First up, some big news in the Catalyst world this week: Kirkus Reviews named Bridget Krone’s Small Mercies as one of the best middle grade books of 2020, and Booker shortlisted This Mournable Body author Tsitsi Dangarembga listed two upcoming Catalyst titles, Sifiso Mzobe’s Young Blood and Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu’s The Theory of Flight, on her top 10 favorite books! Congratulations to our amazing authors – you are the reason we love what we do! [Ed note: We’re having a sale on all of our books all month long! You can pick up any of our books for 20% off this month, and find out exactly why we love these authors so very much!]
Our dear friend Izak DeVries interviewed the Catalyst team for LitNet this week, where we talked about South African and American publishing, exciting things coming up on our list, and our fourth #ReadingAfrica week, which starts this Sunday and goes until December 12! Along with our annual social media campaign, where we encourage readers, authors, and book-lovers of all kinds to post about what African authors they’re reading, we’re also hosting two virtual #ReadingAfrica events for the first time ever. This Sunday, December 6 at 12:00 EST and 19:00 South Africa time, join us for our kick-off event co-hosted with LitNet and featuring a number of authors and publishers from around the world, and on Wednesday, December 9 at 12:00 EST and 19:00 South Africa time, crime columnist Michael Sears will be moderating an African crime novel panel. Find out more and register here for both events. We hope to see you there!
Now to the book world: in celebrity author news, J. R. R. Tolkien’s house, where he wrote The Hobbit and most of Lord of the Rings, is up for sale, and actors from the movie franchise are teaming up to crowdfund in hopes of purchasing and restoring the home as a Tolkien museum. The Hay Festival Winter Fest was this weekend, and you can find some of the highlights on LitHub, including Lee Child in conversation with Heather Martin and Robert Macfarlane in conversation with Jackie Morris and Nicola Davies. Jessica Simpson’s memoir is still smashing the charts and was recently named by Apple Books as one of the year’s best audiobooks. Natasha Trethewey’s Memorial Drive is getting a series, and Scottish author Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet was named the Waterstones Book of the Year.
In France, debut author Pauline Harmange’s 400-copy first print run with a two-man nonprofit publishing house sold out in matter of days – and after an attempt to ban the book by the French government, it’s now slated to be translated into more than 16 different languages. Finally, swoon over these dream vacations with your favorite authors while you lament your dwindling savings account (curse you, holiday bookstore sales!).
Weekly book list roundup: Here’s 7 holiday romances for fans of Hallmark Christmas flicks and all those Vanessa Hudgens Netflix movies. Book Riot’s got 28 sex-positive books for readers of all ages and eight classic teen sleuth series for lovers of Nancy Drew. Looking for the gift that keeps on giving well into the new year? Buy a voucher to one of the 25 best book subscriptions according to Book Riot, or pre-order a few of these LGBTQ books set to make a splash in 2021. Check out these book recommendations from cartoonist and author of Titan François Vigneault or one of these epic photo book recommendations from the staff at Buzzfeed.
The NPR’s 8th Book Concierge was released this week (the biggest one ever) featuring book recs from over 100 NPR staffers. Electric Lit has been hosting a book cover tournament on their social media all week, and the competition was fierce. And speaking of covers, by far my favorite book list of the year: LitHub‘s rundown of the 89 best book covers of 2020. Feast your eyes, folks.
In South Africa news, the Ramaphosa administration has teamed up with the National Library of South Africa and literacy organization Nal’ibali to coordinate a country-wide virtual book club launching December 14th, and the first 50 participants get a R300 voucher from Exclusive Books. Sign me up!
For some thought provoking reads, here’s my favorite philosopher Alain de Botton on emotional generosity and what it means to have charity in our interpretation of others. (Shameless 1-D plug, Harry Styles loves him too.) The New York Times Book Review editors discussed 2020 in books, and Chelsea Davis at Electric Lit tells us why director Rob Reiner’s film Misery is the perfect combination of horror flick and an elegy to the publishing days of old.
And by the way, happy December! To celebrate, head to Book Riot for their annual literary advent calendar, which gives you a poem to read every day of the month.
