Tag: Bridget Krone | CatalystPress

The Spark: The Week of Big News Edition

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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.

And last up, don’t miss the virtual awards ceremony for this year’s Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards, happening Thursday October 27^th 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!

Continue reading “The Spark: The Week of Big News Edition”

Teaching Guides for The Cedarville Shop & the Wheelbarrow Swap

We’re thrilled with the reception that Bridget Krone’s newest middle-grade novel, The Cedarville Shop and the Wheelbarrow Shop has been getting since it was released in South Africa! Not only is it great to see a local author being supported (nearly 100 people turned out for Bridget’s book launch!), it’s validating to see that people are hungry for stories that reflect their home, their lives, and their experiences. In 1990, educator Rudine Sims Bishop published her groundbreaking essay “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors,” which spoke to the idea of books being a tool for empathy, understanding, and confidence:

Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created and recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience. Reading, then, becomes a means of self-affirmation, and readers often seek their mirrors in books.

That’s been something we’ve always looked toward in our children’s books, and Cedarville is another great addition. The novel, set in the small, impoverished village of Cedarville, centers on 12-year-old Boipelo Seku. When he reads an article about a Canadian man who, starting with a paperclip, makes trade-after-trade until he gets a house, Boi thinks that this might be a way to do the same for his own family. He hatches his own trading plan starting with a tiny clay cow he molded from river mud. Trade by trade, Boi and his best friend Potso discover that even though Cedarville lacks so many of the things that made the paperclip trade possible, it is fuller than either of them ever imagined.

The Spark: The “Wow, September is a big month” Edition

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September is both #NationalTranslationMonth and #WorldKidLitMonth, and to celebrate both at once, here’s an amazing reading of his YA novel Halley’s Comet by author and translator Hannes Barnard, as part of Translators Aloud’s month long celebration.

Caroline Kurtz, author of the memoirs A Road Called Down on Both Sides and recently released Today is Tomorrow, is giving a reading at Wordfest in Longview, Washington this coming Tuesday at 6pm PST, and Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, Windham Campbell Prize winning author of The Theory of Flight and The History of Man, got a nice mention in Lizzy Attree’s LA Times review of Glory, NoViolet Bulawayo’s Booker Prize shortlisted novel.

And finally, ICYMI, check out the announcement for Panel & Page, our newly launched graphic novel series which kicks off with the 2023 releases of Pearl of the Sea and KARIBA. Pre-orders available now

Continue reading “The Spark: The “Wow, September is a big month” Edition”

The Spark: The “Way to Go, Sifiso!” Edition

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Late last week, we received the amazing news that Young Blood, Sifiso Mzobe’s crime novel set in Durban’s Umlazi township, was shortlisted for the 2022 Hurston/Wright Foundation Legacy Award! The winner will be announced on October 27^th, but we’re so thrilled to see Sifiso on this incredible list of finalists. Read more about the book at the end of this post!

Huge congrats to Bridget Krone, the award-winning author of Small Mercies, for the launch of her newest middle grade novel, The Cedarville Shop and the Wheelbarrow Swap! To celebrate her South African pub date last week (don’t worry, USA readers! The book is available in North America and worldwide in just a few weeks), Top Class Books in Hilton, South Africa hosted a marvelous launch with almost 100 attendees. Bridget will spend the next few weeks touring schools in Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg, as well as attending book signings and readings.

Also this week, Today is Tomorrow author Caroline Kurtz was honored alongside her sister Jane and the Reverend Bill Chadwick during a virtual event hosted by the Presbyterian Writers Guild. Caroline’s first memoir, The Road Called Down on Both Sides: Growing Up in Ethiopia and America was awarded the Presbyterian Writers Guild’s Best First Book Award. You can read more about the event, and Caroline’s response to the award, here

And finally, The History of Man author Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu and Bom Boy author Yewande Omotoso will both be taking part as panelists at the 2022 Open Book Festival in Cape Town, September 2-4!

Continue reading “The Spark: The “Way to Go, Sifiso!” Edition”

The Spark: The “A bit short but packed with news!” Edition

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Tune in to two Catalyst author chats! This week, Lolo series author and illustrator Niki Daly chatted on South Africa’s CapeTalk radio with Lester Kiewit about his work. Give it a listen, and find out more about the Lolo series here. And mark your calendars for Friday August 12^th for the launch of Small Mercies author Bridget Krone’s newest middle-grade book, The Cedarville Shop and the Wheelbarrow Swap, hosted in Bridget’s hometown of Hilton, South Africa! If you can’t make it in person (it’s a bit of a long flight from the USA), the event will be livestreamed here at 12pm EST, Friday August 12^th.

The week in review

The shortlist for the inaugural Ursula K. Le Guin Prize were announced this week, the Center for Fiction announced its longlist for the First Novel Prize, and a new translation prize for South Asian literature was announced. The New York Times has a new books editor, Gillian Flynn is going to murder someone on a cruise, and Barack Obama released his 2022 summer reading list.

July is Disability Pride month, and we’ve been celebrating all month long! Here’s a great reading list to introduce you to disability literature, seven nonfiction audiobooks by disabled authors and fiction audiobooks with disabled protagonists. Get reading!

For thought provoking pieces, Felice Arenas writes about childless woman tropes, Lio Min explores gender and sexuality in anime, Oscar Hokeah chronicles Native American lives, and Helen Kapstein reports on what Americans can learn from South Africa’s Apartheid-era book banning. Jonny Diamond shared his thoughts on BookToken, the new NFT system for ebooks, and CNN investigates Joyce Carol Oates’ claims on Twitter that young white men are being “shut out” of publishing [Editor’s note: LOL, JCO]

Another Honor for Small Mercies

Congratulations to author Bridget Krone and illustrator Karen Vermeulen! The Skipping Stones Awards honor books that “promote an understanding of cultures, cultivate cooperation and/or encourage a deeper awareness of nature, ecology, and diversity.” The Skipping Stones award is yet another wonderful honor for this thoughtful and heartwarming middle-grade novel. The book has also been named a Best Middle-Grade Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews and an Outstanding International Books by the United States Board on Books for Young People. We’re so proud to publish Small Mercies.

Many thanks to Skipping Stones Magazine, Karen, Bridget, and all of the readers who have read, loved, and supported this book!

Continue reading “Another Honor for Small Mercies”

The Spark: The “Hey, that’s a lot of news” Edition

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Congratulations to Bridget Krone who was named a 2022 Skipping Stones Honor Award winner this week, for her debut novel Small Mercies! We are honored to publish both Small Mercies and Bridget’s second middle grade novel, The Cedarville Shop and the Wheelbarrow Swap, which comes out this September. Pre-order your copy now!

Also this week, The History of Man author Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu was featured in this amazing interview with The Rumpus to discuss the book’s complicated main character, Zimbabwean writers, Siphiwe’s literary influences, and more. And don’t miss this interview with our Catalyst Press staff on The Mystery of Writing!

This Wednesday July 13^th at 12pm EST, tune in to this virtual event with the 2022 AKO Caine Prize shortlisted authors, including our very own Idza Luhumyo, whose short story “Five Years Next Sunday” is featured in Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa. Register here, and while you’re at it, check out this great feature of Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa on Brittle Paper!

Visit Women Writers, Women’s Books to read a new essay from Today is Tomorrow author, Caroline Kurtz on the difficulties and rewards of writing memoir.

And lastly, huge congrats to Futhi Ntshingila for being longlisted for the 2022 Sunday Times Literary Awards, announced this week! We were lucky enough to publish Futhi’s novel We Kiss Them With Rain back in 2018.

The Spark: The “It’s May!” Edition

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Two Catalyst author events we’ve been waiting for have almost arrived! On Sunday May 22 at 1pm EST, join Richard Conyngham and Tumi Mamabolo, the author and one of the illustrators behind All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa, for “Archives and Storytelling,” a virtual event hosted by Interference Archive. The pair will be discussing how archives can be an important tool for creative storytelling, and how they used them to bring the stories in All Rise to life. The event is free, but registration is required. Sign up here, and don’t forget to pre-order your copy of the book which hits shelves next week!

To learn more about the creation of All Rise, check out this Q&A with the author, just released this week.

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Reading Naturally

It’s Earth Day! We’ve only got the one planet, and today (and every day) is a good day to reflect on the ways we can make it better— today and tomorrow. We have a few books, for readers of all ages, that tackle some of our biggest environmental issues from a variety of perspectives. And if you keep reading, you’ll also get a peek at some forthcoming titles that also explore our connection to the natural world.

What’s New in 2022

Fall is in the air here (translation: I’m already cold). As the calendar pages start falling away on 2021, we thought it’d be a good time to give you all a little sneak peek at our upcoming titles— many of which are available for pre-order.

We’re excited to add more books from one of our favorite children’s authors, Niki Daly, our very first young adult book in translation, and a new addition to our growing list of graphic novels. In addition to those, we think there’s something for just about every kind of reader in our 2022 catalog. Continue reading “What’s New in 2022”