Catapult publishes books, produces a daily web magazine, offers writing classes, and hosts an open online writing community. From the founders of Electric Literature and Black Balloon Publishing. Catapult is headquartered in New York, NY, with a second office in Portland, OR. Have a question? Shoot us an email at [email protected] Catapult welcomes your comments and encourages you to engage in a dialogue on our page. We do reserve the right to remove comments that are abusive.
Mission: We publish fiction and narrative nonfiction stories that are alive, illuminating, stirring, and surprising. We promote diverse, unique voices—both emerging and established—from all walks of life. We produce longform, print books, ebooks, web originals, workshops, classes, live events, and digital projects. We foster writers, artists, creators, and makers. We host a community for the emerging storytellers of all kinds. We advocate for the rights of creative workers.
"A gritty, gripping tale of girlhood, spirituality, and how salvation comes from the unlikeliest of places."
Esquire picks Chelsea Bieker's GODSHOT as one of the best books of the year!
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/g30630848/best-books-of-2020/
Our favorite books of the year report on issues ranging from teenage sexuality to Big Tech, while also telling deeply human stories.
High praise from Star Tribune in their recommendation of Chelsea Bieker's amazing debut novel: "GODSHOT is dark, fierce, and brilliant and I haven't stopped thinking about it."
Follow the StarTribune for the news, photos and videos from the Twin Cities and beyond.
Read an excerpt from Lynn Castille Harper's beautiful ON VANISHING here, courtesy of Bookforum!
An excerpt from On Vanishing – Lynn Casteel Harper
"Even more presciently, the book draws clear, pointed connections between environmental devastation and humanity’s reckless allegiance to colonialism and unchecked capitalism." Amy Brady's latest installment of her column, In This Climate, on how Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles paints a picture of history and climate change unlike she had ever read.
Climate change can often seem invisible, because at base, it’s a physics problem.
Tonight, join Chelsea Bieker, Megan Giddings and Ishmael Beah for an IG live reading, hosted by Twenty Stories!
(With a Zoom afterparty!)
More details here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/871368833346176/
In celebration of doctors, nurses, and every other essential medical worker, Book Riot's collected a list that proves they're always heroes, including a top pick for NIGHT THEATER by Vikram Paralkar!
http://ow.ly/CmT550ztn98
Doctors are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's a selection of books about doctors that illustrate their strength and courage.
We're putting our fates in the hands of the stars using these Literary Hub recommendations by astrology. This Pisces has absolutely no objection to picking up OFFICER CLEMMONS, everyone's favorite policeman pal.
http://ow.ly/Kti550ztmPE
With all the good books that come out each month, it can be hard to decide what to read (or, if you’re anything like the people in the Literary Hub office, what to read first). There are lots of go…
"Godshot is a piercing debut ... with devastating imagery (sticky baptisms performed with soda instead of water) and a girl brought up to believe that suffering brings you closer to God.” —Vulture, 1 of 32 Books We Can't Wait to Read This Year http://ow.ly/ZDv130qzYQ4
"The last hundred times she’d recalled this ritual they’d shared, mother and child, Mama Sandra had started to cry." A short story by Norman Erikson Pasaribu, translated from the Indonesian by Tiffany Tsao.
Her son’s name was Bison and, wouldn’t you know, she’d enjoyed calling him “Son” for short.
One woman. One thousand kilometers. One hell of a race.
🐎 "Rough Magic delivers." —The New York Times 🐎
🐎 "Absolutely riveting." —BuzzFeed 🐎
Rough Magic, the national bestseller by Lara Prior-Palmer. Now in paperback!
http://ow.ly/sZzd30qzZCh
NATIONAL BESTSELLER "Think the next Educated or Wild. Palmer’s memoir of beating the odds to become a horse champion is an inspiring saga of perseverance―and a classic underdog tale." ―Entertainment Weekly"If you like your memoirs to revolve around singular experiences, Lara Prior-Palmer’s R...
Lacey has no reason to doubt the pastor. . . .
Godshot, the astonishing debut novel from Chelsea Bieker, is available now!
http://ow.ly/G0X430qzYQ3
"An unusual pleasure to read . . . Prior-Palmer writes with a dash and boldness few writers possess." —NPR
Rough Magic, the national bestseller, is now in paperback!
http://ow.ly/sfYP30qzZCg
"She’d named him Bison because it sounded manly and strong, even though he’d have to grow up without a father." A short story by Norman Erikson Pasaribu, translated from the Indonesian by Tiffany Tsao.
Her son’s name was Bison and, wouldn’t you know, she’d enjoyed calling him “Son” for short.
"As she planned where she must go and how the flapping of her small wings might change things, she hoped she was prepared." Read new flash fiction by Abby Manzella.
When the Sequestering was lifted, she might think of her wings differently, like a child would.
"We live in a country that claims to value human life — until that human life is deemed unprofitable."
Salon spoke to Lynn Casteel Harper about our treatment of those with dementia, particularly in the time of COVID-19, and her new book ON VANISHING.
"On Vanishing" author Lynn Casteel Harper wants to change how we talk about dementia
Catapult's cover photo
"It was the Magical Negro Award, we half-joked. And my odds of winning the MNA next year are looking pretty good." Amazing Friday Fiction from Jade Jones on the #teacherstruggle to protect her students from an unwanted guest.
Amazing new short fiction from Jade Jones about an unexpected guest at an elementary school in Nowhere, New Jersey and the teacher scrambling to...
"'I could have his friendship and fatherly love and relationship forever,' Clemmons remembers today. 'But I could have the job only if I stayed in the closet.'”
PEOPLE looks at OFFICER CLEMMONS, the honest and engrossing new memoir from François Clemmons about his life and his relationship with Fred Rogers.
Fifty years later, Francois Clemmons — author of the new memoir Officer Clemmons — tells PEOPLE exclusively, “I forgive him. More than that, I understand"
Tomorrow, join Chelsea Bieker, Megan Giddings and Ishmael Beah for an IG live reading, hosted by Twenty Stories!
(With a Zoom afterparty!)
Such a good line up!
More details here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/871368833346176/
"The last hundred times she’d recalled this ritual they’d shared, mother and child, Mama Sandra had started to cry." A short story by Norman Erikson Pasaribu, translated from the Indonesian by Tiffany Tsao.
Her son’s name was Bison and, wouldn’t you know, she’d enjoyed calling him “Son” for short.
"Even more presciently, the book draws clear, pointed connections between environmental devastation and humanity’s reckless allegiance to colonialism and unchecked capitalism." Amy Brady's latest installment of her column, In This Climate, on how Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles paints a picture of history and climate change unlike she had ever read.
Climate change can often seem invisible, because at base, it’s a physics problem.
![A glowing review from NPR for François Clemmons's OFFICER CLEMMONS!"[D]isarming in its intimacy and honesty. ... [T]he s...](https://external.fymy1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/safe_image.php?d=AQBapi61it9If7tL&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2020%2F04%2F28%2Fclemmons_wide-18ef5fd011e4eac8b31b447b90127987ddd9e976.jpg%3Fs%3D1400&_nc_hash=AQAzRpVsUplYvwnB)
A glowing review from NPR for François Clemmons's OFFICER CLEMMONS!
"[D]isarming in its intimacy and honesty. ... [T]he show wasn't Clemmons' story — this memoir is. In the book, he doesn't ask you to be his neighbor, but rather just to hear his story: One of a man of profound strength and talent who stood up, sang out, and, after great struggle, was heard."
Dr. François S. Clemmons' ambition and artistry, pain and struggle informed the person behind his character, Officer Clemmons. His memoir is often disarming in its intimacy and honesty.
"Even more presciently, the book draws clear, pointed connections between environmental devastation and humanity’s reckless allegiance to colonialism and unchecked capitalism." Amy Brady's latest installment of her column, In This Climate, on how Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles paints a picture of history and climate change unlike she had ever read.
Climate change can often seem invisible, because at base, it’s a physics problem.
🎉Congratulations to Lynn Casteel Harper! 🎉
Her "searching, poetic inquiry into dementia" ON VANISHING has been chosen as a The New York Times Books Editors' Choice!!
https://nyti.ms/3aT2b0O
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
"I’m nostalgic for the days before I knew those songs could never love me back. The rude awakening was inevitable. But oh, my foolish heart." Brittany K. Allen on reconciling her love of rock music with its problematic history.
Because I was a Black girl in the American suburbs, yet I believed [The Beatles]—and eventually, a dazzle of other white male musicians—were...
what are your evening plans
Book: "... 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗒 𝗄𝗂𝗌𝗌𝖾𝖽 𝗉𝖺𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇𝖺𝗍𝖾𝗅𝗒, 𝖽𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗌𝗅𝗒, 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗐𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗌𝗂𝖽𝖾 𝖼𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖿𝖾𝖺𝗋."
What I see:
We're putting our fates in the hands of the stars using these Literary Hub recommendations by astrology. This Pisces has absolutely no objection to picking up OFFICER CLEMMONS, everyone's favorite policeman pal.
http://ow.ly/Kti550ztmPE
With all the good books that come out each month, it can be hard to decide what to read (or, if you’re anything like the people in the Literary Hub office, what to read first). There are lots of go…
In celebration of doctors, nurses, and every other essential medical worker, Book Riot's collected a list that proves they're always heroes, including a top pick for NIGHT THEATER by Vikram Paralkar!
http://ow.ly/CmT550ztn98
Doctors are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here's a selection of books about doctors that illustrate their strength and courage.
Fred Rogers told us to look for the helpers, and The Nerd Daily spoke with one of our favorites: Dr. François Clemmons, whose memoir OFFICER CLEMMONS hits shelves next week:
http://ow.ly/N7Cu50ztn6x
We chat to Dr. Francois Clemmons about his memoir, 'Officer Clemmons', which explores his time on 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'.
"Oh, I remember thinking. This is your old age. This is your frailty. Once, you held me. Now I hold you." A beautiful essay from Daniel Elder on the conflict of mourning his mother and feeling grateful that she doesn't have to fear Covid-19 all at once.
A beautiful essay from Daniel Elder, on the conflict of mourning his mother and feeling grateful that she doesn't have to fear Covid-19 all at once.
"And ever since I was a ten-year-old girl, I have turned to sci-fi for help with making sense of the world." Amy Brady on how Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles paints a picture of history and climate change unlike she had ever read.
Climate change can often seem invisible, because at base, it’s a physics problem.
High praise from Star Tribune in their recommendation of Chelsea Bieker's amazing debut novel: "GODSHOT is dark, fierce, and brilliant and I haven't stopped thinking about it."
Follow the StarTribune for the news, photos and videos from the Twin Cities and beyond.
Read an excerpt from Lynn Casteel Harper's beautiful ON VANISHING here, courtesy of @bookforum:
http://ow.ly/Jvyb50zrh2T
An excerpt from On Vanishing – Lynn Casteel Harper
Electric Literature
Nailing the opening of your short story or novel is one of the most difficult and crucial things you can do to “sell” your creative vision and voice. Learn how to get it right in our partner Catapult’s workshop with Dawnie Walton, author of the forthcoming novel THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL & NEV (37 Ink/Atria). Register today!
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María Gainza'a singular OPTIC NERVE has made its way to the finals in the The Morning News Tournament of Books, where it squares off against a heavyweight: Sally Rooney's NORMAL PEOPLE! What an incredible underdog story this year! https://themorningnews.org/tob/
"The Crying Book seems determined to . . . press up against the edge of language, to push beyond representation into the real.” —Katy Waldman, The New Yorker https://books.catapult.co/products/the-crying-book-by-heather-christle
Columbus! This Thursday 12/5 at 8:00pm: Heather Christle will discuss her newest, THE CRYING BOOK 💦, with Madeline Ffitch and Elissa Washuta at Two Dollar Radio Headquarters
In case you missed the news, OPTIC NERVE by María Gainza and translator Thomas Bunstead is one of the notable books of the year as chosen by The New York Times Books! See the full list here: https://nyti.ms/2shwRbw And don't miss the gorgeous full review of the book by John Williams here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/18/books/review/maria-gainza-optic-nerve.html
✨Congratulations to María Gainza and translator Thomas Bunstead! ✨ OPTIC NERVE is one of the notable books of the year as chosen by The New York Times Books! See the full list here: https://nyti.ms/2shwRbw And don't miss the gorgeous full review of the book by John Williams here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/18/books/review/maria-gainza-optic-nerve.html
OHIO! In a couple of weeks, Thursday 12/5 at 8:00pm: Don't miss Heather Christle discuss her newest, THE CRYING BOOK 💦, with Madeline Ffitch and Elissa Washuta at Two Dollar Radio Headquarters!
OHIO! Next month, Thursday 12/5 at 8:00pm: Don't miss Heather Christle discuss her newest, THE CRYING BOOK 💦, with Madeline Ffitch and Elissa Washuta at Two Dollar Radio Headquarters.
“Antonio is a young man who does not know how to elicit desire, only demand it. He’s a poster boy for toxic masculinity as well as its greatest victim.” An all-new installment of Movie Made Gay from @bmanuel on Antonio Banderas, briefs, and sexual awakening in the Hanes aisle, featuring an illustration from @levihastingsart! Follow the link in our bio or Stories for more!
"[Lara] Prior-Palmer already shares many qualities with classic English travel writers such as Rebecca West and Gertrude Bell, but she is also refreshingly self-aware. . . . [ROUGH MAGIC is] a heroic tale beautifully told."—Caroline Eden, Times Literary Supplement.
Look what landed in our office just now! Finished copies of the THE UNGRATEFUL REFUGEE by Dina Nayeri! I'm so excited to get this into your hands!
Heather Hansman of Outside Magazine says, "ROUGH MAGIC succeeds on its realness and Lara Prior-Palmer’s unsparing analysis of herself and the scene. . . . Even in the down moments, when one of her ponies is temporarily injured and she’s struggling, the fast-paced book is lyrical and full of tight, action-packed sentences. It reads like it came bursting out of her." http://bit.ly/2Z9ZNNS
This splendid review of ROUGH MAGIC in the May 1st issue of the Library Journal is truly the bees knees! "A fresh, irreverent voice and a quick wit. . . . It's a story worthy of the best adventure writers, and Lara Prior-Palmer does not disappoint. An appealing account that will capture the imagination of a wide audience, including young adults. Readers who enjoyed Cheryl Strayed's Wild and James Campbell's Braving It will want to join Prior-Palmer on her once-in-a-lifetime trek."
Happy pub day to María Gainza and translator Thomas Bunstead. OPTIC NERVE is in stores in the U.S. today! "A highly original, piercingly beautiful work, a book you’ll want to savor." —Johanna Thomas-Corr, The Guardian “Here, art is a trellis around which life knots and overlaps, severs, climbs upward . . . Optic Nerve’s episodic iridescence—the way each chapter shimmers with the delicacy of a soap bubble—belies its gravity. Gainza has written an intricate, obsessive, recherché novel about the chasm that opens up between what we see and what we understand" —Dustin Illingworth, The Nation Order yours here! http://bit.ly/MGOpticNerve
The American Booksellers Association’s May Indie Next list is here, and guess which author and which 25 Mongolian ponies made the list? 🏇🏇🏇🏇🏇🏇🏇🏇 See the full list here! https://www.bookweb.org/news/may-2019-indie-next-list-preview-571873
Thomas Gebremedhin of WSJ Magazine names Lara Prior-Palmer's ROUGH MAGIC as one of the 12 best books of the spring! "An inspirational tale of struggle—dehydration, injury and isolation—ultimately overcome through grit and sheer willpower." https://on.wsj.com/2U9kdYv
Remember, you can pre-order signed copies of Jane Alison's forthcoming Meander, Spiral, Explode: Design and Pattern in Narrative with our friends at Old Town Books. Reserve yours here: http://bit.ly/meanderpreorder
Same, Celeste Ng, same.
Fantastic to see a Publishers Weekly star for Shelley Jackson's RIDDANCE! "This clever, cacophonous novel of metaphysical gothic from Jackson (Half Life) teems with voices of the living and the dead. . . . Full of Carrollian logic and whimsical grotesquerie, the tale . . . is an illuminating allegory of fiction writing, for “the necrocosmos is made of language; we precipitate a world with every word we speak.” Joines is a remarkable creation in a wonderful book—an imperious, otherworldly, and damaged figure who, haunted by her childhood, devises and devotes her life to a haunted philosophy." bit.ly/RiddancePW
It's our great pleasure to announce that Nicole Chung's forthcoming ALL YOU CAN EVER KNOW has been chosen as a Barnes & Noble Fall 2018 Discover Great New Writers selection! Congratulations Nicole! bit.ly/AYCEKBN
Have you seen the stunning cover for Suzanne Matson’s engrossing and intimate new novel? Ultraviolet illuminates the lives of three generations of women, each more independent than the last. Get your preorders in now!
Today, in honor of #WorldSleepDay, we're extremely proud to unveil our cover for the forthcoming INSOMNIA by Marina Benjamin. "An exquisite meditation on time, the dark hours, and the complexities of longtime love, INSOMNIA is a poetic journey into the wide-awake, generous, exciting mind of Marina Benjamin. I couldn't put it down, and my own inner world is richer for it." —Dani Shapiro, author of Hourglass Insomnia is on the rise. More than a third of all adults report experiencing it, with the figure climbing steeply among those over sixty-five. Marina Benjamin takes on her personal experience of the condition—her struggles with it, her insomniac highs, and her dawning awareness that states of sleeplessness grant us valuable insights into the workings of our unconscious minds. Although insomnia is rarely entirely welcome, Benjamin treats it less as an affliction than as an encounter that she engages with and plumbs. She adds new dimensions to both our understanding of sleep (and going without it) and of night, of how we perceive darkness. Along the way, INSOMNIA trips through illuminating material from literature, art, philosophy, psychology, pop culture, and more. Benjamin pays particular attention to the relationship between women and sleep—Penelope up all night, unraveling her day's weaving for Odysseus; the Pre-Raphaelite artists' depictions of deeply sleeping women; and the worries that keep contemporary females awake. INSOMNIA is an intense, lyrical, witty, and humane exploration of a state we too often consider only superficially. "This is the song of insomnia, and I shall sing it," Marina Benjamin declares.
Nicole Chung's forthcoming memoir ALL YOU CAN EVER KNOW is so moving. No, really, IT'S MOVING! Preorder your signed copy from Powell's Books, Inc. now! http://bit.ly/NicoleChung
Oh hey, we do hardcovers now.
MEMO:
Happy pub day to Simeon Marsalis! His "visionary" nuanced novel AS LIE IS TO GRIN is in stores everywhere today! Don't miss the novel booksellers across the country are listing as one of the best of the year!
Happy pub day to Anthony Brandt and David Eagleman! Their "essential," "beautifully written" THE RUNAWAY SPECIES is in stores everywhere today! More details here: https://books.catapult.co/products/the-runaway-species-pre-order
Happy pub day to Josephine Rowe, whose brilliant A LOVING, FAITHFUL ANIMAL is in stores everywhere today! "A subtle and haunting meditation on childhood, escape, the bonds and the limits of family, and the long reach of trauma. Rowe is a serious talent, and her debut novel is both gorgeous and stunning." —Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven https://books.catapult.co/products/a-loving-faithful-animal-a-novel
Amazing! RESERVOIR 13 by Jon McGregor, Writer has just been longlisted for the The Man Booker Prize, alongside some incredible company. We're extremely proud to be publishing this deft, beautiful novel in the U.S. this fall, a book that truly deserves this recognition. Congrats Jon!
When you're the last one in the office and the publicists aren't there to guard the galleys.
Looking for a last-minute gift idea for writers? Preferably one that doesn't involve shipping? Gift cards are available for our NYC-based winter/spring writing bootcamps with these incredible instructors:
