Hot from the Press
Huge congratulations to Futhi Ntshingila and her new novel They Got To You Too, awarded the Sharjah International Book Fair Prize 2022 this week! Futhi is the author of the novel We Kiss Them With Rain, which we published in 2018 and you can check out below in the “From the Backlist” section. We’re so proud of you, Futhi!
We’re gearing up for #ReadingAfrica 2022, this year from Sunday December 4th through Saturday December 10th! All week long, make sure to share your favorite African reads and tell us why you’re #ReadingAfrica by sharing the #ReadingAfrica and #ReadingAfricaWeek hashtags on all of your social media platforms. And as part of the celebration, we’re lining up an amazing virtual events program and we’ll be announcing the events over our socials in the next two weeks, so make sure to give us a follow on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages. Read more about #ReadingAfrica here, and a very special shoutout to Squid Mag for featuring #ReadingAfrica this week!
In other news…
In BIG news, the Penguin Random House merger trial has finally come to a close and the acquisition of Simon & Schuster has officially been blocked.
Haruki Murakami has a new memoir, as does Tom Felton (better known as Draco Malfoy) and Bono. Yuval Noah Harari has a new children’s book, Karin Smirnoff will be continuing Stieg Larsson’s Dragon Tattoo series, and Joan Didion’s estate sale is happening next week. Kindred has been adapted into a drama series, and Netflix dropped the first trailer for its adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s The Lying Life of Adults.
Here are the winners of the Shirley Jackson Awards for best horror and the World Fantasy Awards. The 2022 Kirkus Prize Awards were announced last week, and the National Book Award winners will be announced next week. You can check out the finalists here! Amazon is adding Goodreads ratings to book listings, and BookTrust has kicked off a new campaign in response to estimated lower Christmas spending.
Critic and writer Doris Grumbach passed away this week. Harper Collins is in trouble with a new employee strike, which is being supported by a number of high-profile writers. Barnes & Noble keeps on expanding, and someone tried to set fire to LA’s iconic Iliad Bookshop. Thankfully, they failed!
A few fun and thought-provoking reads from BookRiot for your weekend: Mara Franzen introduces the “hopepunk” genre, Jessica Plummer continues her deep dive into LGBTQIA+ superheroes, and Annika Barranti Klein explores why cis-gendered women are writing so much about M/M romance.
#ReadingAfrica roundup
In this section, we’re sharing publishing news, book recs, and more all focused on African and African diaspora authors. Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our sixth annual #ReadingAfrica week, this year Dec 4-10!
Tshidiso Moletsane and Mignonne Breierwin are the winners of the 2022 Sunday Times Literary Awards, Sylva Nze Ifedigbo was awarded the 2022 Chinua Achebe Prize for Literature, and here is the longlist for the 2022 Toyin Falola Prize for African stories. Namwali Serpell is on the cover of Poets & Writers’ newest issue, and Chibundu Onuzo is one of the judges for the 2023 ‘Discoveries’ writing contest, sponsored by the UK Women’s Prize for Fiction.
From the Backlist
In honor of Futhi’s amazing prize this week, check out her North American debut novel, We Kiss Them With Rain, which we had the honor of publishing in 2018.
We Kiss Them With Rain by Futhi Ntshingila
Selected as a USBBY 2019 Outstanding International Book
2019 Skipping Stones Award honoree, Multi-cultural and International Books
Life wasn’t always this hard for 14-year-old Mvelo. There were good times living with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. Now her mother is dying of AIDS and what happened to Mvelo is the elephant in the room, despite its growing presence in their small shack. In this Shakespeare-style comedy, the things that seem to be are only a façade and the things that are revealed hand Mvelo a golden opportunity to change her fate. We Kiss Them With Rain explores both humor and tragedy in this modern-day fairy tale set in a squatter camp outside of Durban, South Africa.
Purchase a copy, read an excerpt, or check out the discussion guide.
Praise for We Kiss Them With Rain
“Taking place mostly in Durban, South Africa, the tale doesn’t shy away from the reality of AIDS, poverty, or rampant sexual abuse, but instead of making those subjects its sole focus, Ntshingila folds them in with the other realities of life: love, joy, and hope. Ntshingila’s lyrically wrought North American debut is a slim yet satisfying novel sure to trigger a wide range of emotions.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“It is a story about joy and hope and courage, and what it means to lift up others and be lifted oneself, and how one young girl found her voice in a world seemingly determined to take it away.” – Shelf Awareness (starred review)
“Those who appreciate realistic fiction will enjoy this novel in which young female characters learn to love themselves, no matter the circumstances” – School Library Journal
“Full of heart and hope despite the emotionally challenging subject matter […] A haunting, all-too-true story with plenty of compelling depth.” – Booklist
Futhi Ntshingila grew up in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Now she lives and works in Pretoria. She is a former journalist and holds a Masters Degree in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. She loves telling stories about the marginalized corners of society, which includes women and children in South Africa and particularly those who live in the squatter camps. In her two novels published in South Africa, she features strong women who empower themselves despite circumstances that seek to disempower them.
