Category: Awards | Page 2

This Week in Literary News: Week of April 18

First things first – Catalyst news! Niki Daly’s illustrated children’s book You’re a Star, Lolo got a starred review in Kirkus, and Luke Molver accepted his award for his graphic novel Shaka Rising, which was named an Honor Book for Older Readers by the Children’s Africana Book Awards last year. Two of our novelists, Young Blood author Sifiso Mzobe and Theory of Flight author Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, were featured in virtual talks this week – and both talks are now available to watch online! Join Sifiso on Stony Brook University’s Writers Speak Wednesdays and Siphiwe in conversation with Mercer University’s Dr. Vasile Stanescu.

And in honor of Earth Day this week, we’re offering a major discount on two of our titles, David Muirhead’s essay collection on South African animals Cat Among the Pigeons and Bridget Krone’s middle-grade novel Small Mercies. Use the code EARTHDAY at checkout on our site for 30% off both titles, only available until the end of April!

Tomorrow is Independent Bookstore day! Check out IndieBound’s indie bookstore finder and go buy yourself a book (or two, or twelve–we won’t judge!) to celebrate. UK bookstores have reopened just in time to take part in the revelry, and book sales went up a third in less than a week.

Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of April 18”

This Week in Literary News: Week of January 31

Lots of great stuff from all around the book world this week. Let’s get right to it!

Georgia College & State University is hosting a virtual African Writers Festival this month, featuring some amazing writers including Mona Eltahawy, Maaza Mengiste, and Novuyo Tshuma, among many, many more.

Black history is often reduced to moments, and those moments can become myths. As great as it is that we celebrate Black History Month, we need to be careful that the myths and moments don’t flatten, particularly with the Civil Rights Movement, what is often long, intentional, hard work that can’t be reduced to a single moment. At the New York Times, author Jeanne Theoharis, reflects on what this flattening has done to the work of Rosa Parks. “‘Over the years, I have been rebelling against second-class citizenship. It didn’t begin when I was arrested,’ Mrs. Parks reminded interviewers time and again.” Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of January 31”

This Week in Literary News: Week of January 24

In Catalyst news, Bridget Krone’s Small Mercies was just named an Outstanding International Book by the U.S. Board of Books for Young People (USBBY)! This is the second time a Catalyst Press book has won this prize, starting with Futhi Ntshingila’s We Kiss Them with Rain. And a new translation from Ivanka Hahnenberger, the translator for our upcoming graphic novel Madame Livingstone, was just awarded the prestigious Batchelder Award! The Batchelder Award celebrates outstanding children’s books from outside of the United States that have been translated into English. The winning book, Catherine’s War (HarperCollins), was originally published in France in 2017 and tells the story of a Jewish girl named Catherine who is forced to change her identity during World War II. Madame Livingstone, our newest graphic novel about an unlikely friendship in the Congo during World War I, is available from Catalyst Press in June. Congratulations to Bridget and Ivanka!

In celebrity book news, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade wrote a children’s book, Shady Baby, inspired by their daughter and scheduled for release in May. Also in May, Big Short author Michael Lewis is releasing a new book, this time about the group that anticipated the global pandemic. Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard is starting a book club, and so is Jeffrey Sachs. Maria Shriver is starting up an imprint at Penguin called The Open Field. Quentin Tarantino signed a two-book deal with Wiedenfeld & Nicolson, the first of which will be the director’s first work of fiction, based on his film “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Speaking of the film, its co-star Margaret Qualley will be starring alongside Sigourney Weaver for the movie treatment of the breakout 2014 memoir My Salinger Year, out March 5^th.

Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of January 24”

This Week in Literary News: Week of July 26

Hello everybody! We’re back for this week’s literary roundup

Not surprisingly, COVID-19 continues to affect the publishing industry. This week, Charlie’s Corner, a children’s bookstore in San Francisco closed, and Powell’s in Portland, Oregon closed its airport store. Both bookstores said they hoped to be return in some fashion but can’t predict the future. Barnes & Noble, however, is reopening stores. While overall, book sales have plummeted in 2020, booksellers in Italy, Romania, and France have reported a recent sales spike. According to Shelf Awareness, Black-owned bookstores are continuing to see record sales of key Black-authored titles. Our own amazing marketing manager, Ashawnta Jackson, wrote an piece a couple of weeks ago about the first Black-owned bookstore in the US, and the importance of these stores in Black communities.

In awards news:

Two African writers, Tsitsi Dangarembga (Zimbabwe, This Mournable Body) and Maaza Mengiste (Ethiopia, The Shadow King), were longlisted for the Booker Prize. We’re pleased. We’re longtime fans of Tsitsi Dangarembga, plus she has blurbed a forthcoming book from Catalyst Press, The Theory of Flight by Siphiwe Ndlovu. [Ed Note: This post was written before we heard about Tsitsi’s arrest in Zimbabwe earlier today. Tsitsi was arrested along with several others at a protest both against government corruption and calling for the release investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono. We stand with Tsitsi and all fighting for justice and free expression]

The 2020 Caine Prize winner was also announced, with Nigerian-British writer Irenosen Okojie winning with her short story “Grace Jones,” about a Grace Jones impersonator with a dark secret. Visit the Caine Prize site to read Irenosen’s story, and those of the other shortlisted authors. It’s a great story to end the week.

In Catalyst News, Bridget Krone, who wrote Small Mercies, was interviewed by The Witness in South Africa. And SarahBelle Selig, our Office Manager based in Cape Town, interviewed our partner-in-crime at our South African distributor LAPA Uitgewers, Izak de Vries. Izak is a big friend and promoter of Catalyst’s titles in South Africa and we’re glad we were able to highlight him in this short video interview as part of our ongoing interview series, Conversations With…

This Week in Literary News, Week of July 12

Literary news, world news, and life news was all a lot last week, which is why you didn’t see one of these posts last week. But we’re back, refreshed (sort of) and ready to bring you all of the bookish news you can handle!

“We all want wellness. I believe racism is a disease, and that healing can begin by reading to the kids in our lives, starting with children of the youngest ages.” Author Andrea Davis Pinkney writes about the power Black stories for NPR Books. Pinkey is also one of the judges for NPR’s Summer Reader’s Poll, which will create a list of 100 kids’ books based on readers’ suggestions. While the poll is closed now, be sure to check back to see the final list.

Language is always evolving, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise when new words are added to the lexicon. However, Merriam-Webster‘s recent addition of irregardless, has been the subject of a lot of debate. However, as Merriam-Webster pointed out on their blog, The Words of the Week, the word has been “in widespread and near-constant use since 1795. […] We do not make the English language, we merely record it.”

Last week’s issue of the New York Times‘ magazine was a fiction issue featuring short stories from 29 authors, each speaking to our current moment. Called “The Decameron Project,” the issue was “inspired by Giovanni Boccaccio’s “The Decameron,” written as the plague ravaged Florence in the 14th century.” The issue features stories by Uzodinma Iweala (Beasts of No Nation), Leila Slimani (The Perfect Nanny), and Dinaw Mengestu (All Our Names), among others. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News, Week of July 12”

Caroline Kurtz Wins Presbyterian Writers Guild’s Best First Book Award

Huge congratulations to Caroline Kurtz! Her memoir A Road Called Down on Both Sides: Growing up in Ethiopia and America was recently awarded the Best First Book Award by the Presbyterian Writers Guild! The award honors the best debut by a Presbyterian author written during 2018-2019. Caroline’s thoughtful memoir of her life as the child of missionaries explores faith, family, and what it means to find home when you’ve grown up between cultures and continents. We couldn’t be prouder.

Caroline isn’t the only Kurtz sister in the winner’s circle right now. This year, the Writers Guild has also awarded Jane Kurtz the 2020 Distinguished Writer Award in honor of her career as a writer and literary advocate. Jane has published over 35 children’s books, and with Caroline, founded Ready Set Go Books, a publishing company that produces books for young readers in English and three Ethiopian languages.

As the award ceremony, like many other events, has been postponed, the Kurtz sisters have recorded their acceptance speech, which you can see below. Congratulations to both Caroline and Jane!

Continue reading “Caroline Kurtz Wins Presbyterian Writers Guild’s Best First Book Award”

This Week in Literary News, Week of April 26

Our weekly round-up of literary news here at Catalyst and beyond, is brought to you by our intern Naomi Valenzuela. Naomi is from Phoenix, Arizona and El Paso, Texas, and is majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in English & American Literature at the University of Texas, El Paso, with plans of working in the publishing business after graduation

We start off with some helpful news for parents and kids:

Brittle Paper has two features this week for children. On Mondays, Michelle Obama will be doing live streams reading classic children’s books. They’ve also made a list of easily accessible and free children’s e-books.

The Washington Post has tips to parents from a parent on how to sneak in some time for your own reading in these days full of work and chores.

Now in Literary News:

Book Riot has put together a list of the best virtual reading series out there right now. These live streams range from the west coast to the east, check out these open mics along with featured readers.

For the bookworms with more time on their hands, The New York Times has advice from interior designers on how to organize and decorate with your books.

After an Alaskan school board pulled classics from their curriculum (I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, for example), many community members have been offering students money and free food to get them to read these important classics. Check it out on The Guardian.

Brittle Paper has a list of eight trilogies by African Writers to delve into. And while you’re at it, check out our Dark Web trilogy by Peter Church.

On Read It Forward, Frances Cha has an essay that shows how diversity in literature can encourage young writers to create without fear.

This Week in Literary News, Week of April 19

This week in Catalyst News!:

We have teamed up with four publishers— City Lights, Cinco Puntos, Enchanted Lion, and Readers to Eaters— to promote a new and diverse selection of children’s books. From history to poems, take a look at these books here!

Our own Caroline Kurtz has won the Presbyterian Writers Guild’s biennial Best First Book Award for A Road Called Down on Both Sides: Growing Up in Ethiopia and America. It’s a double celebration as her sister, Jane, also won the Presbyterian Writers Guild’s David Steele Distinguished Writer Award. We wish them both congratulations!

Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu (The Theory of Flight) has an essay on Times Select. Read about the author’s thoughts on how we can all learn something from feeling powerless.

In other literature news:

The Theory of Flight by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu

Cartoonist Peter Kupur created illustrations for Earth Day to talk about Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, the book that begun to raise awareness about the environment. Check it out at The New York Times.

If you’re a history buff looking for something new to read, Electric Lit has got you covered with seven books about forgotten wars.

Lit Hub has an essay from Mai Tran, who writes about how writing becomes an outlet for those who are socially anxious.

Is there a book that you’ve been trying to get through for weeks? Read It Forward has an article on why you shouldn’t feel bad about quitting a book.

Finally, Book Riot has the finalists for the 25th Women’s Prize for Fiction Shortlist, which celebrates excellence, originality, and accessibility from women authors.

This Week in Literary News: Week of March 22

In Catalyst Press news, Catalyst founder/publisher, Jessica Powers was on the Intralingo Podcast! Watch or listen as Jessica discusses her new book (Under Water, published by Cinco Puntos Press), her connections to Africa, and other topics.

On Ozy, meet Fawzia Gilani-Williams, a teacher and author who is rewriting fairytales for Muslim children after she noticed the U.K.’s lack of diversity in children’s books.

Children’s publishers have reported a large rise in sales due to the shut-down of schools during this pandemic. Read more over at The New York Times,

The Washington Post gives readers a guide on different ways to participate in the literature scene, including live-streams, online book clubs, and where to find and buy books.

In these difficult times, Read It Forward has a short essay by Emily M.D. Scott about how libraries continue to affirm our humanity.

In more Catalyst news, King Shaka: Zulu Legend by Luke Molver is a finalist for Pop Culture Classroom‘s Best in Young Adult Graphic Literature! Part of Pop Culture Classroom’s mission is to celebrate diversity through the tools of popular culture and the power of self-expression.

Writer Lilly Dancyger gives us a perspective on the anxieties of publishing a book while struggling to cope with these recent changes to the world over on Electric Lit.

Over on LitHub, publicists discuss their change to online events and their thoughts about these technological adaptions.

Shaka Rising Named an Honor Book by the Children’s Africana Book Awards

Shaka Rising: A Legend of the Warrior Prince was named an Honor Book for Older Readers by the Children’s Africana Book Awards! The awards, presented by Africa Access, a non-profit that celebrates and promotes African literature for young readers. The Children’s Africana Book Awards are an annual award honoring “authors and illustrators of the best children’s and young adult books on Africa published or republished in the U.S.” We couldn’t be more excited that Shaka Rising was among the honorees!

Shaka Rising is the first in our African Graphic Novel Series, and the first release from our collaborative imprint, Story Press Africa. You can read about Shaka Rising author/illustrator Luke W. Molver in this Q&A. And you can learn more about the awards, and the other winners and honorees here.