Category: News

We Kiss Them With Rain Selected as a 2019 Outstanding International Book

Huge congratulations to Futhi Ntshingila, whose book We Kiss Them With Rain was just selected as a 2019 Outstanding International Book by The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)!

The awards honors international books for young people that give American readers a unique insight into lives from around the world. Futhi’s book is honored in the grades 9-12 category (although we think it’s an excellent choice for readers of all ages!). You can see the full list of honorees here. And you can order Futhi’s book here.

Congratulations, Futhi!

 

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”

From the Editor’s Desk: 2018 Reflections

This comes from our newsletter series, From the Editor’s Desk, where Catalyst founder/publisher, Jessica, gives you a peek behind the Catalyst curtain. Subscribe to our newsletter to get more looks inside Catalyst HQ, author Q&As, giveaways, and more!

I have to tell you the truth, I’m feeling kind of tired. But it’s a good tired! 2018 was a whirlwind year (following 2017, its own kind of whirlwind) and included many firsts. For this Editor‘s Desk column, I thought I’d tell you what some of those firsts were–all of them worthy of celebration. And hopefully I’ll find some time to do just that this month–celebrate all the firsts of 2018. Continue reading “From the Editor’s Desk: 2018 Reflections”

Coming Attractions

We’ve had a good year so far. Since January, we’ve released four books making our current catalog six books deep. We’re really proud of the work we’ve been able to do since we’ve launched, and we’re excited about what the future holds.

Let’s talk about the future.

We can’t wait for you to read our next releases. There are kid’s books, thrillers, sci-fi, graphic novels, memoirs, fiction, non-fiction, you name it. We thought we’d share some of the great Catalyst titles coming to bookstores in the next year. Some are available for pre-order right now, if that’s your thing (we hope it’s your thing). And if you’re looking for any of our current titles, they are for sale right here on this very site, if that’s your thing (we hope that’s your thing, too). You can keep up with us as we share more news about these releases by signing up for our newsletter. Continue reading “Coming Attractions”

Check Your Mailbox! Shaka’s on the Way!

Pretty soon, a whole bunch of you will be walking to your mailboxes, and there, tucked between a magazine, grocery store flyers, an electric bill, and all of the other assorted things that show up in the mail these days, will be something we’re super proud of—a copy of Shaka Rising. Through your support and generosity, we were able to fund our Kickstarter project and get started on the next installment of our African Graphic Novel Series. It’s all because of you.

When we joined forces with the good folks at Jive Media Africa to form the imprint Story Press Africa, it was because we wanted to share all the wonder, the excitement, and the richness of African history and knowledge. Historical figures like Shaka have a lot to tell us about, not just African history, but about our world, and we’re thrilled to share it with you.

A lot of people made this happen. A lot of people cared about sharing Shaka’s story with their kids, their libraries, and their communities and that’s why we made our goal—people like you supported this brand new thing we’ve started. Shaka Rising is the first in a long, long line of African Graphic Novel from Story Press Africa. We’re just getting started and we’re so happy to have you along for the ride.

Thanks for believing in us and the work we’re doing! If you like Shaka Rising, be sure to spread the word! Leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, your website, or in some sort of elaborate semaphore (if you pick semaphore, please send a video. We’d love to see that). Let your schools, libraries, and community groups know that you got your hands on an awesome graphic novel that’s teaching African history in a fun and accessible way, and that they should get in on it, too. Basically, tell everyone you know that Shaka Rising is here and that because of you, a second installment is on the way.

A big THANK YOU to all of you who donated to our campaign, and be sure to keep watching to see what’s next for us! An especially huge thanks to our partners at Jive Media Africa!

Many thanks to our donors:

Einar Petersen
Mary Fountaine
Emily Dietrick
Ntsike
Anonymous
Erin Subramanian
Jamil Burns
Paul Glasser
Ray “Raytoons.Net” Mullikin
Noel Mills
Chandra Orrill
Shean, Semeicha and Sapphira Mohammed
Robert L Vaughn
Tinsley
Lisa Jensen
In honor of Michael Kromberg
Mary Puthoff
Tessa Moon Leiseth
Peter LaPrade
The Spitzers
Rosie Tullis-Thompson
The Briar Patch
Nate Gillespie
Maureen Babb
Rico Schacherl
The Bells
Mark Gunter
Rachel
Matt Powers
Kathy Shepler
Alberta Jackson
Catherine Ndungu-Case
Assembly of Literatures for Adolescents of NCTE
Derek W.
Matty Sankauskas
Anonymous
Dennis and Becky
Helen Musselman
Edi
Glynnis Belchers
Justin
Kathleen Shannon
Sarah
Scott
Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and Platinum Studios

 

Chanette Paul Guest Posts at Crime Thriller Hound

Chanette Paul’s newest release, the continent and era spanning thriller Sacrificed was featured as the book of the week at the site Crime Thriller Hound, a site promoting “the best in crime and thriller fiction.” She was also invited to write a guest post for the site on her experiences of writing and place.

Some highlights:

On writing about Belgium:

Once I started writing, it dawned on me that I wasn’t so much a novelist attempting to set a story in a foreign European country, but rather a novelist from Africa writing from an African perspective.

On bridging the gap between South African and foreign readers:

The historic and political context needed clarification to an international audience without stunting the flow of the story –which is difficult enough – but I also had to avoid boring my South African readers.

On writing about her home:

I learned to look through intercontinental eyes and rediscover the mystery and uniqueness of the continent I live on and love.

Head over to Crime Thriller Hound to read her full essay

Jessica Powers Interviewed by Literary Ashland

Check out this great interview with the awesome publisher/editor/writer/teacher/have we missed anything? Jessica Powers over at Literary Ashland! Some highlights:

On choosing the name Catalyst:

Books are my friends, my mentors, my spiritual advisors and my spiritual practice, my intellectual stimulation, my downtime. I believe strongly in the power of books to change individuals and, by changing individuals, to change communities and institutions and perhaps even nations. So I do see my books as a “catalyst for change,” specifically, change in mindset, values, and understandings of North Americans & Europeans towards Africa and Africans.

On leaving academia:

When you have a real passion for research and writing academic articles and books, then those expectations don’t feel like a burden—but for me, they were a burden. I was grateful for my time there and very grateful for the mentors I had, but I felt freed upon leaving—freed to do what I am really called to do in life, which is to write, and also to help others write.

On what she looks for as a publisher:

I want to publish and read books that are fast reads, on the one hand, but layered with multiple and complex meanings.

Check out the complete interview at Literary Ashland.

Women in Translation Month, Futhi Ntshingila

We’ve loved seeing all of the awesome women being spotlighted as part of this year’s Women in Translation Month. Such an incredible and diverse group of writers. We’d like to introduce you to our own writers who are working in translation. You can read our first post here. Continue reading “Women in Translation Month, Futhi Ntshingila”

Women in Translation Month, Chanette Paul

In her post introducing this year’s Women in Translation Month, the event’s creator Meytal Radzinski writes about what she hopes comes from this year’s event:

People learning about the publishing imbalance in translation between men and women. People seeking out new and diverse literature by women writers from around the world. And people doing it not out of any sense of obligation or guilt, but because there are so many good books that this just becomes a month that focuses their reading.

It’s not just about this August, or next August, but about celebrating diverse literature every day. Expanding just one month’s reading list can open up a world of possibilities, of viewpoints, of ideas. It’s what we hope our books do for our readers, and, more to the point, what we hope reading does. We step outside of our lives every time we open a book, and whether that new experience brings us joy, or thrills, or sadness, or knowledge, we leave with more understanding. Now, more than ever, we need to look towards diverse voices and perspectives in art and listen to their stories.

As part of Women in Translation Month, we’d like to introduce you to some of our authors who are working in translation. First up, Chanette Paul:

Chanette is a South African author of more than 40 books in her native language Afrikaans. On October 10, we are pleased to release her first English-language novel Sacrificed (translated by Elsa Silke), a translation of Offerlam. Sacrificed follows Caz Colijn from the Congo’s diamond mines to Belgium’s finest art galleries, and from Africa’s civil unrest to its deeply spiritual roots in her search for the truth about her trouble past.

Continue reading “Women in Translation Month, Chanette Paul”

Interview with Catalyst Founder Jessica Powers

While at the recent ALA Conference, our superhero founder Jessica Powers took some time out to speak with Lisa Degliantoni from the podcast The Lisa D Show.

Their conversation covers Jessica’s road from African Studies PhD student to independent publisher (with a few stops along the way for teaching, motherhood, novel-writing and publishing, a long-time career as an editor, and, well, all the life that happened in between). Have a listen!