A new festival is starting on the Sunshine Coast in the Easter Cape and I have the pleasure of running a memoir workshop during its weekend (24-26 September 2026):

The Barefoot Arts Meander unfolds over the Heritage Day long weekend across Kenton-on-Sea and Boesmansriviermond – two neighbouring villages framed by the Kariega and Bushmans Rivers, unspoiled beaches, and the Eastern Cape’s easy, barefoot pace of life. We’re sharing four days with you: the best of our local artists, brilliant authors, theatre, and a local craft market. Whether you’re joining for a day or the whole long weekend, this is a festival best explored on foot, at your own pace.

Find out more: Barefoot Arts Meander

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

In the beginning there were stories without homes.

Karina M. Szczurek is the founder and publisher of Karavan Press. She lives in a Victorian house in Cape Town that holds a private library of some fifteen thousand books, spanning its creator André Brink’s own first published novel to editions centuries old. When the possibility of losing that home once loomed over her, she found herself searching for a different kind of home — one no one could ever take away. She realised, in the end, that a book itself is a kind of home away from home: a caravan, carrying you to unexpected places. It’s how Karavan Press got its name.

Born in Poland, Karina lived in Austria, the United States and Wales before finding a home in South Africa, where she met and married the author André Brink. She is the author of the memoir The Fifth Mrs Brink (2017) and the novel Invisible Others, longlisted for the 2015 Sunday Times Barry Ronge Fiction Prize, as well as editor of several award-winning short story anthologies. In 2019, she founded Karavan Press, and now runs the Philida Literary Award and the Karavan Press Literary Festival. She lives in Cape Town.

In this intimate workshop, Karina draws on her years as a publisher, editor and memoirist — building a home for other people’s stories — to guide participants in finding a home for their own. Expect gentle, practical guidance on shaping memoir and personal narrative, honest feedback, and space to think about what your story needs in order to be told.

Held at a private home in Kenton-on-Sea. Refreshments and snacks will be served. Please bring your own writing instruments.

Details: Saturday, 26 September 2026, 14:00 – 17:00

Book here: Quicket