I'd like to introduce you to
Catalyst Press, an independent publisher of books from and about Africa. Today,
we’re celebrating the release of our two newest titles—a Congolese graphic
novel and a fiction novel set in Durban and America—now available on shelves or
by order at all bookstores in South Africa.
MADAME LIVINGSTONE, written by comics historian Christophe Cassiau-Haurie, illustrated by beloved Congolese artist Barly Baruti, and translated into English by Ivanka Hahnenberger of Blue is the Warmest Color fame.
A historical fiction graphic novel
for adult readers, based
on the true story of two vastly different men— one Belgian, one African— who
take on one impossible mission: the sinking of a German battleship in the
Congo.
Aviator Gaston Mercier, lieutenant in the
Royal Belgian Army, arrives at Lake Tanganyika, Congo in 1915 on orders to sink
a critical German warship, the Graf Von
Götzen. To find out the ship’s exact position, he
is assigned a guide, an enigmatic, mixed-race African and the supposed son of
the famous explorer, David Livingstone, who is nicknamed “Mrs. Livingstone” for
the Scottish kilt he wears. Little by little, while the war between Belgian and
German colonial powers rages on and the pair hunt down the Graf Von Götzen, the
young Belgian pilot learns more about the land around him from Mrs. Livingstone
and discovers the irrevocable and tragic effects of colonialism on the local
people.
Advanced praise for Madame Livingstone:
“The complexities of war are
explored with a curious what-if twist in this elegantly drawn adventure. […] a
well-researched drama of human connections forged in an inhumane period.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Madame Livingstone uses a World
War I conflict in the Congo as the backdrop for an exciting adventure,
glimpsing into the country’s history of colonial exploitation. […] Madame
Livingstone is a rousing historical tale. Its excellent, authentic art is
attentive to details when picturing boats, airplanes, uniforms, and Congolese
clothing and landscapes.”—Foreword Reviews
“Not a simple action-oriented
graphic representation, the colourful and often lurid visuals carry readers
into places that their own minds may well have resisted. One can see the
environment, visualize the territory, and conjure the many overarching and
continual racist tensions.”—Historical Novels Review
ROADS
AND BRIDGES by Glynnis Hayward, a literary exploration of
the #ImStaying debate set in South Africa and California:
A chance meeting in South Africa, in the middle of nowhere, changes
everything for American Peace Corp worker Mandy Walker. When Mandy’s taxi to Durban runs
out of petrol alongside a country road, she and her American travelling companion are
stranded with their fellow passengers, a vibrant group of Zulus, including a
priest who was imprisoned with Mandela, a beautiful, ambitious Zulu woman, an
elder with multiple wives, a young Zulu man eager to escape his impending
marriage and finish his studies, and a young AIDS orphan named Jabulani.
Mandy struggles to overcome
language barriers—and cultural ones—as the group shares a flask of utshawala
and debates over religion, marriage, parenting, racial violence, women’s
rights, the future of South Africa, and more. The unlikely friendships forged
on this day collide in the years to come, as Mandy attempts to adopt Jabulani
and falls for a local from Durban. Struggling between a new love in—and of—South Africa, and the promise of
security and comfort back home in California for her and Jabulani, Mandy learns
the hard lesson of listening—to a country on the cusp of change, to her
community, and above all, to her instincts.
Please let me know if you’d like to
chat about our press.
Many thanks,
SarahBelle
Selig
071-510-9337
South African Office Head
Catalyst Press
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