Tag: #ReadingAfrica2021

#ReadingAfrica 2021: Why We’re Reading Africa

Many thanks to all who participated in our annual #ReadingAfrica Week celebration! We’re already excited about next year. This last post comes from several of our authors and Catalyst staff, each expressing why they’re reading African lit, all year round.

One of the joys of my life is crossing cultures. It’s fascinating to peek into the hearts and minds of people we think are different from us and find instead the common humanity we share. Parents bond with their children; young people work at figuring out this complex world we’re born into; historical moments impact us; we adjust to our good and bad luck; we do the best we can. Reading books about Africans, African settings, and about the history of this great continent adds richness to my life. Thank you, Catalyst Press!
– Caroline Kurtz, author Today is Tomorrow and A Road Called Down on Both Sides

Since moving to South Africa, I’ve been blown away by the book industry here: the effort and love that goes into every book; the kindness and grit of the authors, publishers, and literary media; and the true originality of the work being produced. I look forward to #ReadingAfrica week all year long, because it’s an excuse to celebrate the incredible people I’m lucky enough to work with every day–and to talk my friends’ ears off about who and what I’m reading!— SarahBelle Selig, Catalyst Press Office/Publicity Manager, South Africa

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#ReadingAfrica: Listening to LGBTQI+ Voices

One of the things that’s so important to us during #ReadingAfricaWeek is to stress that African literature isn’t one thing. There are different genres, styles, plots, voices, just like in any other place’s literature. But literature, at least for the time being, is still coming from Earth. And here on Earth, all of us know that some voices and some stories are heard more often than others. It’s why we were so excited to privilege women’s voices in our closing panel, and why we’re doing this post. When #ReadingAfrica, and trying to avoid the trap of the single narrative, make sure to add in queer voices, too. Here are a few places to start. Continue reading “#ReadingAfrica: Listening to LGBTQI+ Voices”

This Week in Literary News: The #ReadingAfrica Recap Edition

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for joining us this week for our fifth annual #ReadingAfrica Week, our annual celebration of African literature. In lieu of a literary news blog this week, we decided to give you a #ReadingAfrica recap, to share all of the fun activities we hosted this week in one place.

From virtual events to social media challenges to playlists, we wait all year for #ReadingAfrica, because it’s the best opportunity to interact with YOU, our Catalyst family. While our books celebrate African authors and African stories all year round, #ReadingAfrica is such a great way to bring everyone together and make some noise—and this year the noise was the loudest it has ever been!

So if you missed out on the fun, don’t worry: #ReadingAfrica week 2021 may be over, but thanks to our friends over at LitNet, LitHub, and CrimeReads, you can check out the full recordings and transcripts of the events you missed by clicking the links below. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: The #ReadingAfrica Recap Edition”

#ReadingAfrica for the Young Reader

We were so excited co-host a panel on children’s literature with World Kid Lit! If you missed this incredibly fun and thoughtful conversation, you can watch a recording here. When the panel ended, our amazing moderator, Bunmi, asked the group to share their favorite #ReadingAfrica books for young readers. You could, of course, watch the video in full, rewind and pause as needed, and then jot down their recommendations. But we won’t make you do that. Instead, you can keep reading for some great suggestions from the panel for books to share with the young reader in your life! You can also take a look at our #ReadingAfrica2021 list on Bookshop.org, which featured illustrated stories for all ages. Continue reading “#ReadingAfrica for the Young Reader”

#ReadingAfrica Music Edition

This year, we’re excited to add a musical portion to our celebration with the addition of this very excellent playlist curated by Amanda Khiri. While hearing the music might be the best way to understand it, it’s certainly not the only way. For those of you who want to take your musical explorations a little further, here’s a great selection of books, articles, and websites that will help you dive deeper into what are, truly, some of the deepest waters there are. Continue reading “#ReadingAfrica Music Edition”

#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.

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Diasporaaaaah: A #ReadingAfrica Playlist

This guest post is by musician and writer, Amanda Khiri, who has graciously provided our event with its official soundtrack. Amanda, an informal and formal student of jazz since 12, has finally entered into a marriage of the old and new, both lo, and hi-fi. After a stint as half of the duo of Z&A, a Brooklyn-born, electro-soul collaboration with Jake Zavracky in 2013, she started backing up the eclectic afro-funk band, Sinkane; lending her vocals to Sinkane’s 2014 critically acclaimed release, Mean Love, and toured internationally for the next album Life and Livin’ It. Amanda also toured with Luaka Bop’s collective nod to William Onyeabor’s work, with a project called The Atomic Bomb! Band and recorded with that diverse cast when they made their tribute album.

Amanda has shared stages with David Byrne, Money Mark, Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip), Jamie Lidell, Darius Jones, Jon Cowherd, Danny Fox and Charles Lloyd. In September of 2016, Amanda co-produced a second installment of Women Under The Influence: A Night of Nina Simone, with Jonathan Lam as musical director and a diverse roster of artists like Nancy Whang, Luca Bennedetti, Jon Cowherd, Helado Negro, jaytram and others.

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#ReadingAfrica Week 2021 December 5-11

Fridays are our usual day to post all of the literary news from Catalyst and beyond, but because we’re about to step into one of our busiest weeks, this news round-up will only have one item— but it’s a big one.

It’s getting close to #ReadingAfrica Week! That’s right! Our annual celebration of all things African literature starts on December 5. Here’s how you can participate: Continue reading “#ReadingAfrica Week 2021 December 5-11”

This Week in Literary News: Week of November 14

First up, some Catalyst news! Make sure to mark your calendars for three epic virtual events we’re hosting for our fifth annual #Reading Africa week: an African comics and graphic novels event on December 6th, an African kid lit event on December 8th, and an African women authors’ event on December 10th. All events will be held at 12:00pm EST, or 7:00pm SAST. #ReadingAfrica week starts December 5th and lasts all week long, so be sure to follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to join in on the festivities!

DISRUPTION

ICYMI, Brittle Paper and Radical Books Collective hosted their “Beyond Wakanda” event last week, a celebration of African speculative fiction. Catch up on this awesome panel between Catalyst’s The Theory of Flight author Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu and Cosmogramma author Courttia Newland, led by Lizzy Attree. And lastly, Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa cover designer Megan Ross was named a finalist for the 2021 GBAS Book Cover Awards!

In industry news, Empire of Pain author Patrick Radden Keefe took home the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction this week, and the winners of the 2021 National Book Awards were announced. Learn more about this year’s fiction winner, Jason Mott, and his novel, Hell of a Book. A Harry Potter 20th anniversary reunion is airing on New Year’s Day, The Girls author Emma Cline is starting an imprint, and finance celebrity Gary V. secured one million sales of his new book in one weekend—by leveraging NFTs. Neil DeGrasse Tyson is releasing a new book, and so is Kevin from “The Office.”

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