First things first – Catalyst news! Niki Daly’s illustrated children’s book You’re a Star, Lolo got a starred review in Kirkus, and Luke Molver accepted his award for his graphic novel Shaka Rising, which was named an Honor Book for Older Readers by the Children’s Africana Book Awards last year. Two of our novelists, Young Blood author Sifiso Mzobe and Theory of Flight author Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, were featured in virtual talks this week – and both talks are now available to watch online! Join Sifiso on Stony Brook University’s Writers Speak Wednesdays and Siphiwe in conversation with Mercer University’s Dr. Vasile Stanescu.
And in honor of Earth Day this week, we’re offering a major discount on two of our titles, David Muirhead’s essay collection on South African animals Cat Among the Pigeons and Bridget Krone’s middle-grade novel Small Mercies. Use the code EARTHDAY at checkout on our site for 30% off both titles, only available until the end of April!
Tomorrow is Independent Bookstore day! Check out IndieBound’s indie bookstore finder and go buy yourself a book (or two, or twelve–we won’t judge!) to celebrate. UK bookstores have reopened just in time to take part in the revelry, and book sales went up a third in less than a week.
The International Booker Prize 2021 shortlist was announced this week, as were the winners of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, and Louise Erdrich’s The Night Watchman took home this year’s Aspen Words Literary Prize. But it may not be so easy to get that $35,000 check, thanks to a scam making its rounds in the literary awards circuit.
Want to go to the 2021 Nebula Conference? They’re offering a bunch of great scholarships for Black writers, AAPI writers, and writers from outside of the US. Scholarships include a free 2021 Nebula Conference ticket (June 4-6) plus a full year of supplementary virtual programming.
In celebrity book news, Richard Wright‘s novel The Man Who Lived Underground, written just after Native Son in 1940, is appearing for the first time in its entirety. Trump administration vets William Barr and Amy Coney Barrett are both getting book deals, and USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page’s biography of Nancy Pelosi launched this week. On NPR, George W. Bush discusses his visual art book, Out Of Many, One, including a collection of his oil paintings of American immigrants. Publication of the hotly-anticipated Philip Roth biography is being halted due to new accusations of rape and sexual abuse against biographer Blake Bailey, but Mike Pence’s memoir is moving through after a seven-figure deal despite complaints from Simon & Schuster staff about the book’s message. On the bright side, Simon & Schuster has confirmed they will not distribute a book written by the police officer who killed Breonna Taylor, which could have major implications for distribution deals across the industry. Tommy Orange, Alyssa Cole, Emma Cline, Megha Majumdar and more discuss their favorite books on The New York Times Book Review revived “Books That Made Me” column. Finally, beloved late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain is getting a new book thanks to pal Laurie Woolever, and the wildly popular video game Assassin’s Creed is getting a children’s book (yes, we recognize the absurdity of this, too).
This week’s best book lists: Check out these YA books for combating biphobia and 18 other queer YA novels you should add to your wish list. Get in the rhythm with these YA novels written in verse and this new and noteworthy poetry roundup from The New York Times. Here’s Book Riot‘s definitive list of the best Cinderella retellings, ten famous long poems to get stuck into this weekend and ten books based on podcasts you love.
Can’t get enough podcasts? Catch up on the most memorable podcasts from fifteen years of The New York Times‘ Book Review Podcast, including Toni Morrison, Christopher Hichens, Jeanette Winterson and more, and celebrate the 100th episode of LitHub‘s The Maris Review with guests Alexander Chee, Morgan Parker and Emma Straub as they discuss living and writing in NYC. Finally, on LitHub‘s Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast, Matthew Salesses and co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan discuss the politics and responsibility of the writing workshop.
In South African news, a massive fire swept across Cape Town’s Devil’s Peak mountain early this week and took many University of Cape Town (UCT) campus buildings in its wake, including the Jagger Library, home to the UCT’s treasured African Studies Library. It’s a tragedy for the university and the world, considering the sheer size of the collection, with more than 85,000 registered items. Original reports said the loss was devastating, but thankfully, the university’s principal archivist says that more of the collection survived than originally believed.
UCT professor Rethabile Possa-Mogoera has written the university’s first open access book in Sesotho, and our friend Colleen Higgs, publisher at Modjaji Books, talks about the state of poetry publishing in South Africa. Finally, studies have shown that book sharing with young children has a direct impact on decreased likelihood of violence later in life, and South African organizations like the Mikhulu Child Development Trust are stepping in to make book sharing a possibility for children across the country.
In more good news, the WikiAfrica Education initiative is helping increase the amount of publicly available, accurate, and contextually relevant information about Africa by recruiting by Africa-based writers to create and edit Wikipedia pages on African history, politics, language and culture.
In though provoking reads, Jamie Canaves argues for no more mentally ill villains, Chelsea Leu documents her journey through Ryan Holiday’s “Read to Lead Challenge”, Washington Post book columnist Ron Charles writes on what online bookselling means for book curation, and D.R. Baker gives some tips on worldbuilding. On Book Riot, Eileen Gonzalez calls King Tutankhamun an “underrated gem with loser-ish tendencies” and deep dives into the history of Sherlock Holmes. Mariela Santos Muñiz admits to feeling overwhelmed while reeducating herself, Debra Winger beautifully reframes the loss of her loved ones, Cathi Hanauer rereads Judy Blume as a 21st century woman, and Michelle Zauner discusses food as an expression of love and the global explosion of Korean culture. And why is everyone calling Jane Austen a tea-drinking racist? It’s not what you think.
Finally, brush up on your Big Apple history with these cool NYC maps and graphics.
