Category: Literary Fiction

This Week in Literary News: Week of October 24

First up, some Catalyst news! We’ve got some great upcoming events for you to join this November:

We Kiss Them with Rain author Futhi Ntshingila and Bom Boy author Yewande Omotoso are participating in the 2021 Open Book Festival’s podcast series, running from November 8-24, and on November 6 at 2pm EST (8pm South Africa), The Theory of Flight author Siphiwe Ndlovu will be in conversation with Cosmogramma author Courttia Newland and moderator Sean Jacobs, hosted by WORD Bookstore in Brooklyn! Here’s the registration info.

Can’t get enough Siphiwe and Courttia? Us either! Check out The Radical Books Collective’s “Beyond Wakanda! Celebrating New African Speculative Fiction” day on November 12 from 11am-2pm EST (5pm-8pm in SA), which features another conversation between Siphiwe and Courttia, moderated by Lizzy Attree.

To celebrate these two awesome events, take 15% off of The Theory of Flight when you order from our site, this month only! Use code RADICAL at checkout. And speaking of Courttia, we spotted him on Electric Lit this week! Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of October 24”

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 October 3

First up, a few updates on your favorite Catalyst authors! Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, author of award-winning novel The Theory of Flight and her upcoming follow-up, The History of Man, recently spoke at the Harare Book Club, and you can catch up on the event here. And mark your calendars for Saturday November 6th at 2pm EST, when Siphiwe will be in conversation with author Courttia Newland in a discussion of Afro-futurism, in partnership with Brooklyn’s Word Bookstore.

Futhi Ntshingila, author of We Kiss Them With Rain is celebrating the launch of her new book, They Got to You Too, in South Africa on Tuesday October 12th at 18:30 SA time, 12:30pm EST, and you can tune in live. Congratulations, Futhi! Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of October 3”

What’s New in 2022

Fall is in the air here (translation: I’m already cold). As the calendar pages start falling away on 2021, we thought it’d be a good time to give you all a little sneak peek at our upcoming titles— many of which are available for pre-order.

We’re excited to add more books from one of our favorite children’s authors, Niki Daly, our very first young adult book in translation, and a new addition to our growing list of graphic novels. In addition to those, we think there’s something for just about every kind of reader in our 2022 catalog. Continue reading “What’s New in 2022”

This Week in Literary News: Week of September 19

First up, a few Catalyst events coming your way in the next few weeks! Tomorrow, Saturday 25th at 9am EST (15:00 South Africa time), join The Theory of Flight author Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu as she chats with the Harare Book Club, by joining live on Twitter and Instagram @hararebookclub. And mark your calendars for 10:00pm EST on October 3rd, when Siphiwe will be participating in the Who? New! panel at the Brooklyn Book Festival!

Divine Justice

Also tomorrow: from 10am to 1pm UK time (11:00 to 14:00 in South Africa, or 5am to 8am EST for our early birds in the USA!), join Divine Justice author Joanne Hichens as she cohosts a Crime Writing Workshop on Zoom. Can’t do the live session? The self-pace version will be available on All About Writing‘s website starting September 28th.

Finally, we’re so thrilled to see our very own Catalyst Press publicist, Ashawnta Jackson, on the front page of Crime Reads today, with her fascinating piece on how depictions of women in murder ballads illuminate the history of gender-based violence.

In book awards news, the 2021 National Book Awards longlist, the Cundill History Prize shortlist, and the 2021 Kids’ Book Choice Awards finalists were all announced this week. And ICYMI, the Booker shortlist was released last week, and features Damon Galgut from South Africa! Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of September 19”

This Week in Literary News: Week of June 27

Congratulations are in order for author Tsitsi Dangarembga. The author and filmmaker who was recently shortlisted for the Booker Award for her novel This Mournable Body, has just been awarded the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade. She is the first Black woman to win the prize. We love Tsitsi around these parts, not just because she’s an amazing writer, but that she has championed two of our books— Young Blood by Sifiso Mzobe and The Theory of Fight by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu—naming them as two of her favorite books in a Vulture article last year, and providing a blurb for Siphiwe’s novel.

Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu | Photo © Joanne Olivier

And speaking of Siphiwe and congratulations, she was shortlisted for the Writing Gender residency sponsored by Huza Press and the Goethe Institut Kigali. The residency supports two authors–one African and one German—as “they complete or make significant advances with a work-in-progress novel manuscript.” The program hopes to make space “for opening up conversations about gender, its modes of construction, histories, representation and relationality to power.” We are so proud to publish Siphiwe’s novels, The Theory of Flight (out now) and The History of Man (coming January 2022). Good luck, Siphiwe!

Mahogany Browne has been named the first poet-in-residence at New York’s Lincoln Center. As the New York Times reports, the residency “will run from July to September and will include in-person and virtual events such as poetry readings, film screenings, discussions and performances.” Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of June 27”

This Week in Literary News: Week of June 20

DISRUPTION

In Catalyst Press news, the winners of this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize have been announced! We’re thrilled to be releasing Disruption, the newest Short Story Day Africa anthology, to the North American market in September. Disruption features stories from 21 new and emerging authors from across Africa, including the winning short stories of this year’s prize. Pre-orders are available now.

In celebrity book news, beloved British television host Graham Norton has a new memoir, James Patterson and Bill Clinton are back with more tropes, and Jared Kushner and President Joe Biden’s sister both signed book deals (sigh). And most important, Tsitsi Dangarembga became the first Black woman to win the prestigious Peace Prize of the German Book Trade! Go Tsitsi!

A literary heritage project in Australia is trying to save the nation’s books, and five organizations across the United States have started a collective fundraiser in support of Black literary arts. This week commemorates 121 years since the loss of the Hanlin Library (the what, you ask?). And in case you needed another reason to hate Amazon… Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of June 20”

This Week in Literary News: Week of June 6

MADAME LIVINGSTONE

This week marked the release of our third graphic novel— Madame Livingstone written by Christophe Cassiau-Haurie, illustrated by Barly Baruti, and translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger. You may remember this book from such illustrious appearances as The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and Foreword Reviews This historical tale of friendship and adventure is set in Congo during World War I. Stay tuned for a Q&A with the book’s creators later this month!

Mark your calendars for this great talk: On June 22, NYU’s Center for Black Visual Culture/Institute of African American Affairs presents a conversation with author Kevin Adonis Browne and Temple University Global Studies professor, Harvey R. Neptune on “Carnival and the Poetics of Caribbean Culture”

Over at AfroPop, an exploration of the Cuban intervention in Angola, and “Through music, interviews, and historical radio clips, producer Ned Sublette, author of Cuba and Its Music, tells the story of Cuba’s massive commitment in Africa, from the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and the subsequent independence of Congo, to the end of the Soviet Union in 1991.” Listen to the story here. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of June 6”

This Week in Literary News: Week of May 30

YOUNG BLOOD

We love seeing Catalyst Press authors in the news! This week, Young Blood author Sifiso Mzobe spoke with author Jacob Ross about crime writing in South Africa and the Caribbean, at Rofhiwa Books in Durham, NC. Check out the replay here. And this upcoming Wednesday, Rofhiwa Books hosts another Catalyst Press author, Barbara Boswell of Unmaking Grace, in conversation with Professor Shanna Benjamin about the intellectual legacies of Black women in South Africa and the US. Register for the event here, which will take place at 10:00am EST on this Wednesday July 9th. Barbara is also featured in a new essay collection about Black feminist writers of South Africa. She’s joined by a host of other amazing writers including Catalyst author Yewande Omotoso (Bom Boy). The collection got some great press this week.

It’s my favorite week of the year: which is 1. Hay Festival Week (which runs through this Sunday) and 2. The kickoff week of Pride Month! View the digital Hay Fest program to register for this weekend’s panels and catch up on all the ones you’ve already missed! Spoiler alert: it’s the best lineup yet. And to celebrate Pride, here’s a booklist from Harper’s Bazaar, queer romances from Book Riot, and a quiz to help you pick your first (and second, and third) LGBTQ+ read. Or check out the winners of the 33rd Annual Lambda Literary Awards, which celebrates LGBTQ+ books and authors, announced this week. Happy reading—and happy Pride! Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of May 30”