Chaos in Kinshasa
#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.
This Week in Literary News: Week of June 20
In Catalyst Press news, the winners of this year’s Short Story Day Africa Prize have been announced! We’re thrilled to be releasing Disruption, the newest Short Story Day Africa anthology, to the North American market in September. Disruption features stories from 21 new and emerging authors from across Africa, including the winning short stories of this year’s prize. Pre-orders are available now.
In celebrity book news, beloved British television host Graham Norton has a new memoir, James Patterson and Bill Clinton are back with more tropes, and Jared Kushner and President Joe Biden’s sister both signed book deals (sigh). And most important, Tsitsi Dangarembga became the first Black woman to win the prestigious Peace Prize of the German Book Trade! Go Tsitsi!
A literary heritage project in Australia is trying to save the nation’s books, and five organizations across the United States have started a collective fundraiser in support of Black literary arts. This week commemorates 121 years since the loss of the Hanlin Library (the what, you ask?). And in case you needed another reason to hate Amazon… Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of June 20”
Q&A with the Authors and Translator of Madame Livingstone
We love graphic novels. Over the years, we have published two graphic novels for young readers by Luke Molver on the life of legendary Zulu leader, King Shaka. We’re excited to release another graphic novel exploring another piece of African history— Madame Livingstone: Congo and the First World War. This historical graphic novel for adult readers is a story of war, adventure, and friendship.
Gaston Mercier, a lieutenant in the Royal Belgian Army, arrives at Lake Tanganyika, Congo in 1915 on orders to sink a critical German warship, the Graf Von Götzen. To aid him on this mission, he is paired with a local guide, an enigmatic mixed-race African and the supposed son of the famous explorer, David Livingstone, nicknamed “Madame Livingstone” for the Scottish kilt he wears. Together, while the pair hunts down the ship, Mercier learns more about the land around him and discovers the irrevocable and tragic effects of colonialism on the local people.
Madame Livingstone is written by Christophe Cassiau-Haurie, illustrated by Barly Baruti, and translated from the French by Ivanka Hahnenberger. Christophe is the author of several comics and graphic novels, and is a library curator and comics specialist. He is currently Director of Public Services for the National and University Library of Strasbourg. Barly is is a renowned Congolese cartoonist, and the co-founder of the Atelier de Création et de l’Initiation à l’Art (Creative Workshop for an Initiation to Art) to encourage talented youth in Kinshasa. Ivanka is a translator who has translated notable books such as Blue is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh, and recently, the award-winning Catherine’s War by Julia Billet and illustrated by Claire Fauvel. We chatted with all three to talk about their work, the comic scene across the African continent, and what it was like to bring this work to a new audience.
Continue reading “Q&A with the Authors and Translator of Madame Livingstone”
This Week in Literary News: Week of June 6
This week marked the release of our third graphic novel— Madame Livingstone written by Christophe Cassiau-Haurie, illustrated by Barly Baruti, and translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger. You may remember this book from such illustrious appearances as The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and Foreword Reviews This historical tale of friendship and adventure is set in Congo during World War I. Stay tuned for a Q&A with the book’s creators later this month!
Mark your calendars for this great talk: On June 22, NYU’s Center for Black Visual Culture/Institute of African American Affairs presents a conversation with author Kevin Adonis Browne and Temple University Global Studies professor, Harvey R. Neptune on “Carnival and the Poetics of Caribbean Culture”
Over at AfroPop, an exploration of the Cuban intervention in Angola, and “Through music, interviews, and historical radio clips, producer Ned Sublette, author of Cuba and Its Music, tells the story of Cuba’s massive commitment in Africa, from the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and the subsequent independence of Congo, to the end of the Soviet Union in 1991.” Listen to the story here. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of June 6”
This Week in Literary News: Week of January 24
In Catalyst news, Bridget Krone’s Small Mercies was just named an Outstanding International Book by the U.S. Board of Books for Young People (USBBY)! This is the second time a Catalyst Press book has won this prize, starting with Futhi Ntshingila’s We Kiss Them with Rain. And a new translation from Ivanka Hahnenberger, the translator for our upcoming graphic novel Madame Livingstone, was just awarded the prestigious Batchelder Award! The Batchelder Award celebrates outstanding children’s books from outside of the United States that have been translated into English. The winning book, Catherine’s War (HarperCollins), was originally published in France in 2017 and tells the story of a Jewish girl named Catherine who is forced to change her identity during World War II. Madame Livingstone, our newest graphic novel about an unlikely friendship in the Congo during World War I, is available from Catalyst Press in June. Congratulations to Bridget and Ivanka!
In celebrity book news, Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade wrote a children’s book, Shady Baby, inspired by their daughter and scheduled for release in May. Also in May, Big Short author Michael Lewis is releasing a new book, this time about the group that anticipated the global pandemic. Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard is starting a book club, and so is Jeffrey Sachs. Maria Shriver is starting up an imprint at Penguin called The Open Field. Quentin Tarantino signed a two-book deal with Wiedenfeld & Nicolson, the first of which will be the director’s first work of fiction, based on his film “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Speaking of the film, its co-star Margaret Qualley will be starring alongside Sigourney Weaver for the movie treatment of the breakout 2014 memoir My Salinger Year, out March 5th.
Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of January 24”
Coming in 2021: Madame Livingstone
For the next few weeks, we’ll be spotlighting our upcoming releases for the new year. You’ll learn a bit about our 2021 releases, their authors, and information about pre-ordering.
We’re excited to bring another work in translation to our catalog in 2021. Madame Livingstone: The Great War in the Congo by Christophe Cassiau-Haurie, illustrator Barly Baruti, and translator Ivanka Hahnenberger is a thrilling World War I saga set in, what was then called, the Belgian Congo. We’re thrilled to bring this book to readers in June 2021. Although we’ve definitely gotten into the historical fiction graphic novel game before with our King Shaka series, this release marks our first one for adult readers, and we can’t wait for you to see this gorgeously illustrated, beautifully written, deftly translated book this summer.
Continue reading “Coming in 2021: Madame Livingstone”
Celebrating International Translation Day
It’s International Translation Day, a global day of celebrating “the work of language professionals.” We’ve been excited to celebrate National Translation Month this month, and this is a perfect way to close out September. International Translation Month is a time to shine a light on the wonderful translators who have helped us and our authors bring global literature to even more readers. Continue reading “Celebrating International Translation Day”
Madame Livingstone
