Karina Author, Book, Event

The Book Lounge launch of LONE WOLF LIVING by Werner Pretorius

Tuesday, 23 September 2025: Please join us for the launch of Lone Wolf Living by the The Book Lounge’s very own Werner Pretorius. Werner will be in conversation with Mervyn Sloman. And in the beginning, I will share a story about how this stunning collection of stories came into being … Can’t wait!

Sign up for the programme today and your life will be instantly more rewarding and less miserable. Take a look at our Platinum Package starring James Bond, who, as it turns out, is from Pretoria West, and Bernie de Villiers, who is falling in love with all the wrong things for all the wrong reasons. Our Gold Package offers UFOs over Jansenville and sinister nightly encounters in Cape Town. Don’t miss the exodus to Mars or get stuck at an outpost left to fend for yourself while, on a distant planet, betrayals and a betrothal take place. Buy now and avoid disappointment!

Werner Pretorius lands with this collection of lost loves and eerie worlds. Broken hearts and peril combine in these stories that scratch beneath the surface of the mundane to find the crawling things that keep us up at night.

About the author

WERNER PRETORIUS holds degrees in Publishing and English from the University of Pretoria and a Master’s in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town. His stories and short fiction have appeared in various magazines and anthologies. Lone Wolf Living is his first collection. He lives and works in Cape Town.

About the illustrator

DAWN BOLTON is a multi-faceted creative working in various media. She is a skilled jeweller, hand-crafting items in metals and recycled plastics. Her visual art language includes painting, pencil and ink drawing, and embroidery. This is her first collection of digital drawings.

Karina Author, Book, Event

Feminist Readers Book Club: The Frightened by Lethokuhle Msimang

The chosen book for the next Feminist Readers Book Club read is The Frightened by Lethokuhle Msimang. The book club will meet at The Book Lounge on 25 June 2025, 5.30 for 6PM. Can’t wait!

In this lyrical, fragmented novella, Lethokuhle Msimang uses autobiographical and poetic interventions to lead the reader through landscapes of loss and longing, travelling between France, China, Spain and South Africa, to explore the troubled terrain of leaving and finding home. At once exhilarating, heart-breaking and haunting, The Frightened speaks to the complexity of relationships, the pain of love, the effects of trauma, the necessity and constant work of healing, and the unfulfillable wish to feel a true sense of belonging. It is the story of finding one’s voice amidst inherited violence, and the importance of art and creativity in that process.

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!