“This place called Africa. You think you know it. You have learned about it in school. You have come across stories about it in the media. Perhaps, you have visited the place or better still live there and so you feel that you really know it. It is not until you pick up a book that you realize that you probably do not know this place called Africa — its many countries and peoples, its multitudes of languages and experiences, its overwhelming diversity and vibrancy — as well as you think you do. And that is the beauty and joy of reading African Literature — the constant discovery.”
—Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, author of The Theory of Flight and The History of Man
We started #ReadingAfrica Week in 2017 as an annual celebration of African literature. Each year, during the first full week of December (this year December 4-10), we ask book-lovers of all kinds to use the hashtags #ReadingAfrica or #ReadingAfricaWeek across social media on posts that spotlight African literature.
We started this campaign to bring attention to writers who are doing diverse and genre-spanning work from every corner of the African continent. And because we’re an indie publisher, we really wanted to spotlight all of the great things our colleagues in the indie publishing world are doing to bring these voices to more readers. Our first year was small: we reached out to just a few presses and asked them to use the hashtag on their social media posts to spotlight new books, old favorites, upcoming releases, and gems from their catalogs to show people the diversity of African literature.
Continue reading “Join Us for #ReadingAfrica Week 2022”
We’re dedicating this edition of The Spark to the newest Caine Prize winner, Idza Luhumyo. Idza’s story, “Five Years Next Sunday,” was named the winner of this year’s Caine Prize for African Writing. The award is given to “a short story by an African writer published in English […] The winner is awarded a cash prize of £10,000, and the other four shortlisted writers will receive £500 each.”
We are proud to have published Idza’s award-winning story in our release, Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa, co-published with Short Story Day Africa.
Congratulations to Idza, and all of the shortlisted authors!
Continue reading “The Spark: The Caine Prize Edition”Hot from the Press
Catch up on two great Catalyst author events:
Caroline Kurtz did a virtual reading with Annie Bloom’s Bookshop from her new book, Today is Tomorrow, a follow up to her award-winning memoir A Road Called Down on Both Sides: Growing up in Ethiopia and America. Today is Tomorrow, which reflects on the years Caroline and her husband spent working with war refugees in South Sudan and Kenya, is on sale April 19. Happy pub week, Caroline!
And on Friday, Johns Hopkins’ Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences hosted a great conversation with Windham-Campbell Prize winner Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu. We’re proud to be the North American publisher for Siphiwe’s The Theory of Flight and The History of Man, both available now!
And finally, the fourth book in Niki Daly’s beloved Lolo series, Fly High, Lolo, just received a starred review from School Library Journal! SLJ called the book “a beautiful addition to the series, and a worthy addition to library shelves.” Fly High, Lolo, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, is available for pre-order now. Continue reading “The Spark: The Long Weekend Edition”
Hot from the Press
We’re so excited to have officially launched our GlobalComix page last week! GlobalComix is a platform for comics readers and creatives anywhere in the world to discover, read and publish comics and graphic novels online. You can check out our publisher page to read all of our graphic novels from your phone or computer, and be sure to give us a follow to be the first to access our upcoming releases!
Get out your calendars, because our authors have some amazing events coming up! This coming Tuesday March 29 at 6:30pm Pacific Time, Catalyst authors Richard Conyngham (All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa – A Graphic History) and Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu (The History of Man) will be appearing at PubWest Live, a virtual event hosted by PubWest and Massy Arts. The event also features Christopher Chávez, author of The Sound of Exclusion: NPR and the Latinx Public. Register here!
And on April 5 at 7pm Pacific Time, join author Caroline Kurtz for a livestreamed reading and discussion of her new book Today is Tomorrow with Annie Bloom’s Books–and get a signed copy if you pre-order from Annie Bloom’s!
Continue reading “The Spark: Week of March 20”Our authors are busy these days, and it looks like they’re mostly busy with events— lots of events! So this edition of The Spark will put them all in one handy place, so that you can fill your month with literary goodness.
Wednesday, March 16 at 3:00pm South African Time: Joanne Hichens (Divine Justice) appears on the panel, “Beyond the Words in Shorts Stories,“ as part of the Time of the Writer Festival, a virtual festival sponsored by The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts. The panel will discuss how their work answers the question: what does being haunted and hauntings mean in our southern African world, in the past, the present and the future?
Tuesday, March 29, at 6:30pm PT: Authors Richard Conyngham (All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa) and Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu (The History of Man) will be appearing at PubWest Live, a virtual event hosted by PubWest and Massy Arts. The event also features Christopher Chávez, author of The Sound of Exclusion: NPR and the Latinx Public (University of Arizona Press). Register here
Tuesday, April 5, 7:00pm PT: Caroline Kurtz celebrates the release of her new memoir Today is Tomorrow with a virtual reading and discussion at Annie Bloom’s Books. And if you pre-order from Annie Bloom’s you can get a signed copy! More info and registration here
Friday, April 15, 12:00pm ET: Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu will be in conversation with Johns Hopkins University World Literature professor, Jeanne-Marie Jackson. Register here
Continue reading “The Spark: Events Edition”Welcome to The Spark, our weekly roundup of news from Catalyst and beyond. This is our first edition with our brand new fancy name. Think of The Spark as a quick burst of news, a little shorter than our monthly(ish) newsletter, but just as fun. A fun-sized version of the Catalyst news you know and love. If you’re not subscribed to the full-sized version, be sure to subscribe here!
Hot from the Press
Two great mentions for Catalyst Press authors this week! Nigerian author Wole Talabi named his top ten favorite stories of 2021, and two (!!) stories from Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa were listed (“Shelter” by Mbozi Haimbe, and “Five Years Next Sunday” by Idza Luhumyo). We are proud to be the North American publisher for Disruption, available in stores and online. And Consortium Library Express featured a sneak peak of Niki Daly’s newest Lolo book, Fly High, Lolo. Fly High, Lolo is available for pre-order now. For more info on the Lolo early reader series, check out the “From the Backlist” section below.
Continue reading “Introducing The Spark”We’ve changed our weekly literary news roundup just a bit for the new year. From now on, you’ll find tips on #ReadingAfrica all year round, great titles to check out from our backlist, and of course, other bookish news from across the internet. Think of this as a mini newsletter (for the regular-sized serving of our newsletter, subscribe here). Happy reading!
“These books may have hard topics but they essentially are a needed part of education. They might be brutal and hard to swallow, but they are the best examples of real-world problems and history.” Students give their thoughts on the book bans happening across the nation.
What a day! Both Toni Morrison and Audre Lorde were born on this day (February 18). Here are a few places to learn more about these two influential authors:
The Legacy of Audre Lorde at The Paris Review
Audre Lorde at the Poetry Foundation
The Genius of Toni Morrison’s Only Short Story at The New Yorker
13 Groundbreaking Toni Morrison Works to Read Right Now at Oprah Daily
We’ve changed our weekly literary news roundup just a bit for the new year. From now on, you’ll find tips on #ReadingAfrica all year round, great titles to check out from our backlist, and of course, other bookish news from across the internet. Think of this as a mini newsletter (for the regular-sized serving of our newsletter, subscribe here). Happy reading!
Public libraries are doing great, but literary magazines–not so much. Apple Books launched its new book club, and We Need Diverse Books started a grant for educators teaching diverse stories. The Rathbones Folio Prize and the Waterstone Children’s Book Prize announced their shortlists, and the National Book Foundation announced its inaugural titles for its new Science and Literature program. Ashley Bryan, beloved author of children’s books on Black lives including Beautiful Blackbird, died at age 98.
Continue reading “This Week in Literary News”Many thanks to all who participated in our annual #ReadingAfrica Week celebration! We’re already excited about next year. This last post comes from several of our authors and Catalyst staff, each expressing why they’re reading African lit, all year round.
One of the joys of my life is crossing cultures. It’s fascinating to peek into the hearts and minds of people we think are different from us and find instead the common humanity we share. Parents bond with their children; young people work at figuring out this complex world we’re born into; historical moments impact us; we adjust to our good and bad luck; we do the best we can. Reading books about Africans, African settings, and about the history of this great continent adds richness to my life. Thank you, Catalyst Press!
– Caroline Kurtz, author Today is Tomorrow and A Road Called Down on Both Sides
Continue reading “#ReadingAfrica 2021: Why We’re Reading Africa”
