Making rain for southern African women writers Modjaji Books is an independent feminist press that publishes southern African women writers. Modjaji Books fills a gap by providing a platform for serious and ground-breaking writing by new and established women writers with brave voices. We publish short stories, novels, memoir, biography, poetry, essays, narrative non-fiction, reference … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Modjaji Books
Banned from publication in his home country of Czechoslovakia, Ivan Klíma's powerful 1986 novel Love and Garbage could not be published until after the Velvet Revolution of 1989. It went on to sell over 100,000 copies in the thaw that followed the end of the Cold War. Summary: The narrator of Ivan Klima's novel has temporarily abandoned his … Continue reading International Banned Book Pick: Love and Garbage by Ivan Klíma
She sat in a taxi, stuck on the main road in the Old Town district. White lines of paint clearly marked six lanes of traffic, but none of them were going anywhere. The road signs reflected the harsh rays of the sun, glowing in every color of the spectrum. The trees on either side … Continue reading Paper Republic Story: “49 Degrees” by Song Aman
In the early 1980s, thousands of Ethiopian Jews fled the civil unrest, famine and religious persecution of their native land in the hopes of being reunited in Yerusalem, their spiritual homeland, with its promises of a better life. Wuditu and her family risk their lives to make this journey, which leads them to a refugee … Continue reading USBBY Outstanding International Book Pick: Cry of the Giraffe by Judie Oron
HELPER I She was not one of us. She said her life was an early evening, or an early dawn, and she was going to leave before it was night or before it was morning. She gave you the feeling that you were inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, and that if you stood … Continue reading Excerpt: The Sound of Things to Come by Emmanuel Iduma
The protagonist of An Eternity in Tangiers is a teenager named Gawa, who leaves his native city, the imaginary West African capital of Gnasville, hoping to find a better life in Europe, where he hopes to escape the turmoil of his home country. Following a journey fraught with dangers and betrayals, Gawa is stranded in … Continue reading Title Pick: An Eternity in Tangiers by Eyoum Nganguè
Chapter 1 Tsito Every time I watch the fampitaha, my heart aches, and I can see Sahasoa again, where I spent the first years of my life with the people under the sky. I can see Fara again, who was crowned queen of the competition. Back then, we still rolled the gatestones across the entrances … Continue reading Excerpt: Beyond the Rice Fields by Naivo
Catalyst Press is an independent press founded in 2017. At Catalyst, we see books as a spark or catalyst for change in the world. We seek to publish books that reveal the world from different perspectives, tilting or reversing or tweaking our own understanding of what’s real, true, necessary, or beautiful. Catalyst’s publishing program will … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Catalyst Press
A New York Times Notable Book A Time Magazine “Best Comix of the Year” A San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times Best-seller Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s graphic memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life … Continue reading International Banned Book Pick: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Desperate to make ends meet, Ombima commits a “harmless” crime. When he tries to conceal his misdeed, the simple farm laborer becomes a reluctant participant in a sinister affair. If discovered, the consequences could be disastrous for Ombima’s family, friends, and a spate of unwitting, gossipy villagers. A delicious tale of greed, lust, and betrayal, … Continue reading Title Pick: Forbidden Fruit by Stanley Gazemba
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 