Fazila Cariem joins Mirari with dystopian Cape Town romp

Mirari Press has signed Fazila Cariem's s dystopian sci-fi mystery Janelle and the Cape Town Apocalypse for publication in 2027.

When sharp-tongued taxi gaatchie Janelle and her business partner, an ambitious taxi driver known as Playstation, start their day on the Cape Flats, they expect the usual chaos of Cape Town: traffic, passengers, and the endless rhythm of the taxi rank. Instead, they find a city that has fallen completely silent.

The streets are empty. No loadshedding complaints. The airport stands abandoned. From the Cape Flats to the city centre, not a single person remains.

As they search for answers, Janelle and Playstation encounter a small group of survivors: Liya, a disillusioned teenager; her deeply religious father Akbar; twin brothers Shaun the Brawn and Vaughan the Brain; Mona, an influencer determined to document the end of the world; Sizwe, a high-flying trader desperate to outrun his rural roots; and Delilah, who feels more at home among trees than among people.

Above them, strange bird-like machines move through the sky in perfect formation, controlled by an unseen cloud system that appears to be linked to the disappearance. When the devices begin scanning the remaining humans, the group realises they are being observed—and possibly hunted.

To bring back the vanished population and reclaim their city, the survivors must uncover the purpose of the mechanical flock while confronting the tensions within their own ranks: faith and doubt, ambition and shame, pride and grief.

Told in authentic Cape Coloured vernacular, Janelle and the Cape Town Apocalypse blends speculative science fiction with sharp social insight, asking what it means to rebuild a city, and a sense of self, after everything familiar has disappeared. As the group confronts the forces erasing their city, they are forced to confront themselves: learning that survival isn't just about outsmarting machines, but about unlearing the narratives that have kept them small.

"Janelle and the Cape Town Apocalypse is a smart, funny and deeply moving book. Readers will fall head over heels for the magnificent cast," says Marius du Plessis, CEO and Publisher. "Fazila writes with wit, emotion and an unforgettable voice. I guarantee that readers will not be able to put this book down. Cariem joins the ranks of Cape literary wonders like Mia Arderne, and is sure to remain a perennial favourite."

About Fazila Cariem

Fazila Cariem is a qualified CA (SA) and finance manager for a renewable energy company by day. Tortured writer by night. That’s a lie. Not tortured, and she doesn't write at night—she writes during the early hours of the morning. 

In 2023, she wrote and self‑published her debut novella, Her Peace at War, a story inspired by true events and best described as an emotional exorcism disguised as fiction. Since then, she has wandered boldly into a new genre: sci‑fi with a hearty dose of indigenous Cape Town flavour. Think cosmic adventures… with a dash of rooibos tea and Kaapse slang.

Writing is but one of her creative outlets. The others include attempting to get creative with weights at the gym and occasionally living out her parody‑production dreams on TikTok, where she masquerades as @Faz_scribblez. Instagram sees a calmer version of her at @faz_scribblez.

Renewables fuel her day job, but stories? Stories fuel everything else.

---

For rights enquiries and press, contact us at hello@miraripress.com.