“This place called Africa. You think you know it. You have learned about it in school. You have come across stories about it in the media. Perhaps, you have visited the place or better still live there and so you feel that you really know it. It is not until you pick up a book that you realize that you probably do not know this place called Africa — its many countries and peoples, its multitudes of languages and experiences, its overwhelming diversity and vibrancy — as well as you think you do. And that is the beauty and joy of reading African Literature — the constant discovery.”
—Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, author The Theory of Flight and The History of Man

2023 Events
All Events are online, and begin at 12pm ET | 5pm London | 7pm SAST

Tuesday, December 5 From Nairobi to New York: Kenyan Writers on the Rise: Panelists TBA, moderated by Dr. Lizzy Attree: Register here

Thursday, December 7 Writing a Greener World: How African Writers are Responding the Climate Crisis: Register here

Panelists

Chinelo Onwualu, speculative fiction writer and co-founder of Omenana Magazine

Dr. Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike, author of short fiction, poetry, and children’s fiction. Assistant professor of English at the University of Calgary

Helon Habila, novelist and poet. Professor at George Mason University

Dela Gwala, feminist facilitator, researcher, creative chameleon and a multidisciplinary storyteller

Nelson Rolon, speculative fiction writer. Author of Saudade and Sponsor Coordinator and Tech Assistant at FIYAH Literary Magazine

Moderated by Bridget Pitt, South African author and environmental activist, and author of Eye Brother Horn

Friday, December 8 African Languages, Global Audiences: Publishers and Writers on the Art of Translation Register here

Panelists

Hannes Barnard is a South African-born author of both English and Afrikaans novels.

Tina Kover is the translator of more than a dozen works of fiction and nonfiction. Her translations have twice been nominated for the IMPAC Dublin International Literary Award and she was the recipient in 2009 of a Literary Translation Fellowship from the U.S. National Endowment for the Arts.

Bhakti Shringarpure is a writer and editor who runs the Radical Books Collective and is the founding editor of Warscapes online magazine.

Raphael Thierry is a literary agent and founder of Ægitna Literary Agency, which is dedicated to world literature and targets unconventional fiction and non-fiction publications and translations.

Catalyst Press started Reading Africa Week in 2017 as an annual celebration of African literature. Each year, during the first full week of December, we ask book-lovers of all kinds to use the hashtags #ReadingAfrica or #ReadingAfricaWeek across social media on posts that spotlight African literature.

We started this campaign to bring attention to writers who are doing diverse and genre-spanning work from every corner of the African continent. And because we’re an indie publisher, we really wanted to spotlight all of the great things our colleagues in the indie publishing world are doing to bring these voices to more readers.

Our first year was small: we reached out to just a few presses and asked them to use the hashtag on their social media posts to spotlight new books, old favorites, upcoming releases, and gems from their catalogs to show people the diversity of African literature. From that first campaign, #ReadingAfrica has only grown in scope and reach. We’ve included events, and we’ve had participants from four continents, spanning fields and organizations such as libraries, schools, publishers, writers and more. 2022 also marked our first year including a companion #ReadingAfrica playlist, which was curated by a member of acclaimed Afro-funk band, Sinkane.

Each year, we find ourselves overwhelmed by the support of readers and publishers from around the globe, each eager to celebrate African literature. Africa is a place with incalculable stories to tell, and our goal each year is to prioritize African voices, spark conversation, and to resist the flattening of a place with limitless possibilities.

Past #ReadingAfrica participants include:

  • Akashic Press, independent publisher
  • Cassava Republic, independent publisher
  • InterKontinental, German non-profit promoting literature from Africa
  • Africa in Words, online publication
  • World Kid Lit, online publication
  • Literary Hub/Crime Reads, online publication
  • Archipelago Books, independent publisher
  • Powell’s Books, bookstore
  • Cafe Con LIbros, bookstore
  • Accord Literary, literary agency
  • Multnomah County Library (Portland, OR)
  • Arab Lit/Arab Lit Quarterly, website and literary journal
  • Bustle, online publication
  • Comma Press, independent publisher
  • Nal’ibali, South African literary organization
  • Oxford SA Schools
  • Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize
  • Publisher Spotlight
  • Bulaq, podcast
  • Short Story Day Africa
  • Global Literature in Libraries Initiative
  • Cinco Puntos Press, independent publisher
  • American Booksellers Association
  • Dundurn Press, independent publisher
  • Groundwood Books, independent publisher
  • Deep Vellum, independent publisher
  • World Literature Today, literary magazine
  • Bookshop.org
  • Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance
  • Sutton Grammar School, UK

Selected Media/Events