#ReadingAfrica week is an annual event for all publishing companies, readers and authors who want to share their love for African literature, #OokInAfrikaans and yes, #siyafundaisiZulu and #siyafundaisiXhosa and more – please see further down.
The week-long celebration was started by Catalyst Press, a small, female-run indie publisher of global literature with a primary focus on literature by African authors and about Africa. We publish authors from all over the African continent, but most of our authors hail from South Africa – which is why we’re hoping to get a lot of hype in South Africa for our fourth annual #ReadingAfrica campaign!
In 2017, we launched our Reading Africa Week campaign as a way to celebrate the authors and independent publishers who are doing so much to bring African literature to more readers. It was also an opportunity to spotlight the diversity of African literature — from comics, to mysteries, to romance, and more. African literature is a wide array of genres and styles, and all readers can find something to love.
Each year during the first full week of December, we invite publishers, authors, educators, librarians, readers, and book-lovers of all kinds to use the hashtag #ReadingAfrica across social media to highlight posts that celebrate African literature. We’ve had more people participating every single year and the campaign is really gaining momentum, so we're hoping this year is no different.
The campaign is now in its fourth year, and we'd love to have you join in or help raise awareness about the event.
All you have to do is go on your own social media pages and tweet, post, or share what you’re reading, using the hashtag #ReadingAfrica.
It can be an old favourite, a new obsession, or a book that’s still on your list; from sci-fi to poetry to non-fiction – anything goes! Check out this Book Riot article about last year's event.
This year, the event will be held from December 6-12.
Catalyst Press will be posting some great content leading up to and during #ReadingAfrica week, so make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Note: please be sure to use the correct hashtag to participate, #ReadingAfrica, otherwise we will not be able to read your entries. And, please, do add something about and in your own language to the event! You can tag #OokInAfrikaans, #siyafundaisiZulu, #siyafundaisiXhosa, and more – as long as you tag #ReadingAfrica we would love to hear from you in as many languages as possible! Which others can you think of?
J.L. Powers, the head of Catalyst Press, says: “Readers outside of the continent of Africa are starting to notice African writers, a hopeful development. A week celebrating African writers and books allows readers to begin to appreciate the richness and diversity of culture, history, language, society, government, and experience across the vast continent – so we love this week!”