestigious award for What Remains. It also won the HSS Award for Best Fiction Short Stories earlier this year. Congratulations Dawn and What Remains!

The Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award is one of the South African Literature Awards (SALA). This year, two other Karavan Press titles featured on the SALA shortlists: Sipho Banda’s A Crowded Lonely Walk was nominated for the Poetry Award, and Diane Awerbuck’s Inside your body there are flowers was also nominated for Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award. Congratulations to all nominated writers and books! And thank you, Dawn, Sipho and Diane for your amazing contributions to short story writing and poetry.

For the full announcement of this year’s SALA winners, please see: “SALA announces 2024 winners” (LitNet)

Karina Author, Book, Event

Sipho Banda reading at The Red Wheelbarrow

Sipho Banda will be the featured poet at The Red Wheelbarrow on Zoom on Thursday, 5 September at 19:30. His reading will be followed by an open mic. We hope you’ll join us via the Zoom link: Sipho Banda at The Red Wheelbarrow

Meeting ID: 884 0600 8769

Passcode: poetry

Sipho Banda was born in Himeville and grew up in Impendle, KwaZulu Natal. He is the author of Vusi’s Visit to Drakensberg Mountain, a children’s book published by Msinsi Press. Another children’s book, Amaselesele Agangile, was published by Bhiyoza Publishers in 2023. His first collection of poetry, Ngigabe Ngezakithi, and a drama book, Umoya Wamagagasi, were published in isiZulu by Pelmo Publishers. Most of his poems in A Crowded Lonely Walk, his debut collection in English published by Karavan Press, reflect his own lonely and crowded walk. In 2024, Sipho contributed to an anthology of poetry titled Ayihlome (edited by T Qwabe and A Zibani), and to Imbiza Yexhiba, an anthology of short stories.

Karina Author, Book, Event, Festival

Karavan Press and Friends at Open Book Festival 2023

In their latest newsletter, The Book Lounge, wrote the following about Karavan Press:

Karavan Press is a small publishing house owned and run by Karina Szczurek, seriously punching above its weight. We are so grateful to Karina for publishing so many wonderful books that we thought we should shine a light on some of the books she is responsible for that will be featured at Open Book Festival:

Everyone Dies by Frankie Murrey ~ An exquisite debut collection of stories – I will be cajoling Frankie on to the stage to talk about Everyone Dies. – Mervyn

A Crowded Lonely Walk by Sipho Banda ~ In this riveting poetry collection, Sipho Banda delves into the daily happenings of the ubiquitous but anonymous working class, and restores dignity to those whose lived experiences so often go overlooked. – Belinda

Glass Tower by Sarah Isaacs ~ Glass Tower is the winner of the inaugural Island Prize for debut fiction from Africa.

Inside your body there are flowers by Diane Awerbuck ~ an incredibly versatile writer who returns to the genre for which she is best known – the short story – in this new collection which is nothing short of superb.

The Bitterness of Olives is set in Gaza and Israel and is Andrew’s finest novel. Empathetic, thought provoking, beautifully written with the pace of a thriller. – Mervyn

Striving for Social Equity edited by Joy Watson and Ogochuku Nzewi ~ an invaluable gathering of voices touching on the very real challenges facing South Africans today.

What Remains by Dawn Garisch ~ new collection of stories from one of our best-loved writers that deals with relationships, ageing and so much more.

Karina will be participating in a discussion about the future of publishing.

The Book Lounge

We are immensely grateful for the encouragement and support! And this is how we will be “punching” at Open Book Festival 2023:

Open Book Festival 2023 Programme

Watch out for Karavan Press authors and Friends (we are lucky distribution partners for Glass Tower by Sarah Isaacs and Cat Therapy by Gail Gilbride):

Book your tickets here:

Open Book Festival – Webtickets

Karina Author, Book

Karavan Press title: A Crowded Lonely Walk by Sipho Banda

Life
has taken
a half-step forward,
leaning against the history
of my past

“This poetry collection depicts true stories of ordinary black people living in the supposedly ‘New South Africa’. Banda’s poems portray stains of colonisation even on the postcolonial times.”

– Kwazi Ndlangisa, winner of The Book Behind Award 2021 and the Sol Plaatje European Union Poetry Award 2021, and author of Collecting Self

“Sipho Banda’s poetry witnesses a variety of occluded and overlooked lives, often foregrounding rural existences and the precarious life of farm dwellers. He is able to describe and critique socio-political realities through poetry that is layered with gentle irony and laced with images which grip and map the reader’s awareness of the custodian.”

– Kyle Allan, editor of New Coin and author of House Without Walls and The Space Between Us

Publication date: March 2023

ISBN: 978-1-7764064-4-9

SIPHO BANDA was born in Himeville and grew up in Impendle, KwaZulu Natal. He is the author of Vusi’s Visit to Drakensberg Mountain, a children’s book published by Msinsi Press. His first collection of poetry, Ngigabe Ngezakithi, and a drama book, Umoya Wamagagasi, were published in isiZulu by Pelmo Publishers. Most of his poems in A Crowded Lonely Walk, his debut collection in English, reflect his own lonely and crowded walk.

Karina Author

Author: Sipho Banda

SIPHO BANDA was born in Himeville and grew up in Impendle, KwaZulu Natal. He is the author of Vusi’s Visit to Drakensberg Mountain, a children’s book published by Msinsi Press. His first collection of poetry, Ngigabe Ngezakithi, and a drama book, Umoya Wamagagasi, were published in isiZulu by Pelmo Publishers. Most of his poems in A Crowded Lonely Walk, his debut collection in English published by Karavan Press, reflect his own lonely and crowded walk.

Karina Author, Book, Event, Festival

Karavan Press Poetry in McGregor

Book your tickets here:

POETRY IN McGREGOR

Melissa Sussens
Sipho Banda
Klara du Plessis
Stephen Symons

Melissa Sussens is a queer veterinarian and poet. Her work has appeared in many publications, both locally and internationally, and has been recognised with several accolades. Melissa has performed at the Poetry in McGregor festival, Off The Wall, The Commons and The Red Wheelbarrow, where she also hosts poetry readings. She lives in Cape Town with her wife and their two dogs. Slaughterhouse is her first book.

Sipho Banda was born in Himeville and grew up in Impendle, KwaZulu Natal. He is the author of Vusi’s Visit to Drakensberg Mountain, a children’s book published by Msinsi Press. His first collection of poetry, Ngigabe Ngezakithi, and a drama book, Umoya Wamagagasi, were published in isiZulu by Pelmo Publishers. Most of his poems in A Lonely Crowded Walk, his debut collection in English, reflect his own lonely and crowded walk.

Stephen Symons has published poetry and short-fiction, locally and abroad. His debut collection, Questions for the Sea, received an honourable mention for the 2017 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry, and was also shortlisted for the 2017 Ingrid Jonker Prize. He is also the author of Spioenkop, Landscapes of Light and Loss and FOR EVERYTHING THAT IS POINTLESS AND PERFECT. Small Souls is a collection of new and collected poems.

Klara du Plessis is an award-winning Canadian South African writer, scholar, and literary curator. Her debut multilingual poetry collection Ekke, recipient of the 2019 Pat Lowther Memorial Award, was published by Palimpsest Press. She is also the author of poetry and essay collections, Hell Light Flesh, Unfurl, and most recently, Skin and Meat Sky. She is a PhD candidate in English Literature at Concordia University and lives in Montreal, Canada.