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!
Huge congratulations to Futhi Ntshingila and her new novel They Got To You Too, awarded the Sharjah International Book Fair Prize 2022 this week! Futhi is the author of the novel We Kiss Them With Rain, which we published in 2018 and you can check out below in the “From the Backlist” section. We’re so proud of you, Futhi!
We’re gearing up for #ReadingAfrica 2022, this year from Sunday December 4th through Saturday December 10th! All week long, make sure to share your favorite African reads and tell us why you’re #ReadingAfrica by sharing the #ReadingAfrica and #ReadingAfricaWeek hashtags on all of your social media platforms. And as part of the celebration, we’re lining up an amazing virtual events program and we’ll be announcing the events over our socials in the next two weeks, so make sure to give us a follow on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. Read more about #ReadingAfrica here, and a very special shoutout to Squid Mag for featuring #ReadingAfrica this week! Continue reading “The Spark: The “Have I Run Out of Cute Titles?” Edition”
Happy pub week to The Cedarville Shop and the Wheelbarrow Swap! This is the second middle-grade novel from South African author Bridget Krone that we’ve had the privilege to publish (we published Small Mercies in 2020) and we’re so excited to share it with you. Kirkus Reviews called it “a compelling look at friendship and community uplift under harsh circumstances.” Congrats, Bridget!
We’re so thrilled to have been named one of five finalists for the Amber Grant for Women’s September grant! This amazing organization gives $10,000 to a women-owned small business every single month, and we’re very grateful for their recognition and support. [Ed note: We, unfortunately, weren’t awarded the Amber grant, but we are so proud to be part of this amazing group of women entrepreneurs! And we extend our huge congratulations to grantee Brandy Witherow, owner of Lemon Island Seafood, and all of the Amber Grant finalists!]
Two authors from Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa, Innocent Chizaram Ilo and Caine Prize winner Idza Luhumyo, are featured in this great article from Afrocritik highlighting “15 emerging and gifted voices amplifying African literature”. Disruption, which we co-published last year with the South African non-profit Short Story Day Africa, features stories from Innocent, Idza, and 19 other emerging authors from Africa.
SIFISO MZOBE
And last up, don’t miss the virtual awards ceremony for this year’s Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards, happening Thursday October 27th at 6pm EST. We’re so thrilled that Sifiso Mzobe and his debut novel Young Blood were selected as a finalist for this year’s award. We’re rooting for you, Sifiso!
We are so excited to announce the launch of our newest series, Panel & Page! The new series is where we’ll be publishing most of our upcoming graphic novels, and we’re so excited to use this announcement to officially tell you about all of the amazing graphic novels you can expect in 2023. You can find out more about Pearl of the Sea and KARIBA—our two upcoming releases from South Africa—and how they’re connected to the award-winning animation studio Triggerfish in this awesome mention here. And speaking of graphic novels, many thanks to World Kit Lit’s Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp for highlighting Shaka Rising—our very first graphic novel release— as one of her top 12 global children’s books for history lovers this week on Words Without Borders!
Lots of events on the way! Caroline Kurtz, author of the award-winning memoir A Road Called Down on Both Sides and the recently-released Today is Tomorrow, visits Chapters Books in Newberg, OR on October 7th as part of the city’s First Friday Artwalk. Also be sure to mark your calendars for Thursday October 27th at 6pm EST for the virtual 2022 Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards ceremony, where Young Blood author Sifiso Mzobe is being honored alongside the other shortlisted authors! And last up, we’re so excited that four Catalyst authors will be taking part in this amazing South African book tour hosted by Atlas Book Club founder Bunmi Emenanjo, where she’ll be bringing overseas visitors to South Africa to explore the country’s incredible beauty and wonderfully diverse literary scene.
