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| This month: Another Lolo book hits the shelves, forthcoming releases, and a chance to catch one of our authors on the virtual stage.
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Author Event: Sifiso Mzobe
On June 2 at 4:00pm ET, Rofhiwa Book Café hosts a conversation between Young Blood author Sifiso Mzobe and author Jacob Ross. The two will discuss crime writing in South Africa and the Caribbean.
Young Blood is a multi-award-winning coming-of-age/crime novel centered on 17-year-old Sipho and his descent into the criminal underworld in the Umlazi Township in South Africa. It was named one of the most anticipated crime novels of 2021 by CrimeReads. As Sifiso said of the book in a recent interview with The Big Thrill magazine, "The setting is what I see every day. It’s the same with the main character—Siphos are all around me in my world. The character and the setting inspired the story simultaneously. In telling the story I wanted to put the reader inside Umlazi Township."
Jacob Ross is a novelist, short story writer, editor, and teacher. His crime fiction novel, The Bone Readers won the inaugural Jhalak Prize in 2017. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and is the Associate Fiction Editor at Peepal Tree Press, and the editor of Closure, Contemporary Black British Short Stories.
The event is free, but registration is required.
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Out now: You're a Star, Lolo
This month, we were proud to release You're a Star, Lolo, the third book in author/illustrator Niki Daly's Lolo series for beginning readers. The book was praised in a starred review from Kirkus, "[D]rawn tenderly and told in a way that honors the characters and their culture. Another winning addition—Lolo is indeed a star!”
You're a Star, Lolo joins Here Comes Lolo and Hooray for Lolo in the Lolo series of books that introduce young readers to the adventurous and fun-loving Lolo who lives in South Africa with her mother and grandmother. Head over to our site to order your copies, plus check out the teaching guides, activity pages, a read-along with the author, and more!
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Disruption: New Short Fiction from Africa
This collection features 21 new and emerging authors from across the African continent, each exploring the many ways that we grow, adapt, and survive in the face of our ever-changing global realities. This gorgeous cover was designed by previous Short Story Day Africa contributor, Megan Ross. You can read more about the collection and Short Story Day Africa in this article at Brittle Paper, and pre-orders are available now.
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The Rising Tide by Helen Brain
“Plagued by secrets and a new source of insecurity in the form of a perceived rival in love, it’s uncertain whether Ebba will figure out to whom she can turn to help save herself and those she cares about."—Kirkus
Continuing the story she began in The Thousand Steps, the first book in her Fiery Spiral trilogy for young adult readers, Helen Brain's Rising Tide returns us to the life of sixteen-year-old Ebba den Eeden. After spending sixteen years underground when nuclear war caused massive sea level rise and flooded her home city of Cape Town, Ebba must use her power to stop a second apocalypse. She must listen to her instincts, even if it means destroying the things she holds most dear. Who can she trust to help stop the second “Calamity,” now just days away? Who will betray her? Ebba will learn the impossible decisions—and great sacrifice—that sometimes come with destiny. Out June 8, learn more and order at our site.
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Madame Livingstone written by Christophe Cassiau-Haurie, illustrated by Barly Baruti, translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger
"A well-researched drama of human connections forged in an inhumane period." —Publishers Weekly
Madame Livingstone is a historical fiction story of adventure and friendship against the backdrop of World War I. Based on the true story of two vastly different men— one Belgian, one African— who take on one impossible mission: sinking a German battleship in the Congo. Royal Belgian Army lieutenant Gaston Mercier 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. 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, and discovers the irrevocable and tragic effects of colonialism on the local people. Out June 8, learn more and order at our site.
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