It’s reading season! The Catalyst team has assembled some of our favorites for all the book-lovers on your gift list this year!
Got a young bookworm at home? Here are my top picks for teen and tween readers.—SarahBelle Selig, South African office manager/publicity
A young boy brings his community together in a creative way in The Cedarville Shop & the Wheelbarrow Swap. Set in the last days of South Africa’s apartheid-era, Halley’s Comet finds three teens in an unlikely friendship, bound by a shared secret. An ancient prophesy sets 16-year-old Ebba on a quest to save the world in The Thousand Steps, book one of the Fiery Spiral trilogy.
Introducing our readers to new and emerging voices in the literary space is our favorite thing to do here at Catalyst Press. One voice in particular stands out to me this year: Tsitsi Mapepa, the debut author of Ndima Ndima, which releases on November 7th.
Born and raised in Zimbabwe, now living in New Zealand, Tsitsi received her Master’s in Creative Writing from the University of Auckland in 2020. Her work is honest, heart-wrenching, and illuminating—and we are so honored to share it with our readers.Booklist calls Ndima Ndima “[a] truly insightful debut from an exciting new Zimbabwean author with a talent for writing the human experience,” and we couldn’t agree more!
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Tsitsi and chat a little bit about this incredible story.
Tsitsi Mapepa
SarahBelle Selig: Tsitsi. thank you so much for making time to speak with me! To start off, tell me about the process of writing Ndima Ndima.
Tsitsi Mapepa: I am a perfectionist, I want things organized, but when it comes to my writing, I am a pantser (I work by the seat of my pants). The stories in Ndima Ndima were never written in order. It helped me when I got stuck, unsure of what to write following the finished story. So I jumped to the most exciting stories I had in mind. I still do this, even when I’m writing a novel. I know some writers would find it strange and time consuming when it comes to structural development, but that’s just how I craft my stories.
SS: Have you always enjoyed writing?
TM: Yes, I started writing when I was young. When I was in high school I attempted writing a novel, which I never finished. And I also wrote a collection of poetry on loose papers and notebooks.
SS: You emigrated from Zimbabwe in 2007. What was been your expat experience? Did writing Ndima Ndima feel like going home?
TM: I moved to New Zealand because my husband was already here. So, for the two of us, it was a new beginning. For me, the most challenging thing was raising our children in the absence of our closed ones. In our culture, we strongly rely on other family members for extra support.
When it came to creating the landscape in Ndima Ndima, it was like scraping for the images of a home buried at the core of my heart. This part of the novel left me with a smiling soul, because I could see what I miss on the page.
While our authors make us special, without SarahBelle Selig and Izak de Vries as part of our team, Catalyst Press would be missing a huge part of its heart and soul. While our U.S. team members keep things humming a world away, these two have made us a truly international company. Whether through their connections with South Africa’s literary community, or with the kind of personal touch that only comes from a face-to-face meeting, they have helped build Catalyst South Africa into, what we hope, is a part of the local reading scene. We couldn’t do any of this without them. Ashawnta Jackson, a U.S.-based Catalyst team member, chatted to the pair about their work.
SarahBelle Selig and Izak de Vries
SarahBelle, can you tell us a bit about your role at Catalyst? What is the South African branch up to?
Specifically in South Africa, I’ve got a bit of a liaison role, which means I’m working face to face with our local authors, our South African distributor, and the many great booksellers and educators we’re connected with here. Izak and I also tag team our local publicity: everything from getting reviews for our authors in South African media, to getting them on panels at festivals.
We’re having so much fun at Catalyst South Africa these days! We’ve ramped up our events, from book launches and comics workshops, to author readings at local school libraries and even a beach cleanup. We hosted a booth at the inaugural Comic Con Cape Town to show off our amazing line up of African graphic novels and to connect with readers. We’re busy prepping the release of our first ever Afrikaans book for kids, and we’re actively building out our relationships with local nonprofits, bookstores, and schools. The Catalyst office is definitely the most active here that it’s ever been, I’d say.
And we’re back! We rejoin the Pearl of Sea team in part two of our Q&A. Missed part one? Check it out here to get all caught up. We’ll wait….
Now that that’s all set, let’s jump back in to the conversation with the writers and illustrators of our newest graphic novel, Pearl of the Sea. Pearl joins a host of new and forthcoming releases as part of Panel & Page, our series of graphic novels for readers of all ages. You’ll be hearing a lot more about other books in the series in the coming months.
In part two of our conversation, Anthony, Raffaella, and Willem discuss the process of bringing words and images together, their love of comics books, and how their new book shows “the importance of opening up and not being scared of showing our vulnerabilities.”
At the end of January, we finally get to share Pearl of the Sea with the world—an absolutely stunning middle-grade graphic novel about a young South African girl who meets a sea monster while abalone poaching. Everyone at Catalyst has loved working with Pearl of the Sea’s incredible creative team—Anthony Silverston, RaffaellaDelle Donne, and Willem Samuel of Cape Town’s renowned Triggerfish Animation Studio—to bring this book to global readers, and it’s been such a treat to receive such amazing reviews in the months leading up to its release. If you haven’t already, make sure to pre-order your copy right now, or check out the book in stores January 31st (or March 1st for readers in South Africa).
Today, I have the immense privilege of introducing you to Anthony, Raffaella and Willem as we chat about the making of this remarkable graphic novel. Let’s dive in!
We’re so excited for the upcoming release of All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa, a graphic history of six untold legal cases that shaped the civil rights history of South Africa. Set during the pre-apartheid years, the acts of resistance and rebellion brought to life in All Rise were spearheaded by ordinary citizens from marginalized communities on a mission to improve the safety and freedoms of themselves and their loved ones. Each story is illustrated by a different South African illustrator, creating a visually arresting anthology representative of the vast beauty and complex multicultural history of the “Rainbow Nation”.
I’ve been an observer of this project from afar for many years, so it’s thrilling to see it all come together in print. And today I have the privilege of chatting with the author and historian behind the anthology, Richard Conyngham. Born and raised in South Africa and now living in Mexico City, Richard has degrees from the University of Cape Town and Cambridge University and many years of education and literary work under his belt, having worked with organizations like Equal Education, The Bookery, the London publisher Slightly Foxed, and the edtech organization MakeTomorrow. Back in 2016, he collaborated on his first graphic history with the Trantaal Brothers, an artist duo out of Cape Town (who also illustrated a chapter of All Rise), to create an illustrated companion to the O’Regan-Pikoli Commission of Inquiry into policing in Khayelitsha.
Richard spent the last six years researching and creating All Rise, and all that hard work has paid off to create a truly amazing end result. The collection is getting all sorts of hype from big names in the literary, comics and history worlds alike–including a Starred (!!) review from Kirkus–and we can’t wait to share the book with you when it hits the shelves on May 17th.
We’re thrilled to team up with author Glynnis Hayward to distribute her newest novel,Roads and Bridges,in South Africa.
Glynnis, a Pulitzer Center award-winning writer, was born and raised in South Africa. After graduating from the University of Natal in KwaZulu Natal, she taught English before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s. Roads and Bridges, which follows an American Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa as she attempts to adopt a young orphan and falls for a local man, is her fourth novel. Her first three—A Telling Truth, A Significant Test of Blood, and Light on a Dark Secret—are all set primarily in South Africa and California.
Before Roads and Bridges’ November 1st release, we caught up with Glynnis to chat about being an expat, opening oneself up to others’ truths, and navigating the many liminalities—cultural, emotional, and spiritual—explored in her new novel.
We are so excited to be the North American publisher for Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa. This thought-provoking anthology is the latest collection from Short Story Day Africa, a non-profit established to develop and share the diversity of Africa’s voices through publishing and writing workshops. And though we usually do author Q&As for our new releases, because this release features 21 authors, we’ve decided to do something a little different.
We’ve talked to some of the Disruption authors, and asked them to share some thoughts about why they write. What compels them to fill blank pages with words, images, scenes, and dialogue. What keeps them writing when it’s hard, when it feels like the words won’t come, when that story you need to tell just won’t let you go. And they answered. With thoughtful, smart, inspiring statements about what keeps them going (Responses have been edited for clarity)
Note: This post is originally from November 2019. We’re sharing it again because we’re excited to release the second book in Helen’s trilogy—The Rising Tide—on July 13, 2021. Learn more about the book, and order your copy here. You can also enter to win a copy of The Rising Tide at Goodreads. The giveaway runs through July 6.
We’re so excited to add more books for young readers to our catalog. It has always been a part of who we are. We recognize the importance of giving kids and young adults the tools they need to be readers for life. One of the most important tools is giving them books that speak to them and their experiences. Books that value their voices and their concerns. It’s one of the many reasons we’re so proud to publish The Thousand Steps by Helen Brain.
The Thousand Steps is the first in Helen’s futuristic Fiery Spiral trilogy, and 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. Helen’s book deftly explores race, class, and climate change while telling a story that will captivate young readers. School Library Journal praised the book writing, “This novel will draw readers in with its high stakes and well-developed characters.”
We love graphic novels. Over the years, we have published two graphic novels for young readers by Luke Molver on the life of legendary Zulu leader, King Shaka. We’re excited to release another graphic novel exploring another piece of African history— Madame Livingstone: Congo and the First World War. This historical graphic novel for adult readers is a story of war, adventure, and friendship.
Gaston Mercier, a lieutenant in the Royal Belgian Army, arrives at Lake Tanganyika, Congo in 1915 on orders to sink a critical German warship, the Graf Von Götzen. To aid him on this mission, he is paired with a local guide, an enigmatic mixed-race African and the supposed son of the famous explorer, David Livingstone, nicknamed “Madame Livingstone” for the Scottish kilt he wears. Together, while the pair hunts down the ship, Mercier learns more about the land around him and discovers the irrevocable and tragic effects of colonialism on the local people.
Madame Livingstone is written by Christophe Cassiau-Haurie, illustrated by Barly Baruti, and translated from the French by Ivanka Hahnenberger. Christophe is the author of several comics and graphic novels, and is a library curator and comics specialist. He is currently Director of Public Services for the National and University Library of Strasbourg. Barly is is a renowned Congolese cartoonist, and the co-founder of the Atelier de Création et de l’Initiation à l’Art (Creative Workshop for an Initiation to Art) to encourage talented youth in Kinshasa. Ivanka is a translator who has translated notable books such as Blue is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh, and recently, the award-winning Catherine’s War by Julia Billet and illustrated by Claire Fauvel. We chatted with all three to talk about their work, the comic scene across the African continent, and what it was like to bring this work to a new audience. Continue reading “Q&A with the Authors and Translator of Madame Livingstone”
