Author: Ashawnta Jackson | Page 3

#ReadingAfrica Week Children’s Literature Panel

One of our greatest joys in this work is being able to reach young readers. We love being able to publish books that educate, entertain, and bring compassion into the world. Our authors are truly the greatest. Our love of kid lit meant that there was that at least one of our #ReadingAfrica events would involve us talking about and championing books for young readers.

We’re thrilled about the panel that we were able to assemble for this fantastic conversation! You can watch a recording of the event below. Continue reading “#ReadingAfrica Week Children’s Literature Panel”

#ReadingAfrica Music Edition

This year, we’re excited to add a musical portion to our celebration with the addition of this very excellent playlist curated by Amanda Khiri. While hearing the music might be the best way to understand it, it’s certainly not the only way. For those of you who want to take your musical explorations a little further, here’s a great selection of books, articles, and websites that will help you dive deeper into what are, truly, some of the deepest waters there are. Continue reading “#ReadingAfrica Music Edition”

This Week in Literary News: Week of October 31

On November 6, The Theory of Flight author Siphiwe Ndlovu will be in conversation with Cosmogramma author Courttia Newland and moderator Sean Jacobs, editor and founder of Africa is a Country. Here’s the registration info.

The two team up again for Radical Books Collective’s “Beyond Wakanda! Celebrating New African Speculative Fiction” day on November 12 from 11am-2pm EST (5pm-8pm in SA)

African literature has been in the spotlight a lot lately. Abdulrazak Gurnah was awarded the Nobel Prize; Tsitsi Dangarembga was awarded the 2021 German Peace Prize; Senegalese novelist Boubacar Boris Diop has been named the winner of the 2022 Neustadt International Prize for Literature; fellow Senegalese author Mohamed Mbougar Sarr has won the Prix Goncourt, becoming the “first writer from sub-Saharan Africa to be awarded France’s oldest and most prestigious literary prize.”; and South African novelist and playwright Damon Galgut has won the Booker Prize. Congrats to all! Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of October 31”

This Week in Literary News: Week of October 10

First things first: huge congratulations to Hannes Barnard, author and translator of our forthcoming release Halley’s Comet, on this fantastic review in Kirkus. They called his YA novel. “a thrilling, tension-filled story of friendship, love, radicalism, and justice that will resonate with many readers.” And we can’t help but agree. Halley’s Comet is out in January.

Things in the Bronx just got a lot bookier (yeah, I know it’s not a word. Mind your own business spellcheck.). A used shuttle bus has now become home to Bronx Bound Books, a bookstore on wheels started by writer Latanya DeVaughn.

Got a lot on your mind? Consider heading to your bookshelf. Researchers have found that daily reading has plenty of benefits, and is a great task to add to your to-do list. From Inc. “Researchers have determined the practice of reading–a cognitive exercise–lowers stress and depression, raises your intelligence, protects your memory, and helps you to be more open-minded.” Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of October 10”

This Week in Literary News: Week of September 12

In the upcoming months, you’re going to have a lot of opportunities to see Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu in person, well, virtually in-person. On September 25, the Theory of Flight author visits the Harare Book Club, and on October 3, she heads to the Brooklyn Book Fair. Visit our event calendar to find out more, and stay tuned for more events! The Theory of Flight is out now, and her follow-up The History of Man is out in January.

One school district doesn’t quite get the spirit of Banned Books Week. Students at a a Pennsylvania school are protesting “after their school board’s conversation about a proposed diversity curriculum turned into a list of banned books,” LitHub reports. The books are all written by authors of color and/or feature characters of color, which the school board insists in just a coincidence. Also a coincidence: this link to Banned Books Week, which highlights the “shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.” Banned Book Week runs from September 26 – October 2. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of September 12”

It’s National Translation Month!

September is National Translation Month, an annual celebration of translated literature. Now in its ninth year, this annual celebration encourages readers to learn more about and read global literature in translation from authors, both past, and present. This month, we’re celebrating by offering 20% off on all of our translated titles when you buy from our online store (current releases only. Not applicable to pre-orders). Keep reading to learn more about these books, authors and translators! Plus, learn about one of our forthcoming translated books for YA readers. Continue reading “It’s National Translation Month!”

This Week in Literary News: Week of August 29

Let’s start off with some exciting Catalyst news. Visit LitHub to read an excerpt from our forthcoming release, Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa. Disruption is the newest Short Story Day Africa anthology, and features 21 new and emerging authors from across Africa. It releases September 7, and you can learn more about the collection here.

How much do you love that Bobby Byrd (our friend and Cinco Puntos press co-founder) was included in this list of books on Sandra Cisneros’ nightstand? Speaking of Cinco Puntos, read this lovely article on the press, and its impact on the publishing world. This summer, CInco Puntos announced that it was being acquired by Lee and Low.

“I felt more disconnected, displaced and determined to understand and document this history for myself and other indigenous South African groups that have been scattered across the region because of colonialism.” Over at gal-dem, Nomqhele Beauty Dhlamini writes about the Xhosa people of Zimbabwe, and discovering a part of her heritage. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of August 29”

This Week in Literary News: Week of August 8

In Catalyst news this week, Joanne Hichens’ thriller, Divine Justice was included in Amplitude Magazine’s roundup of books featuring amputees. Amplitude Magazine is a publication “for amputees who want to live more fully.”

“It is in the act of remembrance and re-evaluation of such music that a fuller appreciation of the hidden spaces in this country’s struggle heritage come to light. There is deep history to be excavated. Each in their own way, these albums are psalm songs of the South African jazz holy grail.” Liam Brickhill in Africa is a Country on two recently reissued albums from Matsuli Music, a label focused on South African rarities and jazz classics.

“In the early days of the Cold War, the CIA launched journals, concerts, and co-opted high-profile African-American NGOs.” Head to CrimeReads, to read an excerpt from Susan Williams’ book White Malice: The CIA and the Covert Recolonization of Africa. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of August 8”

This Week in Literary News: Week of July 18

Let’s start out with some Catalyst news! Niki Daly, the author of several children’s books including the Lolo series, was recently awarded a South African Children’s Laureate Award by the University of the Western Cape Faculty of Education and the SA Festival of Children’s Literature. In presenting Niki the prize, children’s lit scholar and editor Dr. Mia Oosthuizen, said it nicely “you capture the imagination and children’s magnificent everyday lives.”

“Thirty years ago, few people in the art world were interested in Africa. The images of the continent that circulated at the time were primarily news images of famines and wars. At best, people had an exotic vision of it.” Great article on how Revue Noire, a magazine and publishing house that brought a nuanced view of Africa through photography.

Our friend Lizzy Attree has a wonderful essay at Africa is a Country on what literature can teach us about our connections to nature and what we owe to the Earth. We are thrilled to be working with Lizzy, and all of the wonderful folks at Short Story Day Africa to release Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa in September. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of July 18”

Out Now: The Rising Tide by Helen Brain

We’re excited to release The Rising Tide, the second book in Helen Brain’s Fiery Spiral trilogy, a dystopian fantasy series for young adult readers. The Rising Tide continues the saga of sixteen-year-old Ebba den Eeden, who has spent her life in a bunker deep within Cape Town’s Table Mountain. She, and the other inhabitants of the bunker, have grown up believing the world “above” was left uninhabitable due to nuclear war. When Ebba is suddenly released from the bunker, she discovers that everything she knew—about the world above and her own life—was wrong. Now shouldering an immense responsibility, Ebba must use her power to stop a second apocalypse. She must listen to her instincts, even if it means destroying the things she holds most dear. Who can she trust to help stop the second “Calamity,” now just days away? Who will betray her? Continue reading “Out Now: The Rising Tide by Helen Brain”