Fall is in the air here (translation: I’m already cold). As the calendar pages start falling away on 2021, we thought it’d be a good time to give you all a little sneak peek at our upcoming titles— many of which are available for pre-order.
We’re excited to add more books from one of our favorite children’s authors, Niki Daly, our very first young adult book in translation, and a new addition to our growing list of graphic novels. In addition to those, we think there’s something for just about every kind of reader in our 2022 catalog.
January
Halley’s Comet written and translated by Hannes Barnard: A young adult novel set in the final years of South Africa’s Apartheid era. An unlikely trio are brought together by a night that will change their lives forever. Halley’s Comet is the coming-of-age story of Pete de Lange, a white 16-year-old schoolboy. Pete lives a relatively sheltered life, primarily concerned with girls and rugby— until one January night changes everything. Thrust together with two complete strangers—Petrus, a Black farmworker’s son and Sarita, an Indian shopkeeper’s daughter—the trio find themselves running for their lives from the vicious Rudie, whose actions will ripple far beyond that fateful night. This era-defying friendship—sparked by a shared secret— challenges everything Pete thought he knew and believed. And each will discover the consequences of knowing the truth and having the courage to speak it. Pre-orders available now
“We watch with bated breath as Pete questions and defies the inhumanity of Apartheid that tugs at him like a black hole’s gravity. Hannes Barnard delivers an indelible exploration of the importance of empathy in seeing color without seeing inferiority.” —Sonia Patel, author of William C. Morris Award finalist Rani Patel In Full Effect
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The History of Man by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu: Set in a southern African country that is never named, this powerful tale of human fallibility—told with empathy, generosity, and a light touch—is an excursion into the interiority of the colonizer.
Emil Coetzee, a civil servant in his fifties, is washing blood off his hands when the ceasefire is announced. Like everyone else, he feels unmoored by the end of the conflict. War had given him his sense of purpose, his identity. But why has Emil’s life turned out so different from his parents’, who spent cheery Friday evenings flapping and flailing the Charleston or dancing the foxtrot? What happened to the Emil who used to wade through the singing elephant grass of the savannah, losing himself in it?
Continuing the interconnected stories she began in her award-winning novel The Theory of Flight, Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu explores decades of history through the eyes of one man on his journey from boyhood to manhood, and the changes that befall him through love, loss, and war. With sympathy, complexity, and penetrating insight, The History of Man explores what makes a man, a father, and a nation. Pre-orders available now.
April
All Rise: Resistance and Rebellion in South Africa written by Richard Conyngham: All Rise recounts six true stories of resistance by marginalized South Africans against the country’s colonial government in the years leading up to Apartheid. Each of the stories is illustrated by a different artist (Saaid Rahbeeni, The Trantaal Brothers, Liz Clarke, Dada Khanyisa, Tumi Mamabolo, and Mark Modimola), a mix of celebrated and emerging South African illustrators, bringing to life these struggles of ordinary, working-class women and men who defended the disempowered during a tumultuous period in South African history. Pre-orders available now.
“[T]hese stories are made legible to anyone, anywhere, as universal histories of defiance and struggle that use art and text to do more than either could alone. Splendid to read on your own, this is also a brilliant tool for the classroom or seminar, complete with original evidence and a plethora of supporting material.”— Trevor R. Getz, author of Abina and the Important Men
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Today is Tomorrow by Caroline Kurtz: The follow-up to her award-winning memoir, A Road Called Down on Both Sides: Growing up in Ethiopia and America. When the Presbyterian Church in the United States begins recruiting a development team to work with war refugees in South Sudan, Caroline and her husband Mark are eager to help. But it’s only months before ghosts from their individual pasts whistle in to disrupt their marriage and their new postings.
Caroline finds relief in teaching and peace work in South Sudan, but the heavy responsibility she now carries for dozens of vulnerable families—coupled with the prevailing ideas of Biblical womanhood that put pressure on her personal life—makes it increasingly clear that Caroline is under-prepared for the high-stakes crisis in which she is now embedded. A deeply personal examination of South Sudan at war—and a woman at war with herself—Today is Tomorrow shines a warm light on the darkest of places.
May
Fly High, Lolo written and illustrated by Niki Daly: More fun is on the way for Lolo in Fly High, Lolo, the fourth book in Niki Daly’s Lolo series for beginning readers. Lolo is kind-hearted, creative, full of joy, and— whether it’s making homemade Christmas decorations from recycled plastics, or stepping in when the school play goes awry—she always knows just what to do to save the day!
On My Papa’s Shoulders written and illustrated by Niki Daly: Whether it’s jumping in puddles with Tata in the rain, greeting the neighborhood cat on the quiet back streets with Gogo, or holding hands with Mama while rushing to make the bell, walking to school with family is the best. But nothing is better than walking to school with Papa. From high above, resting on Papa’s shoulders, all of the town is in perfect view, and Papa always says “I love you” when he says goodbye. A sweet ode to fatherhood and the special relationships children share with each member of their family, On My Papa’s Shoulders reminds us that it’s not about where we’re going, but rather the people who walk with us along the way.
June
The Cedarville Shop and the Wheelbarrow Swap by Bridget Krone: From the award-winning author of Small Mercies. A lot of things can feel just out of reach in 12-year-old Boipelo Seku’s small, impoverished village of Cedarville, South Africa. The idea of one day living in a house that’s big enough for his family is just a faraway dream. But when Boi stumbles on a story about a Canadian man who traded his way from a paperclip to a house, Boi hatches his own trading plan starting with a tiny clay cow he molded from river mud. Trade by trade, Boi and his best friend Potso discover that even though Cedarville lacks so many of the things that made the paperclip trade possible, it is fuller than either of them ever imagined.
