The book world lost some greats this week, including Leon F. Litwack (a Pulitzer Prize winning U.S. slavery and segregation historian), Eloise Greenfield (a lifelong activist for African American representation in children’s literature), Stephen Oates (author of many bestselling biographies on American Civil War-era leaders), James Loewen (a renowned educator and racial justice activist who wrote the bestselling book Lies My Teacher Told Me), and Jill Murphy (beloved children’s book author and creator of The Worst Witch).
In industry news, PRH’s Penguin Classics imprint has launched its Green Ideas series, with 20 short books about the environment written by activists like Wangari Maathai, Jared Diamond, Rachel Carson, Greta Thunberg, and more, and McNally Jackson is launching McNally Editions, a paperback reprint series for overlooked classics and hidden gems.
In Catalyst news, two of our authors are making some great appearances elsewhere. Barbara Boswell, author of Unmaking Grace, has a new essay in Brittle Paper. And also in Brittle Paper, a great review of Surfacing: On Being Black and Feminist in South Africa, an anthology (published by Wits University Press) edited by Desiree Lewis and Gabeba Baderoon, which features essays by Barbara and Yewande Omotoso, author of Bom Boy. Continue reading “This Week in Literary News: Week of August 22”