Category: Fantasy

This Week in Literary News: Week of July 19

We lost civil rights hero and U.S. Representative John Lewis this week, who died on July 17 at the age of 80. You should go and read everything he’s ever written, but in the meantime, read this Brain Pickings feature and ten of his best quotes on getting into “good trouble.”

THE FARM

Here at Catalyst, we celebrated the South African release of Max Annas’ thriller The Farm (translated by Rachel Hildebrandt Reynolds) with a virtual book launch with Boekemakranka featuring Izak DeVries of LAPA Uitgewers, our South African distributor. The Farm is out now in South Africa, and comes to North American readers in September (you can pre-order it here).

Calling all His Dark Materials fans: Phillip Pullman just announced a new novella based on the bestselling series, to be released in October. And in comic news: the original 2003 Walking Dead comic book is being re-released in full color, and A-list action star Keanu Reeves is writing a comic book (and casually slipped that he’d like to play the lead character in a movie rendition – so that’s probably happening).

ICYMI: in early June, a bunch of big-name authors (including Atwood, Gladwell, Rowling, Rushdie, and Steinem) penned an open letter about the dangers of cancel culture in Harper’s Magazine. But then a counter letter was released in The Objective, calling out the authors of the Harper’s letter for writing from a place a privilege (among other grievances). Catch up on the drama here. NPR responded with typical Swiss neutrality vibes by getting authors from both letters on a podcast together.

African Arguments released a three-part interview with the 2020 AKO Caine Prize Nominees. Check out Part 1 on joy and writing, Part 2 on reading and the politics of prizes, and Part 3 on what it means to be mainstream.

COVID-19 has hit the book world hard: according to a survey from nonprofit Americans for the Arts, 253 literary organizations reported over $7.2 million total losses to date. But it’s not all bad: with bookstores and festivals shut down, big box retailers like Walmart and Costco have been helping readers get their fix, and three literary nonprofits teamed up with the Mellon Foundation this week to create a Literary Arts Emergency Fund, distributing $5,000 to $50,000 grants to literary organizations across the United States. And one book festival in the United Kingdom came up with an innovative way to bring joy to book lovers at a distance: a drive-in book fair. If Britain is a bit too far for a road trip, Book Riot has a handy list of some upcoming virtual book events. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of July 19”

An Update from Catalyst Publisher/Founder Jessica Powers

Dear friends of Catalyst Press,

In just a few short weeks, it feels like the world as we have known it has collapsed. We’re all trying to keep in touch as best we can, and those of us who can work from home are doing so, but we know that a lot of people have lost or will lose their jobs; we know that people will have trouble paying rent or feeding their families. And meanwhile, all of us have to deal with the fear and uncertainty of an illness that can be deadly, and may affect us or our loved ones.

The economic shutdown of the USA has affected book publishers in myriad ways. Amazon is making shipping of books a low priority. Independent booksellers have changed the way they work with customers, and are working to ship online orders as well as provide curbside pickups. But booksellers and publishers alike are going to be dramatically affected by the quarantines and shelter-in-place orders, primarily through loss of sales, but also through loss of marketing opportunities to get the word out about our books through reviews and other outlets that are also not operating under optimal conditions (or at all.)

Catalyst Press is committed to weathering this storm but, as a new small press we are especially vulnerable to a tank in sales. This is true for all small presses, not least for us. For those of you who really want to support us during this time, here are a few ways:

  • If you’re in North America, you can order new and older books directly from our website or from independent bookstores at this link.
  • South Africa is in a severe lockdown right now, and deliveries of books aren’t happening. In the meantime, you can order ebooks at Amazon. We always want to support independent bookstores but in this particular case, please do buy ebooks on Amazon! But if you want to buy physical books and you can wait for them to be delivered, you can order copies from LAPA, our distributor in South Africa, and they will resume deliveries when they can.
  • We are also able to accept one-time or recurring tax-deductible donation through Fractured Atlas, a 501 (c) (3) arts organization that has offered us fiscal sponsorship. This is an option we’d love for you to consider anytime, of course!
  • Even if ordering books or offering donations is not possible for you at this time, we love hearing from our supporters on social media, this blog, or via email, so please feel free to drop us a kind note anytime. We’d love to hear about past books we published that you loved, future books you’re looking forward to, or suggestions for future books.

Thanks guys. Keep in touch and stay well!

Jessica, Publisher & Founder, Catalyst Press (with imprints Story Press Africa & Powers Squared)

January New Releases

This has been a busy month for us! We’ve started the new year with three new releases (plus ended the last year with one, which is also included here). All of these are available at your favorite booksellers and right here at our site.

The Thousand Steps by Helen Brain

The first book in Helen’s Fiery Spiral series for Young Adult readers, The Thousand Steps is the story of 16-year-old Ebba who has lived her entire life in a bunker deep within Cape Town’s Table Mountain. When she is suddenly elevated from the bunker, she finds that everything she knew about her life, and the world “above,” was wrong. Now shouldering the immense responsibility of her new life, Ebba must fight to save her friends still trapped in the bunker and facing execution any day.

Dark Video by Peter Church

The next installment in Peter Church’s Dark Web Trilogy, Dark Video is set in the early days of internet video sharing. A group of wealthy people are willing to pay any price for unimaginable videos. Cape Town college student Alistair Morgan is lured deeper and deeper into this sinister underground world where reality blurs and morals.

 


Cape Town: A Place Between by Henry Trotter

The first in our Intimate Geographies Series — short books of around 100 pages— which aim to help readers go beyond the surface of fascinating places. Cape Town: A Place Between weaves the history of city’s intersecting histories and cultures with Henry’s own experiences as an American living, working, and building a life there for nearly twenty years. While not a traditional travel guide, Cape Town invites readers into the city with hopes of sparking first-hand exploration with its mix of travel narrative and literary non-fiction.

Unmaking Grace coverUnmaking Grace by Barbara Boswell
Released in December

Unmaking Grace is a story an intimate portrayal of the legacy of inter-generational violence set in Cape Town in the 1980s. In this gripping novel, we meet Grace whose life is forever altered by her father’s violence. In her efforts to break the cycle in her own life, she finds a measure of peace in the stability of her middle-class lifestyle—complete with loving husband and baby. But when a figure from her past returns, Grace realizes that breaking free will be more difficult than she imagined.