Tag: African Literature

#WritingCrime Wrap-up

On October 10, we hosted a Twitter conversation between Brussels Noir editor Michel Dufranne ( and our own Chanette Paul (). These two great writers were talking all things #WritingCrime. We’re hoping that this first of many author conversations we host. If you missed their chat, here are a few highlights:

On what makes Belgium such an intriguing setting for their work:

SacrificedChanette: As my Mom was Dutch I’ve always had a great interest in the Low Countries and understand the language. That made it easier to try and figure out how Belgians think, how they see the world. The parallels between the Belgian Congo and South Africa’s apartheid years made a perfect background for my story. The parallels between the Belgian Congo and South Africa’s apartheid years made a perfect background for my story. South Africa’s current problems strongly echo the consequences after the Belgian Congo became independent.

Michel: Brussels is a concentrate of diversities: a city as large as a village, 1 million inhabitants capital of EU and NATO, a French-speaking city in the heart of Flanders, a city made up of a multitude of communities. Like any cocktail the mix can be indigestible and explosive. Perfect for

On bringing social issues into crime writing:

Chanette: I want to entertain, not to educate. If something can be learned from my books it is a bonus. However, it would please me if Sacrificed gives insight into the complicated and conflicted life we live in South Africa/Africa. If it draws attention to the grey areas between white and black, good and evil, good intentions and bad intentions.

Michel: [I’m tired] of hearing the international media say “Brussels decided…” Brussels can’t be summarized in its role as the capital of the EU. Brussels is my city. Brussels is complex.

On love of place:

Chanette: Sacrificed explores to a great extend how one can still deeply love a country that has turned inside out. How you can love a country that has been become so dangerous the free live barricaded behind bars? But it also explores what happens when one feels a country has been stolen from you, how you view descendants and accomplices of the thieves that stole your country and mistreated its inhabitants. It explores one’s inexplicable emotional entanglement with your place of birth.

Michel: I have the right to criticize my mother, but anyone who wants to criticize her must be wary because I will defend her!

On Diversity in Crime Fiction and Beyond

Michel: It’s a recent and social fight. Most of the time heroes are white people. For young readers some projects integrate more diversity of society (e.g. Seuls), but it’s the same for all “archetypes;” There’s no fat heroes, there are few women…

Advice for young female writers entering the genre:

Chanette: Be brave! Write and believe in yourself and what you have to say.

————

Sacrificed is available for purchase now at Amazon and IndieBound. Visit Akashic Books for more information on Brussels Noir, and their entire Noir series.

 

 

 

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!