Tag: Science-fiction

Q&A with Helen Brain

Helen Brain, photo by Patrick McKenna

Note: This post is originally from November 2019. We’re sharing it again because we’re excited to release the second book in Helen’s trilogy—The Rising Tide—on July 13, 2021. Learn more about the book, and order your copy here. You can also enter to win a copy of The Rising Tide at Goodreads. The giveaway runs through July 6.

We’re so excited to add more books for young readers to our catalog. It has always been a part of who we are. We recognize the importance of giving kids and young adults the tools they need to be readers for life. One of the most important tools is giving them books that speak to them and their experiences. Books that value their voices and their concerns. It’s one of the many reasons we’re so proud to publish The Thousand Steps by Helen Brain.

The Thousand Steps is the first in Helen’s futuristic Fiery Spiral trilogy, and is the story of 16-year-old Ebba who has lived her entire life in a bunker deep within Cape Town’s Table Mountain. When she is suddenly elevated from the bunker, she finds that everything she knew about her life, and the world “above,” was wrong. Now shouldering the immense responsibility of her new life, Ebba must fight to save her friends still trapped in the bunker and facing execution any day. Helen’s book deftly explores race, class, and climate change while telling a story that will captivate young readers. School Library Journal praised the book writing, “This novel will draw readers in with its high stakes and well-developed characters.”

We chatted with Helen about her work, why she loves science fiction, and her advice for young writers. The Thousand Steps is out January 3. Continue reading “Q&A with Helen Brain”

This Week in Literary News: Week of March 15

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.

Editor’s Note: One additional item in this week’s news is that in honor of Women’s History Month, all titles by the talented women authors of Catalyst are on sale! Visit our shop to order.

The New York Times covers how bookstores are coping with the current events and how they adapted to keep their businesses going.

Read It Forward has some tips on how to lend a hand to your communities’ booksellers, and how to help authors and readers alike.

Also at The New York Times, new novelists share their promotion plans before the pandemic and what they are doing now to promote their books.

The Guardian shares this year’s winners of the Windham and Campbell prize and some of their thoughts on the current crisis.

Need more reading material for Women’s History Month? Lit Hub has got you covered with 10 new books about women’s history, dealing from generational stories to anti-immigration.

Brittle Paper has a compilation of helpful and/or motivational tweets of African authors and their reactions to the pandemic.

Over on Strange Horizons, there’s an issue titled “100 African Writers of SFF,” where Geoff Ryman interviews African writers while focusing on the cultural life of African cities.

If you’ve been at home with your children, reading can be a great pastime with them. Book Riot has a great article on what you can do when reading aloud to them.

Introducing Powers Squared

Today is Pi Day, an annual celebration of the mathematical constant pi (π). Since the day is kind of a science-y one, it is a perfect time to introduce you all to the newest member of the Catalyst Press family— our new imprint Powers Squared. Why today? Thanks for asking! Because Powers Squared will be the home for books that explore our world with a scientific eye. So everything from the natural sciences, to physics, to astronomy, and even science-fiction and speculative fiction—all with a global eye—will be featured on this new imprint.

Helmed by Matthew Powers, co-author of the YA novel Broken Circle (Akashic Books) along with his sister and Catalyst founder Jessica Powers, Powers Squared is the perfect place to find a book to explore science and nature. The first book we’ll be publishing is Cat Among the Pigeons, a smart and funny look at the wild world of South Africa’s animal life, by David Muirhead, set for release in January 2020. Stay tuned for more info on the imprint, and its future releases!