Part 1: 1985 1 “Mary, please open the door.” His voice echoed from behind the locked front door, plaintive, lost – the voice of a man adrift. “Please, my darling, just open the door, one more time. Let me in for five minutes. I just want to talk.” He sounded close to breaking. His careless … Continue reading Excerpt: Grace by Barbara Boswell
Guébo’s verse in My Country, Tonight (Mon Pays Ce Soir) often refers to the Iroko, a tree that withstands brush-fire and cannot be razed, because of its deep and study roots. Iroko: the name of the tree is also the name of a guardian-deity, or ancestor-spirit worshiped in West-African traditional religions — the native religions that Guébo insists have … Continue reading Between the Naked Water and the Flower of the Iroko: A book review of My Country Tonight by Josué Guébo
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
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
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
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
A Caribbean zombie, smart, gentlemanly, financially independent and a top executive in an important pharmaceutical company, becomes obsessed with finding the formula that would reverse his condition and allow him to become “a real person.” In the process, three of his closest collaborators (cerebral and calculating Isadore, wide-eyed and sentimental Mathilde, and rambunctious Patricia), guide … Continue reading Title Pick: Wicked Weeds by Pedro Cabiya
MISSION MVP — The nonprofit publishing arm of Americas for Conservation + the Arts, MVP is one of only a handful of publishers dedicated to connecting the literature of the Americas. We unite the works of the best writers of Central and South America with the leading ethnic and minority writers of North America . MVP … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Mandel Vilar Press
A large, ungainly coach, a sort of Noah’s ark stuffed with passengers, lumbered slowly and with difficulty down the wide, muddy roads of the town of Miloslavka. The pair of horses, so gaunt their ribs protruded, kept stumbling and swaying off course. The coach rocked and twisted like a ship in a storm, rose and … Continue reading Excerpt: Pioneers: The First Breach by S. An-sky
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 