Fly High, Lolo
This Week in Literary News
We lost Supreme Court Justice and badass women’s rights advocate Ruth Bader Ginsburg this week, after an over two-decade fight with multiple types of cancer. Here’s 8 books about RBG from the New York Times and 6 recommendations from USA Today, and the (ridiculously) eloquent 13-year-old RBG speaking on prejudice. Complement these with this beautiful, wrecking elegy from Lynn Steger Strong and a throwback to RBG’s 2016 advice on living. We also said goodbye to the beloved Guess How Much I Love You children’s book author Sam McBratney this week.
The National Book Foundation’s 5 under 35 were just announced (look at that lineup!), as was the 2020 National Book Award longlist.
The biggest celebrity book news of the week: former U.S. President Barack Obama has penned a memoir! The memoir will be published in two volumes, the first of which will be released after the elections this November and covers the President’s early political career up through the 2011 death of Osama Bin Laden. It’s going to be huge for the industry (and the reader – buckle up, folks, the first volume is 768 pages long). The Bodega Boys wrote a book, Lady Gaga is releasing a collection of short personal stories by young people, and JK Rowling is in trouble again. John Boehner has an… interesting? sensual?… new book cover, and Lil Nas X wrote the “best kids’ book of all time.” A Downton Abbey cookbook is coming out in October. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News”
You’re a Star, Lolo
Hooray for Lolo
Here Comes Lolo
This Week in Literary News, Week of May 10
Our weekly round-up of literary news here at Catalyst and beyond, is brought to you by our intern Naomi Valenzuela. Naomi is from Phoenix, Arizona and El Paso, Texas, and is majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in English & American Literature at the University of Texas, El Paso, with plans of working in the publishing business after graduation
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a good opportunity to diversify children’s reading (and parents’, too!). Brightly has a list of 10 Children’s & YA Books by Asian Authors.
Bring some fun into your quarantine reading with Brittle Paper‘s list of African Romance Fiction. All the books on the list come from Love Africa Press, an indie, digital-first publisher focusing on this genre
Over at The Guardian, read about the movement that’s taking place by Francophone African authors to make their books available in Africa.
The New York Times gives some book recommendations and how to do your summer reading even with summer limitations.
At Electric Lit, there’s an essay discussing Albert Camus’s The Plague and what we can learn about it beyond the epidemic.
If you’re a bookworm tired of all these different reading lists, don’t worry. The Washington Post has an article discussing why any type of book is helpful.
Also in The Washington Post, we have 12 of the novels that changed history. With different genres, from The Cat in the Hat to 1984, these books continue to impact society.
The BBC has an article about why we find comfort in the dystopian genre, whether it be in literature or even gaming, during a crisis.
Finally, in Catalyst Press news, check out the Q&A we did with Niki Daly. Daly is the author and illustrator of our May releases, Here Comes Lolo and Hooray for Lolo.
Q&A with Niki Daly
This Q&A was done by our intern Naomi Valenzuela. Naomi is from Phoenix, Arizona and El Paso, Texas, and is majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in English & American Literature at the University of Texas, El Paso, with plans of working in the publishing business after graduation. You can find other author Q&As here.
This month, we have not one but two marvelous releases from award-winning author Niki Daly: Here Comes Lolo and Hooray for Lolo. The Lolo series introduces us to Lolo, a generous and artistic South African girl. Lolo always finds adventures, even in the most mundane situations. With her mother and grandmother by her side, Lolo is ready to take on anything. Children will love these stories as Booklist mentions in their review, “With a simply written, graceful text and gray-scale pictures on nearly every page, these appealing stories are just right for children moving from beginning readers to chapter books.”
Niki Daly is not only the author, but also the illustrator of these two books. Daly is a South African, author-illustrator, well-known throughout the world with a great number of children’s books written, and several awards won. Some of these books include Not So Fast Songololo, with awards in South Africa and the U.S., and Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky.
In this author Q&A, we talked to Niki about his inspirations when creating Lolo, how his childhood influenced his writing, and his advice for future writers.
This Week in Literary News, Week of May 3
Our weekly round-up of literary news here at Catalyst and beyond, is brought to you by our intern Naomi Valenzuela. Naomi is from Phoenix, Arizona and El Paso, Texas, and is majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in English & American Literature at the University of Texas, El Paso, with plans of working in the publishing business after graduation
Great week for Catalyst Press news!:
The New York Times has recently added one of our books, Outside The Lines by Ameera Patel, to its Globetrotting list under the Africa category. Check out the other books from other continents too!
SarahBelle Selig, who manages our South African operations, has an essay on World Literature Today. Read about the rules about living in isolation she learned from reading A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.
The Lion’s Binding Oath: and Other Stories by Ahmed Ismail Yusuf is on Brittle Paper‘s list of sixteen short story collections by African authors from indie presses (Us!)
Over at The Johannesburg Review of Books, Yewande Omotoso’s (author of Bom Boy) story titled “Boy” is highlighted as part of their “Best of the JRB” feature.
Last but not least, we have a new release! The Lolo Series by Niki Daly is out now, with Here Comes Lolo and Hooray for Lolo available in paperback or hardback!
In other literary news:
Brittle Paper has a feature about Botlhale, a YouTube channel that discusses African literature while also creating teaching tools for it.
Booksellers are finding creative ways to get books to their customers. Book Riot has a list of literary care packages from different bookstores, each with different focuses ranging from bilingual books to romance novels.
The BBC has an article about how the reading boom that has been happening during this pandemic, and the genres that the public could be picking up more and more.
Lastly, NPR informs us that Joy Harjo, the U.S.’s first Native American Poet Laureate, has received a second term by the Library of Congress.
This Week in Literary News, Week of April 26
Our weekly round-up of literary news here at Catalyst and beyond, is brought to you by our intern Naomi Valenzuela. Naomi is from Phoenix, Arizona and El Paso, Texas, and is majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in English & American Literature at the University of Texas, El Paso, with plans of working in the publishing business after graduation
We start off with some helpful news for parents and kids:
Brittle Paper has two features this week for children. On Mondays, Michelle Obama will be doing live streams reading classic children’s books. They’ve also made a list of easily accessible and free children’s e-books.
The Washington Post has tips to parents from a parent on how to sneak in some time for your own reading in these days full of work and chores.
Now in Literary News:
Book Riot has put together a list of the best virtual reading series out there right now. These live streams range from the west coast to the east, check out these open mics along with featured readers.
For the bookworms with more time on their hands, The New York Times has advice from interior designers on how to organize and decorate with your books.
After an Alaskan school board pulled classics from their curriculum (I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, for example), many community members have been offering students money and free food to get them to read these important classics. Check it out on The Guardian.
Brittle Paper has a list of eight trilogies by African Writers to delve into. And while you’re at it, check out our Dark Web trilogy by Peter Church.
On Read It Forward, Frances Cha has an essay that shows how diversity in literature can encourage young writers to create without fear.
This Week in Literary News, Week of April 19
Our weekly round-up of literary news here at Catalyst and beyond, is brought to you by our intern Naomi Valenzuela. Naomi is from Phoenix, Arizona and El Paso, Texas, and is majoring in Creative Writing and minoring in English & American Literature at the University of Texas, El Paso, with plans of working in the publishing business after graduation
This week in Catalyst News!:
We have teamed up with four publishers— City Lights, Cinco Puntos, Enchanted Lion, and Readers to Eaters— to promote a new and diverse selection of children’s books. From history to poems, take a look at these books here!
Our own Caroline Kurtz has won the Presbyterian Writers Guild’s biennial Best First Book Award for A Road Called Down on Both Sides: Growing Up in Ethiopia and America. It’s a double celebration as her sister, Jane, also won the Presbyterian Writers Guild’s David Steele Distinguished Writer Award. We wish them both congratulations!
Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu (The Theory of Flight) has an essay on Times Select. Read about the author’s thoughts on how we can all learn something from feeling powerless.
In other literature news:
Cartoonist Peter Kupur created illustrations for Earth Day to talk about Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, the book that begun to raise awareness about the environment. Check it out at The New York Times.
If you’re a history buff looking for something new to read, Electric Lit has got you covered with seven books about forgotten wars.
Lit Hub has an essay from Mai Tran, who writes about how writing becomes an outlet for those who are socially anxious.
Is there a book that you’ve been trying to get through for weeks? Read It Forward has an article on why you shouldn’t feel bad about quitting a book.
Finally, Book Riot has the finalists for the 25th Women’s Prize for Fiction Shortlist, which celebrates excellence, originality, and accessibility from women authors.