One of the things that’s so important to us during #ReadingAfricaWeek is to stress that African literature isn’t one thing. There are different genres, styles, plots, voices, just like in any other place’s literature. But literature, at least for the time being, is still coming from Earth. And here on Earth, all of us know that some voices and some stories are heard more often than others. It’s why we were so excited to privilege women’s voices in our closing panel, and why we’re doing this post. When #ReadingAfrica, and trying to avoid the trap of the single narrative, make sure to add in queer voices, too. Here are a few places to start. Continue reading “#ReadingAfrica: Listening to LGBTQI+ Voices”
This Week in Literary News: The #ReadingAfrica Recap Edition
Hi everyone! Thanks so much for joining us this week for our fifth annual #ReadingAfrica Week, our annual celebration of African literature. In lieu of a literary news blog this week, we decided to give you a #ReadingAfrica recap, to share all of the fun activities we hosted this week in one place.
From virtual events to social media challenges to playlists, we wait all year for #ReadingAfrica, because it’s the best opportunity to interact with YOU, our Catalyst family. While our books celebrate African authors and African stories all year round, #ReadingAfrica is such a great way to bring everyone together and make some noise—and this year the noise was the loudest it has ever been!
So if you missed out on the fun, don’t worry: #ReadingAfrica week 2021 may be over, but thanks to our friends over at LitNet, LitHub, and CrimeReads, you can check out the full recordings and transcripts of the events you missed by clicking the links below. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: The #ReadingAfrica Recap Edition”
#ReadingAfrica for the Young Reader
We were so excited co-host a panel on children’s literature with World Kid Lit! If you missed this incredibly fun and thoughtful conversation, you can watch a recording here. When the panel ended, our amazing moderator, Bunmi, asked the group to share their favorite #ReadingAfrica books for young readers. You could, of course, watch the video in full, rewind and pause as needed, and then jot down their recommendations. But we won’t make you do that. Instead, you can keep reading for some great suggestions from the panel for books to share with the young reader in your life! You can also take a look at our #ReadingAfrica2021 list on Bookshop.org, which featured illustrated stories for all ages. Continue reading “#ReadingAfrica for the Young Reader”
#ReadingAfrica Week Children’s Literature Panel
One of our greatest joys in this work is being able to reach young readers. We love being able to publish books that educate, entertain, and bring compassion into the world. Our authors are truly the greatest. Our love of kid lit meant that there was that at least one of our #ReadingAfrica events would involve us talking about and championing books for young readers.
We’re thrilled about the panel that we were able to assemble for this fantastic conversation! You can watch a recording of the event below. Continue reading “#ReadingAfrica Week Children’s Literature Panel”
#ReadingAfrica Music Edition
This year, we’re excited to add a musical portion to our celebration with the addition of this very excellent playlist curated by Amanda Khiri. While hearing the music might be the best way to understand it, it’s certainly not the only way. For those of you who want to take your musical explorations a little further, here’s a great selection of books, articles, and websites that will help you dive deeper into what are, truly, some of the deepest waters there are. Continue reading “#ReadingAfrica Music Edition”
#ReadingAfrica Week Comics Panel
We love comics and graphic novel here at Catalyst! One of our earliest releases was Shaka Rising, a graphic novel exploring the life of a legendary Zulu king. We followed that up with a sequel—King Shaka—and a historical graphic novel in translation, Madame Livingstone. 2022 brings another, this time a graphic history, All RIse. That’s why we couldn’t be more excited for this #ReadingAfrica Week Comics/Graphic Novels panel.
Diasporaaaaah: A #ReadingAfrica Playlist
This guest post is by musician and writer, Amanda Khiri, who has graciously provided our event with its official soundtrack. Amanda, an informal and formal student of jazz since 12, has finally entered into a marriage of the old and new, both lo, and hi-fi. After a stint as half of the duo of Z&A, a Brooklyn-born, electro-soul collaboration with Jake Zavracky in 2013, she started backing up the eclectic afro-funk band, Sinkane; lending her vocals to Sinkane’s 2014 critically acclaimed release, Mean Love, and toured internationally for the next album Life and Livin’ It. Amanda also toured with Luaka Bop’s collective nod to William Onyeabor’s work, with a project called The Atomic Bomb! Band and recorded with that diverse cast when they made their tribute album.
Amanda has shared stages with David Byrne, Money Mark, Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip), Jamie Lidell, Darius Jones, Jon Cowherd, Danny Fox and Charles Lloyd. In September of 2016, Amanda co-produced a second installment of Women Under The Influence: A Night of Nina Simone, with Jonathan Lam as musical director and a diverse roster of artists like Nancy Whang, Luca Bennedetti, Jon Cowherd, Helado Negro, jaytram and others.