Tag: Story Press Africa

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)

This Week in Literary News: Week of March 22

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

Jessica Powers

In Catalyst Press news, Catalyst founder/publisher, Jessica Powers was on the Intralingo Podcast! Watch or listen as Jessica discusses her new book (Under Water, published by Cinco Puntos Press), her connections to Africa, and other topics.

On Ozy, meet Fawzia Gilani-Williams, a teacher and author who is rewriting fairytales for Muslim children after she noticed the U.K.’s lack of diversity in children’s books.

Children’s publishers have reported a large rise in sales due to the shut-down of schools during this pandemic. Read more over at The New York Times,

The Washington Post gives readers a guide on different ways to participate in the literature scene, including live-streams, online book clubs, and where to find and buy books.

In these difficult times, Read It Forward has a short essay by Emily M.D. Scott about how libraries continue to affirm our humanity.

In more Catalyst news, King Shaka: Zulu Legend by Luke Molver is a finalist for Pop Culture Classroom‘s Best in Young Adult Graphic Literature! Part of Pop Culture Classroom’s mission is to celebrate diversity through the tools of popular culture and the power of self-expression.

Writer Lilly Dancyger gives us a perspective on the anxieties of publishing a book while struggling to cope with these recent changes to the world over on Electric Lit.

Over on LitHub, publicists discuss their change to online events and their thoughts about these technological adaptions.

February’s Spotlight Author: Luke W. Molver

Luke Molver

This month’s spotlight shines on author/illustrator Luke W. Molver. Luke is the co-author (along with Mason O’Connor) and illustrator of the first book in our African Graphic Novel Series, Shaka Rising: A Legend of the Warrior Prince, and the author/illustrator of its sequel King Shaka: Zulu Legend. Both of these books are published through Story Press Africa, our collaborative imprint with Jive Media Africa. As part of our ongoing Author Spotlight Sale, this month we’re offering Shaka Rising for 50% off!

Shaka Rising is the story of a legendary Zulu leader’s rise to power during one of southern Africa’s most turbulent periods. Shaka’s story is one of family drama, political intrigue, and warfare, and is told in a nuanced and exciting way that’s both entertaining and educational. Add in Luke’s fantastic illustrations, and you’ve got a great book for the young reader in your life!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luke and Shaka Rising have had an incredible run since the book was released in 2018. It has earned rave reviews from The Wall Street Journal (“[M]arks the launch of a welcome historical graphic-novel series set in Africa”); Kirkus (“A worthy introduction that offers a young Anglophone audience entry into a legend of Africa”); and Booklist (“This is a tale comics has heretofore not done justice to, and it’s handsomely presented here.”), among many others. It was also shortlisted a Nommo Awards for African Speculative Fiction in the Graphic Novel category, and was named an Honor Book for Older Readers by the Children’s Africana Book Awards.

In addition to his work on the Shaka books, Luke is also a comic book creator whose work, most recently, has been featured at the Johannesburg Art Gallery’s exhibit The Art of Comics. You can also learn more about Luke in this short video interview with Beautiful News South Africa or this interview with Smash Pages.

All this month, and only at our site, you can get the paperback version of Shaka Rising for just $8.50. Order here

From the Editor’s Desk: 2019 Reflections

In our monthly newsletter, we have an occasional series where Catalyst founder/publisher Jessica shares news and updates from behind the scenes at Catalyst HQ (you can subscribe to our newsletter here). The piece below is from our most recent newsletter, and is a look back at our biggest year so far.

Things will be a little slower here and on our social media through the new year, but we’re really excited about what 2020 has in store. If you’re celebrating a holiday this month, all of us here at Catalyst wish you the happiest one, and a very happy new year. We’ll see you in 2020!
Continue reading “From the Editor’s Desk: 2019 Reflections”

Giveaway Winners, Graphic Novels, and Why We’re Sharing African History Worldwide

Last month, we and our Story Press Africa partners held a giveaway to celebrate the release of the latest installment in our African Graphic Novel Series— King Shaka: Zulu Legend by Luke Molver. The entry was pretty simple: like our post, and then comment with the name of a historic person or event you’d like to see in a future graphic novel. And people really delivered! There were a host of names, and a timeline’s worth of notable events. It was truly amazing.

Readers are excited about African histories and stories. They want to put faces to names, they want to see history live again on the page. Whether it is the stories of your own country and your own ancestors, or that of those who live worlds apart, there is something special and vital about keeping those stories, those names in our memories. While we won’t list every name and event giveaway entrants suggested, we thought we’d share just a few to show just how many stories there are to tell… Continue reading “Giveaway Winners, Graphic Novels, and Why We’re Sharing African History Worldwide”

From the Editor’s Desk

From the Editor’s Desk is an occasional series of dispatches from our founder Jessica. This first appeared in our newsletter (which you can subscribe to here).

I’m back in the U.S. again and while it feels great to be home, I admit that I miss my “other” home. Visiting South Africa is always a mixture of nostalgia and excitement, an odd feeling of visiting an old love and meeting a new love all at the same time.
Continue reading “From the Editor’s Desk”

It’s Giveaway Time!!

To celebrate the release of King Shaka: Zulu Legend in both the US and South Africa, we and our partners at Story Press Africa are giving away four copies in each country! To enter, follow us on one (or all) of our social media accounts.

 

 

King Shaka: Zulu Legend Out Now in South Africa

L-R: Catalyst Press founder Jessica Powers, Jive Media Africa/Story Press Africa co-founder Robert Inglis, Luke Molver

Huge congratulations to Luke Molver! His graphic novel King Shaka: Zulu Legend made its South African debut at the Midlands Literary Festival last weekend!  Reviews have started to come in for the book; The Midwest Book Review has praised the novel as “thoroughly engrossing from cover to cover” and Kirkus Reviews calls it “authentically enlightening and entertaining.” We’re hoping that readers everywhere will agree!

King Shaka author/illustrator Luke Molver

 

 

King Shaka, the continuing story of Shaka’s rise to power, comes to North America in October. You can pre-order your copy here!

Thank You!!

So many books on their way to South Africa!

Last month, we launched a Kickstarter to help us fund production and distribution of our upcoming graphic novel King Shaka: Zulu Legend, and we so happy to announce that it was funded! As part of our supporter rewards, we included a buy-one-give-one option that allowed supporters to not only get their very own copy of King Shaka, but to give one to a school or library in South Africa. And through your generosity, the copies you see here will be distributed through our partnership with READ Educational Trust, a South African literacy organization that’s making sure children all over the country have access to books. This is just the start of our work making sure that kids who need books can get them. Your support will also help us roll out a buy-one-give-one option here at our website—so stay tuned! Continue reading “Thank You!!”

Help Us Bring African Stories to Readers Worldwide

Big news from Catalyst HQ! We’ve launched our second Kickstarter campaign to help us with distribution and promotion of our graphic novel King Shaka: Zulu Legend. King Shaka, the second release under our Story Press Africa imprint picks up after the events of Shaka Rising. Shaka is now King of the southern chiefdoms, but he can’t rest easy. His rule is threatened both by the increasing European presence in southern Africa, and by his brothers who are conspiring against him. Throughout it all, King Shaka must continue to forge alliances, expand the reach of his power, and uplift his people.

We’ve launched the Kickstarter to help us with production and distribution, but we’re also planning to launch a buy-one-give-one initiative, which will help us get books to readers who need them most. We’ve started this program through a partnership with South African literacy organization— READ Educational Trust —and want to add more partner organization in Africa and North America. If you choose the buy-one-give-one reward on our Kickstarter campaign, you’ll be a big part of helping us get this program running (and stay tuned for updates here on the Catalyst site that will enable a buy-one-give-one option on our sales page).

Check out this video from our campaign, and head over to Kickstarter to support us!