Author: Catalyst Press | Page 8

Q&A with Barbara Boswell

Huge congratulations to Barbara Boswell! Her novel Unmaking Grace is out now in the US! Released in South Africa under the title Grace, Barbara’s novel about one woman’s journey to break the cycle of intergenerational violence earned her the 2017 Debut Prize from the University of Johannesburg Prizes for South African writing. Here in the US, her novel has been praised by Kirkus Reviews as “A smart, compassionate portrayal of one woman’s quest to end the cycle of violence.”; author Yewande Omotoso (Bom Boy, The Woman Next Door) calls it “a deeply compelling and important story”; and Ms. Magazine included it in their list of must-reads for December. We couldn’t be prouder to publish this thoughtful and moving book.

You can order the book online from IndieBound, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, here on our website, and, of course, you can pick up a copy at your favorite local bookstore! We chatted with Barbara recently about her writing, Unmaking Grace, and the writers who shaped her life and work. Continue reading “Q&A with Barbara Boswell”

Giveaway Winners, Graphic Novels, and Why We’re Sharing African History Worldwide

Last month, we and our Story Press Africa partners held a giveaway to celebrate the release of the latest installment in our African Graphic Novel Series— King Shaka: Zulu Legend by Luke Molver. The entry was pretty simple: like our post, and then comment with the name of a historic person or event you’d like to see in a future graphic novel. And people really delivered! There were a host of names, and a timeline’s worth of notable events. It was truly amazing.

Readers are excited about African histories and stories. They want to put faces to names, they want to see history live again on the page. Whether it is the stories of your own country and your own ancestors, or that of those who live worlds apart, there is something special and vital about keeping those stories, those names in our memories. While we won’t list every name and event giveaway entrants suggested, we thought we’d share just a few to show just how many stories there are to tell… Continue reading “Giveaway Winners, Graphic Novels, and Why We’re Sharing African History Worldwide”

Designing the Cover for The Thousand Steps

There is a lot that has to happen behind the scenes before we can get our books to readers. Edits, rewrites, marketing, event planning, design—it’s nothing if not exciting! While our author Q&As and From the Editor’s Desk features generally cover many of those (and if you don’t know what those are, all will be revealed if you subscribe to our newsletter!), but we focus on cover design a bit less often. That changes today! We talked extensively with artist Karen Vermeulen last year about her work, and now we’re chatting with Karen again about just one cover— the upcoming YA sci-fi novel The Thousand Steps by Helen Brain.

The Thousand Steps is the first in Helen Brain’s Fiery Spiral Trilogy, and is a dystopic sci-fi Young Adult novel set in Cape Town in 2055. After spending her entire life living in a bunker deep inside of Table Mountain, 16-year-old Ebba is released when the truth of her lineage is revealed. While learning to navigate the unfamiliar “Above,” Ebba must fight for her survival, and that of her friends still below. The Fiery Spiral is an eco-feminist trilogy that examines how class, race, and social identity are foundational to the ways in which society is organized and power wielded. It releases on January 7.

You can learn more about Karen and her work at her website, Instagram, and Twitter.

Continue reading “Designing the Cover for The Thousand Steps”

Q&A with Caroline Kurtz

An excerpted version of this Q&A appeared in our newsletter. Each month, we include things like information about events, giveaways, sales, and fun extras like author Q&As. If you’d like be the first to know about what’s going on at Catalyst HQ, be sure to subscribe!

We’re getting ready for another big release at Catalyst, A Road Called Down on Both Sides: Growing up in Ethiopia and America by Caroline Kurtz (out July 15). It’s big for a few reasons: not only is this our first non-fiction release, but because Caroline is US-based, we’re able to help her plan a few events in support of the book. What this means for you book-lovers out there, is that you may get a chance to see Caroline in person as she talks about her memoir detailing her life growing up in rural Ethiopia in the 1950s. She’ll be holding a book launch at Annie Bloom’s in Portland on July 15.

As the daughter of Presbyterian Church missionaries, Caroline and her family packed up their lives in Oregon, and headed to Maji, Ethiopia. It was during her time there that she discovered what it was like to live between cultures. She came of age in a country that felt as much like home as her native country, and yet, she was outside of it. When she returned to the US, she again felt like an outsider. In this thoughtful memoir, Caroline explores what it’s like to search for home when that means so many (often conflicting) things, how her parents’ faith wasn’t necessarily her own, and how she found home by building it from all of the pieces of her traveller’s life. Now back in Oregon, Caroline is the co-founder of Ready Set Go Books along with her sister Jane, which publishes books for young Ethiopian readers, and she runs a non-profit that brings solar power and economic development options to women in Maji.

We chatted with Caroline about her book, her childhood, and why she switched from writing about dragons to writing about her life. You can also keep up with Caroline’s development work at her website, and be sure to check out her pictures of her life in Maji and beyond. Continue reading “Q&A with Caroline Kurtz”

Q&A with Matt & Jessica Powers

In addition to being great friends, brother and sister pair Matt and Jessica are also co-authors of the YA book Broken Circle (Akashic Books) and now, they’re co-workers here at Catalyst HQ. There’s no sibling rivalry here! Matt, who in in his downtime from being a parent and author, will also be heading up the newest Catalyst imprint—Powers Squared! In another life, Matt studied Oncology, eventually earning his PhD in Oncological Studies from the University of Utah. It was during his studies that he realized that science could be, and should be, for all of us. Science can dazzle us, excite us, captivate us, but only when it’s done in engaging ways. We’ll be bringing those kinds of engaging science stories to readers everywhere through the Powers Squared imprint—beginning with the first release Cat Among the Pigeons written by David Muirhead and featuring illustrations by Patricia de Villiers. Welcome to the team, Matt!

Matt and Jessica found some time between parenting, writing, and publishing to have a little chat about life as a Powers kid, reading and writing, and what you can expect from Powers Squared in the coming years. Learn more about the Powers Squared mission and Cat Among the Pigeons here.

This Q&A first appeared in our newsletter. If you want to see more great Q&As like this, plus be the first-to-know about sales, events, and lots of fun extras, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter!

Continue reading “Q&A with Matt & Jessica Powers”

Q&A with Max Annas

The residents of The Pines, a community in East London, South Africa, put up walls and gates to protect themselves from the dangers of the outside world. But what happens when the thing that’s meant to keep people safe, becomes someone’s biggest threat? That’s the question posed in Max Annas’ upcoming release The Wall, out on May 21 (paperback, digital, and audio versions). In this taut, fast-paced thriller, Max tackles issues of race, class, exclusion, and violence, but with a light touch that makes The Wall a surprisingly humorous book. This is Max’s first book in English (and you can learn more about Rachel Hildebrandt Reynolds, the book’s translator, here).

We chatted with Max about his influences, The Wall, and the magic of seeing his book “living in another language.” Pre-order your copy of The Wall through IndieBound. This Q&A first appeared in our monthly newsletter. If you want to be the first-to-know about events, sales, and fun extras like these author Q&As, be sure to subscribe! Continue reading “Q&A with Max Annas”

Q&A with Yewande Omotoso

Last year was quite a year for Yewande Omotoso. Her most recent release, The Woman Next Door, earned Yewande a spot on the shortlist for the Dublin Literary Award, and a Hurston/Wright Award nomination. We’re betting that readers will want to read more from this talented author in 2019, and so we couldn’t be more excited to be the North American publisher for her novel Bom Boy.

First released in South Africa, this novel of loss and belonging earned Yewande the South African Literary Award First Time Author Prize, and it was also shortlisted for the Etisalat Prize for Literature. She has revised the novel for its North American release on February 26. Pre-order your copy today!

We chatted with Yewande about her process, writers she admires, and what it felt like to revisit to Bom Boy after many years. This Q&A is the full version of the excerpt from our newsletter. Learn about Catalyst events, authors, giveaways, and read more author Q&As like this by subscribing to our newsletter! Continue reading “Q&A with Yewande Omotoso”

Q&A with Peter Church

This interview first appeared in our newsletter. To read more author interviews, keep up with Catalyst news, events, and giveaways make sure to subscribe!

Peter Church

This February, we’re excited to release Crackerjack, a new thriller by Peter Church. Peter’s tense techno-thriller takes us to the dark side of the digital world. We meet reformed hacker Daniel Le Fleur, who finds that his virtual trouble is becoming all too real. There’s a missing executive, millions of dollars gone, and very determined killers on his trail. Crackerjack is a classic thriller re-imagined for the digital age (read an excerpt here). It’s also the first of three books from Peter that we’ll be publishing in the coming years, including Crackerjack‘s prequel.

We chatted with Peter ahead of the book’s release about his influences, his writing routine, and why he loves thrillers. Crackerjack is out on February 26— pre-order your copy today! And keep up with Peter by following him on Facebook. Continue reading “Q&A with Peter Church”

Q&A with Luke W. Molver

This Q&A is an extended version of the one that appeared in our most recent newsletter. Want to read more interviews like this, plus stay up-to-date on everything going on at Catalyst Press? Be sure to subscribe!

Earlier this year, we released Shaka Rising: A Legend of the Warrior Prince by author/illustrator Luke W. Molver. This graphic novel was the first release in our African Graphic Novel Series and the first release under our Story Press Africa imprint. The book was praised by The Wall Street Journal, Kirkus, Booklist, and the Midwest Book Review. This nuanced look at the life of the legendary Zulu king is part family saga, part military epic, and part history lesson. It has been a pleasure to bring Shaka’s story to readers. Luke will be bringing this story to even more readers as the book makes its South African release this month. Luke will be celebrating that, along with his other accomplishments at Comic Con Africa in Johannesburg this month.

We chatted with Luke about his work, writing Shaka, and what’s next for him. Keep up with Luke at his website, on Instagram, and on Facebook. Continue reading “Q&A with Luke W. Molver”