The Karavan is heading to Richmond this week where we will be participating in the BookBedonnerd Literary Festival, taking place between 29 and 31 October 2026, one of the highlights of the literary calendar every year.
Catch the following Karavan Press and Indeed Books authors at the festival:
Thursday 29th October – Day 1
09:30 STEPHEN SYMONS – SATRLORN
Friday 30th October – Day 2
10:00 ANGIE BUTLER – THE SHADOW OF ELSEWHERE
15:00 GAIL GILBRIDE – AN UNSUITABLE WOMAN
15:40 TRACY GOING – THE POWER OF WRITING & STORYTELLING
16:45 ROGER LUCEY – HOW TO BUILD A HOUSE IN THE MOUNTAINS
Saturday 31st October – Day 3
10:00 SHERYL & SANDY JAMES – UNBRIDLING
We will also be running three writing workshops at the Vetmuis Plaaskombuis, every morning between 8 and 9AM:
The Franschhoek Literary Festival is nearly upon us and what a fabulous programme to look forward to again this year! Taking place between 15 and 17 May 2026, it will host many stunning literary events, with some food and music and other delights thrown into the mix. Three of our writers – DAWN GARISCH, ROGER LUCEY and SHERYL JAMES feature on the programme. Please come and join us for their and many other events. We look forward to celebrating the joy of storytelling with you.
Dawn GarischRoger LuceySheryl James
BREAKING THE FORM: EXPERIMENTAL FICTION
Friday, 15 May, 2026
11:30 – 12:30
Hospice House
Not all novels move in straight lines. Some fracture, circle or whisper. In this conversation, writers Dawn Garisch (The Consulting Room) and Rémy Ngamije(Only Stars Know the Meaning of Space) join Letlhogonolo Mokgoroane to explore narrative risk, structure, style and why some stories refuse to behave.
STORYTELLING AND SONG WITH ROGER LUCEY
Friday, 15 May, 2026
16:00 – 17:00
Church Hall
Roger Lucey’s music career was silenced by apartheid’s security police. In this intimate performance of songs and storytelling, he reflects on survival, rebuilding and finding his way back to creativity in the Breede River mountains, inspired by his memoir How to Build a House in the Mountains.
MOVING BEYOND LIMITS
Sunday, 17 May, 2026
11:30 – 12:30
Council Chambers
South African Paralympian, Sheryl James (Unbridling), has spent her life pushing past boundaries. She joins Africa Melane to reflect on defying expectations, silencing doubt and redefining the limits of human potential.
One of the most inspirational stories I have ever encountered, the remarkable memoir Unbridling by mother-daughter duo Sheryl and Sandy James, will be launched at Exclusive Books Cavendish on Tuesday, 12 May 2026, at 6PM.
Born cerebral palsied, Sheryl James spends the early years of her life arguing with the world and God about her disability. After a strange encounter with Him, she sets out to defy the possibilities defined for her by the crowd, experts and her family. When doors close on her quest to compete as a para-athlete, she abandons a dream she has secretly nurtured, opting instead for long-distance running against able-bodied athletes. With one failed and two successful Comrades marathons behind her, she resigns from her job to seek her real purpose. At the unlikely age of 33, longing to address the marginalisation of people with physical disabilities in rural South Africa, she is unexpectedly launched into the world of sprinting. Her trajectory is set for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Perhaps her scary dream is, indeed, possible. With the odds already stacked against her, what more can life hurl at her as she pursues what most believe impossible?
Sheryl and Sandy James will be in conversation with Mpumelelo Mhlongo, whose triumphs earned him the Shield of Jove, South Africa’s highest sporting honor, awarded by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Beyond the Paralympics, Mhlongo is the reigning world champion in the 100 m T44 from the 2023 Paris and 2024 Kobe World Para-Athletics Championships, where he claimed gold. He has been named South Africa’s Sportsman of the Year with a Disability for two consecutive years (2024 and 2025) at the Regional Annual Sports Awards, a flagship event of the African Union Sports Council Region 5, among other accolades.
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!
