Tag: publishing

This Week in Literary News: Week of October 25

In censorship news (a phrase I hated writing, just for the record), The Poet X, the award-winning YA novel by Elizabeth Acevedo, is the subject of a lawsuit. Parents of a North Carolina charter school student have complained that that book, a coming-of-age story about a Latina teenager who finds comfort in poetry as she navigates her rapidly changing world, is “anti-Christian.” The parents have “asked the federal courts to remove the book from their child’s classroom.” In talking about fiction can change and shape our worldviews, Acevedo told the Atlantic in 2019, ” I can tell who reads fiction. […] I can tell which of them have read things that don’t look like them or sound like them or depict who they come from. You know.”

DIVINE JUSTICE BY JOANNE HICHENS

Congratulations to Joanne Hichens! Her book, Death and the After Parties (Karavan Press) is out (well almost). Her memoir of grief, recovery, and “the mainstays of life – friendship, family, and the memories of those we love and lose” releases on November 2! We’re proud to be the US publisher for Joanne’s thriller Divine Justice, which releases in January 2021.

Love comics? Love small presses? Good day for you, then. Here’s a great story at Atlas Obscura about Lion-Muthu Comics, an Indian press made up of “a four-person team translates Italian, French, and English comics into [Tamil], a language spoken by 70 million people.” Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of October 25”

This Week in Literary News, Week of June 14

In support of Black Lives Matter and Juneteenth, the hashtags #BlackPublishingPower and #BlackoutBestsellerList have been trending, encouraging people to buy books by Black authors and from Black-owned bookstores from June 14-June 20.

If you’re unsure which books to buy for your children or teens on the topic of anti-racism, Publishers Weekly released a list. The lengthy list encompasses both non-fiction and fiction titles, and spans picture books to novels. At Catalyst, we also published a smaller list, including adult books and organizations to support, should you wish.

The National Book Critics Circle’s board fell apart this past week over charges of internal racism. Almost 2/3 of the board members resigned, and the remaining board has committed itself to doing the hard work of changing its structure and approach to be specifically anti-racist.

In censorship news: This week, the highest-ranked leader in the land, our President, attempted to ban a book by John Bolton, the former national security adviser. The book purportedly offers an insider’s view on the President’s egregious behavior. Mr. Trump claims that the book reveals classified secrets and should not be released. Advocates for its release argue that if he successfully bans the book, it will undo decades of free speech precedent. Court hearings began June 19th.

In Catalyst Press news, we released Bitter Pill by Peter Church this week. Bitter Pill is the third installment in his Dark Web Trilogy, and continues our African Crime Reads series. Publishers Weekly has praised Bitter Pill, writing, “Church expertly juggles the multiple story lines all the way to the sordid, frantic maelstrom of the denouement.” You can read an excerpt from the novel at CrimeReads.

Last but not least, sales of audiobooks have been moving upward for the last several years and continue to rise. We have several of our books available as audiobooks, including Small Mercies by Bridget Krone, Crackerjack by Peter Church, The Wall by Max Annas and translated by Rachel Hildebrandt Reynolds, and in a couple of months, Unmaking Grace by Barbara Boswell.

This Week in Literary News, Week of June 7

The #PublishingPaidMe hashtag is making waves on Twitter, raising awareness about the massive discrepancies in author advances for writers of color compared to their white counterparts. On June 8, more than 1,000 workers in the publishing industry participated in a day-long strike, taking the day off their regular work duties to be “in service of the Black community: protesting, organizing, fundraising support, phone banking, mutual aid,” and working on books by Black creators.

Working on a COVID-themed manuscript? So is everyone else, according to literary agent Erin Clyburn, who reported to NPR that agents are seeing more and more writers submitting pandemic stories. But don’t rush it and sacrifice quality, she begs.

Electric Lit lists 24 new and forthcoming books that celebrate all facets of Black lives, and urges readers to seek Black literature beyond books on racism. NBC News published a thought-provoking piece on the rise of anti-racist book lists, and Washington Post gives some numbers on the massive surge of readers buying books on race.

In award news, The Shirley Jackson Award nominees were just announced. The award celebrates “outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic.” And if you haven’t read them yet, here are the complete texts for the five AKO Caine Prize finalists. The Prize received an unprecedented (and incredible!) 222 submissions from 28 African countries this year.

Nigerian writer Emeka Joseph Nwankwo wrote on how African women in publishing are bringing inclusivity to the forefront, a necessity urged by Girl, Woman, Other author Bernardine Evaristo this week.

Missing the museum? Electric Lit recommends 10 books set in museums to last you through lockdown. Not enough to satisfy your escapism bug? LitHub has you covered, with five 20th-century books about travel. And ICYMI: an argument for reading (and against shaming) the summer “beach read.”

Outside the Lines

In Catalyst news, Ameera Patel’s Outside the Lines officially hit North American shelves this week! Read an excerpt on CrimeReads. Bitter Pill, the final installment of Peter Church’s beloved Dark Web trilogy, get its North American debut on Monday. The e-books of the full series are available for 25% off on our site all summer long.

Finally, Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist and Ogresse creator Cécile McLorin Salvant reads Black lesbian poet Audre Lorde’s “The Bees,” published posthumously in the 2009 anthology Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry. 

An Update from Catalyst Publisher/Founder Jessica Powers

Dear friends of Catalyst Press,

In just a few short weeks, it feels like the world as we have known it has collapsed. We’re all trying to keep in touch as best we can, and those of us who can work from home are doing so, but we know that a lot of people have lost or will lose their jobs; we know that people will have trouble paying rent or feeding their families. And meanwhile, all of us have to deal with the fear and uncertainty of an illness that can be deadly, and may affect us or our loved ones.

The economic shutdown of the USA has affected book publishers in myriad ways. Amazon is making shipping of books a low priority. Independent booksellers have changed the way they work with customers, and are working to ship online orders as well as provide curbside pickups. But booksellers and publishers alike are going to be dramatically affected by the quarantines and shelter-in-place orders, primarily through loss of sales, but also through loss of marketing opportunities to get the word out about our books through reviews and other outlets that are also not operating under optimal conditions (or at all.)

Catalyst Press is committed to weathering this storm but, as a new small press we are especially vulnerable to a tank in sales. This is true for all small presses, not least for us. For those of you who really want to support us during this time, here are a few ways:

  • If you’re in North America, you can order new and older books directly from our website or from independent bookstores at this link.
  • South Africa is in a severe lockdown right now, and deliveries of books aren’t happening. In the meantime, you can order ebooks at Amazon. We always want to support independent bookstores but in this particular case, please do buy ebooks on Amazon! But if you want to buy physical books and you can wait for them to be delivered, you can order copies from LAPA, our distributor in South Africa, and they will resume deliveries when they can.
  • We are also able to accept one-time or recurring tax-deductible donation through Fractured Atlas, a 501 (c) (3) arts organization that has offered us fiscal sponsorship. This is an option we’d love for you to consider anytime, of course!
  • Even if ordering books or offering donations is not possible for you at this time, we love hearing from our supporters on social media, this blog, or via email, so please feel free to drop us a kind note anytime. We’d love to hear about past books we published that you loved, future books you’re looking forward to, or suggestions for future books.

Thanks guys. Keep in touch and stay well!

Jessica, Publisher & Founder, Catalyst Press (with imprints Story Press Africa & Powers Squared)

Do You Have a Story to Tell?

Story Press Africa, our collaborative imprint with South African media company Jive Media Africa, is looking for submissions from artists and illustrators who want to tell the stories and histories of Africa as part of our African Graphic Novel Series.

The first installment in the series, Shaka Rising—a graphic novel for young readers—told the story of a young Zulu leader’s rise to power against the backdrop of one of southern Africa’s most turbulent times. We want to continue bringing these stories to the page and to readers everywhere. Please read our submission guidelines and get in touch if you have a proposal. We look forward to hearing from you!

Continue reading “Do You Have a Story to Tell?”