CANADA, September 2021- Canadian Independent publisher Rising Action Publishing Collective is thrilled to announce their new partnership with South Africa’s Blackbird Books. This partnership will see the distribution of South African black author voices in the North American market.

“Blackbird Books affords me and our authors the space to produce stories that are true to our African experience and who are,” said Thabiso Mahlape, owner and publisher of Blackbird Books. “A big part of our vision is to share those stories with the rest of the world just as they are, and this partnership is a big step in us beginning in realizing that dream.” 

This partnership will see the initial release of four South African books with the potential for more in the future. Those books are: Sweet Medicine by Panashe Chigumadzi, No Be From Hia by Natasha Omokhodion-Kalulu, Holding My Breath by Ace Moloi, and Broken River Tent by Mphutumi Ntabeni. 

“To be able to bring these important books to Canada is something my business partner, Tina Beier, and I are so proud to be a part of,” says Alexandria Brown, co-owner of Rising Action Publishing Co. “When we started our indie publishing house we wanted to find a way to bring books to Canada from outside of the North American and UK markets to assist with the diversification of books in publishing.”

The aforementioned novels will be released at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022.

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Blackbird Books was founded in August 2015 by publisher Thabiso Mahlape. Its launch was a ground-breaking move for the South African literary landscape and since its inception, they have been pioneering and establishing a home for new African narratives, especially for black authors. They provide this platform to brilliant authors, concentrated on young black authors, who would otherwise not have the opportunity to tell the stories that shape and showcase the wealth of their African experiences. They pride themselves on being a launchpad for black narratives that would otherwise not get the attention they deserve.

Rising Action Publishing Collective was founded in July 2020 by Tina S. Beier and Alexandria Brown. Rising Action is committed to supporting diverse authors and their stories. Currently, they are focused on growing their publishing catalogue and have acquired authors in Women’s Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, and Thrillers from Canada, the United States, and Norway. They aim to publish stories that not only entertain but have an important message behind them.

For more information contact:

Alexandria Brown

Co-Owner, Rising Action Publishing Collective

alex@risingactionpublishingco.com

403-616-4407