Tag: Divine Justice | CatalystPress

This Week in Literary News: Week of September 19

First up, a few Catalyst events coming your way in the next few weeks! Tomorrow, Saturday 25^th at 9am EST (15:00 South Africa time), join The Theory of Flight author Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu as she chats with the Harare Book Club, by joining live on Twitter and Instagram @hararebookclub. And mark your calendars for 10:00pm EST on October 3rd, when Siphiwe will be participating in the Who? New! panel at the Brooklyn Book Festival!

Also tomorrow: from 10am to 1pm UK time (11:00 to 14:00 in South Africa, or 5am to 8am EST for our early birds in the USA!), join Divine Justice author Joanne Hichens as she cohosts a Crime Writing Workshop on Zoom. Can’t do the live session? The self-pace version will be available on All About Writing‘s website starting September 28^th.

Finally, we’re so thrilled to see our very own Catalyst Press publicist, Ashawnta Jackson, on the front page of Crime Reads today, with her fascinating piece on how depictions of women in murder ballads illuminate the history of gender-based violence.

In book awards news, the 2021 National Book Awards longlist, the Cundill History Prize shortlist, and the 2021 Kids’ Book Choice Awards finalists were all announced this week. And ICYMI, the Booker shortlist was released last week, and features Damon Galgut from South Africa! Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of September 19”

This Week in Literary News: Week of September 12

In the upcoming months, you’re going to have a lot of opportunities to see Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu in person, well, virtually in-person. On September 25, the Theory of Flight author visits the Harare Book Club, and on October 3, she heads to the Brooklyn Book Fair. Visit our event calendar to find out more, and stay tuned for more events! The Theory of Flight is out now, and her follow-up The History of Man is out in January.

One school district doesn’t quite get the spirit of Banned Books Week. Students at a a Pennsylvania school are protesting “after their school board’s conversation about a proposed diversity curriculum turned into a list of banned books,” LitHub reports. The books are all written by authors of color and/or feature characters of color, which the school board insists in just a coincidence. Also a coincidence: this link to Banned Books Week, which highlights the “shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.” Banned Book Week runs from September 26 – October 2. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of September 12”

This Week in Literary News: Week of May 16

Lots to get into this week, so let’s do it!

On May 22, the Harlem Arts Alliance is hosting “Voices of the Coast,” an online exhibit and panel discussion that will “unite the voices and coasts of visual artists and cultural commentators from Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, and the African Diaspora.” The companion exhibition is scheduled for later this year.

Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate saw a picture “that would catapult her to global fame — not for what it showed, but for what it did not.” Great article in the New York Times exploring Nakate’s story of erasure, racism, being “a fighter for the people and the planet,” and her new book set for release this November.

And, hey, if you’re already at The New York Times, be sure to check out their Globetrotting feature of new and forthcoming international books. We’re thrilled to see our very own Madame Livingstone there!

Prepare to have your mind blown over at New Frame as Rofhiwa Maneta talks to multidisciplinary artist Nolan Dennis about his work a.sun.black, “an online game – or digital essay game, as he refers to it – that shares seminal Black liberation texts in the same fragmented way he was led to Black liberation theory.” Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of May 16”

Sifiso Mzobe in The Big Thrill

We are thrilled to be the US publisher for Sifiso Mzobe’s multi-award-winning novel Young Blood. This gripping coming-of-age/crime novel is set in the South African township of Umlazi and centers on Sipho, a teenager who finds himself spiraling deeper and deeper into the township’s criminal underworld. How far can he push his luck before there’s no turning back?

Sifiso recently sat down with Joanne Hichens for an interview with The Big Thrill Magazine about his work and the novel. If that interviewer’s name sounds familiar, it’s because Joanne can also be seen around Catalyst HQ (virtually, anyway) as the author of another one of our books— Divine Justice, which is also out now! Continue reading “Sifiso Mzobe in The Big Thrill”

This Week in Literary News: Week of February 14

In Catalyst news, Divine Justice author Joanne Hichens was this week’s guest blogger on the popular Murder is Everywhere blog, and The Theory of Flight author Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu received a rave review from Rupture Mag, who called the book, “an intelligent novel with a big heart.”

It’s Black History Month! To celebrate, here’s a quick read about Toni Morrison‘s time as a Random House editor, a crash course on the wonderful Zora Neale Hurston, a coder making stories by authors of color more accessible to young readers through the app We Read Too, and a new book highlighting the contributions of Black creators, publishers, and booksellers to the comics industry.

It was also Valentine’s Day this week, and we’re blaming Geoffrey Chaucer. (This article also wins the award for the most brutal subtitle of all time).

In book news, the longlist was just announced for the Carnegie Medal, and LitHub has started spotlighting the finalists of the NBCC Award. A 1943 copy of Peter Pan was found in a railway station in France and the search for the owner has gone viral. Book Riot‘s Jessica Plummer continued her Fashion Disasters and Fashion Heroes series with Beast Boy. Tune into a Florida lesbian literature festival next weekend, or the Little Free Library‘s Unbound series. If Netflix is more your vibe, here’s some inside scoop on the Netflix adaptations of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before: Always and Forever and Behind Her Eyes (which apparently has such a wild ending that it inspired the #WTFThatEnding hashtag).

In celebrity book news, Bill Gates’ new book on climate change came out this week, basketball star Chris Paul is releasing a memoir in September, and Mark Hamill (aka Luke Skywalker) has a new Dr.Seuss-esque children’s book about masking up in COVID times. All proceeds will go to World Central Kitchen. Celebrity magician Wayne Alan is releasing a book detailing the history of magic shows in the White House, and the Navy SEAL who oversaw the Bin Laden raid and the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips is publishing a children’s book about simple life lessons. The cast for the new Hulu adaptation of Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends was just announced, and Reese Witherspoon is starting an Instagram cooking show called #EatTheBook, where she’ll cook recipes inspired by her book club picks.

Book list round-up: practice self-love with these 16 self-love books, then check out these 10 modern retellings of classic stories. Here’s New York Times‘ picks for new visual books, Bustle’s picks for rom-coms, celebrity book club picks for February, and new YA reading recommendations from The Nerd Daily. For my friends in the States three-feet-deep in snow (it’s a balmy 75 degrees here in Cape Town), here’s some children’s books about snow and 11 amazing literary couples to cozy up with for the weekend while your power’s out. Bookmark this: 50 great classic novels under 200 pages. And my personal favorite list of the week, here’s ten bestselling books written by new mothers during maternity leave (yes, we’re making a point here: maternity leave rocks).

In South Africa news, eight-year-old comic book author Prince Mashawana, pen-named SuperMash, will become the youngest TEDx speaker ever in Johannesburg this April, and DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille announced her upcoming book, Stay Woke – Go Broke, on the threat American culture wars pose to South Africans.

For some thought provoking reads, here’s Jeffrey Davies on the joys of reading slower, Laura Sackton on why she’s reading mediocre books, and Ross Gay on the necessity of sadness. Check out these original reviews of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the year it was released, and Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary discussing their suicides. Bestselling authors pick their top romantic moments in literature, and speaking of love, my top article of the week: should we be using sex to help us discover book structure?

And finally, here’s a quiz to waste some time on. I got Elizabeth Bennett and it pretty much made my month.

This Week in Literary News: Week of January 31

Lots of great stuff from all around the book world this week. Let’s get right to it!

Georgia College & State University is hosting a virtual African Writers Festival this month, featuring some amazing writers including Mona Eltahawy, Maaza Mengiste, and Novuyo Tshuma, among many, many more.

Black history is often reduced to moments, and those moments can become myths. As great as it is that we celebrate Black History Month, we need to be careful that the myths and moments don’t flatten, particularly with the Civil Rights Movement, what is often long, intentional, hard work that can’t be reduced to a single moment. At the New York Times, author Jeanne Theoharis, reflects on what this flattening has done to the work of Rosa Parks. “‘Over the years, I have been rebelling against second-class citizenship. It didn’t begin when I was arrested,’ Mrs. Parks reminded interviewers time and again.” Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of January 31”

Q&A with Joanne Hichens

This month, we were proud to release the thriller Divine Justice by Joanne Hichens. Divine Justice is the first book in Joanne’s Rae Valentine series, and we’re excited to introduce readers to this feisty, smart, and tough character.

Rae is a newly-minted PI, recovering addict, and in the middle of healing from a big breakup when she is hired to find a set of missing diamonds. The case sends her deep into the dark and violent world of the white supremacist gang, the Core, whose xenophobic and racist crime spree has been terrorizing Cape Town. And once the gang has Rae in their sights, the case may be more than she can handle. (And be sure to visit CrimeReads to read an essay from Joanne about the ways that the resurgence of white supremacist violence played a role in crafting hers, and other crime novels in South Africa.)

Divine Justice has earned praise from Publishers Weekly, The Mysterious Book Report, LitNet, and authors like David Swinson (The Second Girl and Trigger), who writes, “Divine Justice is a no-nonsense, walloping thriller, with an intoxicating and smart protagonist in Rae Valentine. Be sure to find a comfortable spot before opening the book because once you’re taken on the ride it is hard to get off.”

We chatted with Joanne about her work, how she handled having two books releasing at the same time, and why crime writing was a way for her to “see the baddies get what they deserve.”

Continue reading “Q&A with Joanne Hichens”

This Week in Literary News: Week of January 10

I guess this is what is known as an eventful week. There is just so very much is happening in the world at any given moment. Here’s hoping everyone has what they need to make it through this, and what are sure to be many more, eventful weeks.

One of the big events here in the US is the second impeachment of Donald Trump. I, for one, have really been putting my high-school civics education to use over the past week (and four years). For those who either want to brush up on the impeachment process, or pass along that info to a young learner, Pop Culture Classroom has a free comic about the Watergate Scandal, and “using the Watergate Scandal as context, this comic also provides students insights into the impeachment process and how it protects the checks and balances between Federal branches.” And over at JSTOR Daily (full disclosure: I’m a regular contributor there), they’ve created “Politics and Power in the United States: A Syllabus,” to help put our current political moment into historical context. And the New York Times is soliciting comments on how “teachers, particularly history, social studies, or civics teachers […]” are “addressing last Wednesday’s storming of the Capitol with their students.”

Africa in Words has a wrap-up post featuring all of the literary happenings over the past month. Festivals! Readings! New Books! Events! They’ve even included one of our favorite events from December— our #ReadingAfrica Week celebration and panel discussions.

“Women had always been part and parcel of the independence movement in Africa. In Southern Africa and Tanzania they stood side-by-side with the men to fight, so they were very much part of it.” As part of their series, “Reclaiming Africa’s Early Post-Independence History,” Africa is a Country has an interview with Fatma Alloo of the Tanzania Media Women’s Association on how women have, and continue to, use media to create change. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of January 10”

New Releases This Month

We’re pleased to release two great new books this month: Divine Justice, by Joanne Hichens and The Theory of Flight by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu. Both books are available now through your favorite bookseller (but we’d love it if you chose an independent bookstore!) Continue reading “New Releases This Month”

This Week in Literary News, Week of November 15

Another week, another selection of some of the week’s news! (News here being defined as book and book-related. I’m not sure I have the strength to recap the news at-large).

Yewande Omotoso | photo by Victor Dlamini

Over at The New Internationalist, there’s a lovely short essay by Yewande Omotoso on why she’s filled her house with plants. Yewande is a regular contributor there, so be sure to check out more of her work— they are all just as lovely. You can also pick up her fantastic novel, Bom Boy, of which we are proud to be the US publisher.

There are two great pieces at LitHub. The first, from Rebecca Solnit asks readers to seriously consider what it being asked of them with post-election calls to bridge divides: “[T]he truth is not some compromise halfway between the truth and the lie, the fact and the delusion, the scientists and the propagandists. And the ethical is not halfway between white supremacists and human rights activists, rapists and feminists, synagogue massacrists and Jews, xenophobes and immigrants, delusional transphobes and trans people. Who the hell wants unity with Nazis until and unless they stop being Nazis?” The second is a reprint of Walter Moseley’s speech from the National Book Awards where he was honored with The Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters: “There’s a great weight hanging over the reception of an award when the underlying subject is, the first Black man to receive… We the people who are darker than blue, we have been here, on this continent, in this storm for 400 years. […] Is this a dying gasp or a first breath? Is today different from any other day over the past 400 years? I prefer to believe that we are on the threshold of a new day, that this evening is but one of ten thousand steps being taken to recognize the potential of this nation.” And congratulations to all of the NBA winners! You can see a list of honorees here.

Continue reading “This Week in Literary News, Week of November 15”