Kariba

"Siku has always called the Zambezi River her home. She understands the water - and strangely enough, it seems to understand her, too, bending to her will and coming to her aid in times of need. But things are changing on the river - a great dam is being built, displacing thousands of Shonga people - and things are changing in Siku, too, as her ability to manipulate water grows out of control, and visions of a great serpent pull her further from reality and her loving father, Tongai."--]cProvided by publisher.

About the author

Daniel Clarke is a Cape Town-based artist working in animation, film and illustration. He started his career in animation in 2008 at Triggerfish Animation Studios, a collaboration that has lasted up until today and has seen him act as Production Designer and Art director on projects such as the feature film Khumba, BBC's Stick Man and Snail and the Whale. As an illustrator and designer he has worked, amongst others, with clients such as Netflix, Animal Logic, The Line, National Geographic Kids, Nike, Adidas, and Penguin Random House. Daniel has worked as an illustrator and art director for international feature films such as Chronicle (Josh Trank, 2012); The Giver (Philip Noyce, 2014); and Chappie (Neil Blomkamp, 2015). Daniel recently directed Aau's Song, a Star Wars: Visions film from Lucasfilm, available on Disney+ in May 2023.
James Clarke was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and educated at the University of Cape Town, where he studied history and literature and completed his Masters in Creative Writing as a Harry Crossley Fellow. In 2016, he was the South Africa finalist in fiction for the PEN International New Young Voices Award. Kariba is his first graphic novel collaboration. 

Daniel Snaddon is an artist, illustrator, and film director of Scottish-South African and Chinese-Australian descent, who grew up in Nelspruit, a short drive away from the Kruger National Park. He has worked in the animation and film industries for fourteen years, best known for his work with Triggerfish Animation Studios and with Magic Light Pictures' animated BBC Christmas specials. Among these, Daniel served as animation supervisor on the Academy Award nominated "Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes", co-director on the BAFTA nominated "Stick Man", and as director on both the Annie award winning "The Snail and the Whale" and the International Emmy winning "Zog". Daniel's most recent work, his fourth Magic Light Pictures Christmas special, "The Smeds and the Smoos", based on the book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler (authors of The Gruffalo), was awarded the Audience Award at the New York International Children's Film Festival in March 2023. Daniel served as the founding director of CTIAF, South Africa's premiere animation festival, for 4 years.  

Summary

2023 ALA Best Graphic Novels for Children

The daughter of a river god, raised by a human father and bound to a tragic destiny. An African fantasy-adventure graphic novel inspired by the mythology of the Zambezi River and the history of the Kariba Dam, one of the largest dams ever constructed.

From the director of Aau’s Song, a Star Wars: Visions film from Lucasfilm,  and the director of the 2023 NYICFF award-winning The Smeds and the Smoos
Siku has always called the Zambezi River her home. She understands the water – and strangely enough, it seems to understand her, too, bending to her will and coming to her aid in times of need. But things are changing on the river – a great dam is being built, displacing thousands of Shonga people – and things are changing in Siku, too, as her ability to manipulate water grows out of control, and visions of a great serpent pull her further from reality and her loving father, Tongai.

When Tongai ventures to the Kariba Dam to find a cure for Siku and never returns, she sets off to find him with the help of Amedeo, the young son of Kariba’s chief engineer. Together, they traverse elephant graveyards, rugged jungles, and ancient ruins, outrunning pirates, bootleggers, and shape-shifting prophets ready to use Siku to their own advantage. But Siku soon discovers that her father has been shielding a terrible secret: Siku is actually the daughter of the Great River Spirit, Nyaminyami, and the only way to bring about the necessary rumuko - a ritual which has brought balance to the Zambezi for centuries - is for Siku to give up the only life she's ever known.

With the future of the Shonga resting on her shoulders, Siku must journey to the source of the river to understand the ancient power hidden within her. 

Foreword

• 250 review copies (150 prepub, 100 postpub) sent to reviewers, booksellers, librarians, bloggers, others. 
  
• We will seek early blurbs from graphic novelists and writers such as Roye Okupe, Loyiso Mkize, Joe Sacco, Marguerite Abouet, Lauren Beukes, and Setor Fiadzigbey.
  
• Available as an e-ARC on Edelweiss and Netgalley. 
  
• Leveled and aligned with Common Core. 
  
• We will seek to host an author Q&A chat on Goodreads. 
  
• Teaching guide available on website. 
  
• Marketing to library market begins with galleys in the Baker and Taylor ARC program.
  
• Promoted at Comic Con, ALA annual, mid-winter ALA, NCTE, NCSS, and African Studies Association annual conferences.
  
• Digital galleys to School Library Journal, The New York Times, PW Grab a Galley, ALA Booklist, Shelf Awareness, Kirkus
• Blog tour with book giveaways. 
  
• Goodreads and LibraryThing giveaways. 
  
• We will send review copies to relevant young women's and Black and minority ethnic empowerment organizations, youth activism organizations, and environmental groups. 
  
• We will specifically engage with comic book stores, environmental book stores, youth bookstores, and black-owned and women's interest indie bookstores who may be interested in featuring the book or hosting a virtual event with the authors.
  
• We will seek out book clubs who are interested in the book and will create a reading guide for book clubs and others interested in reading the book in a group setting. 
  
• We will submit the book for all relevant awards. 
  
• Promotion online via Catalyst's website as well as email lists and social media (Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube) with author and publisher interviews, chats, and guest posts. 
  
• Submission to the Junior Library Guild 
  
• Simultaneous e-book and trade paper print release. 
  
• We will pitch essays and op-eds from the Kariba creative team to major literary outlets.
•  We will host a joint event with the Kariba and Pearl of the Sea (Catalyst Press) creative teams on African environmentalism, heritage, and African comics, moderated by Catalyst Press author David Muirhead (Cat Among the Pigeons) or Bridget Pitt (Eye Brother Horn)
  
• We will promote and seek ways to promote within the secular, progressive homeschooling community.
  
• The creative team has provided us the following animation teaser for use in publicity: https://vimeo.com/122076401

Product details

• Assisted by: Catalyst (Editor)
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 10 to 14
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Release: 05.09.2023, delayed
• EAN: 9781946395825
• ISBN: 978-1-946395-82-5
• No. of pages: 230
• Illustrations: Full color, all pages (graphic novel format)
• Subjects: Children's and young people's books; Fiction > Comic, cartoon, humour, satire; JUVENILE FICTION / Fantasy & Magic, JUVENILE FICTION / Legends, Myths, Fables / African, JUVENILE FICTION / Social Themes / Activism & Social Justice