adminBeaven Tapureta Bookshelf
Each year as winter approaches the spotlight in the literary sector falls on the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, which holds the main Harare book extravaganza usually end of July.
It has become sort of a liturgy to have the two-day long Indaba deliberations setting the rhythm of the theme and, during the days that follow, to walk around the Harare gardens enjoying the book exhibitions, the children’s reading tent and live literature.
However, this year’s ZIBF, running under the theme “The Book: Creating the Future”, is not in July. According to the ZIBF, the book event has been moved to end of September to give way to the national elections of which dates are yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, the ZIBF said it will hold its provincial book fairs in Bulawayo and Masvingo under the same major theme “The Book: Creating the Future”. The theme is also expected to have sub-themes in areas propounded in the regional and international agendas or policies such as the Africa Agenda 2063, the UN 2030 SDG’s and the National Book Policy.
Speaking to Bookshelf recently, ZIBF Board Chairperson Mr Blazio Tafireyi said the usual dates for the main Harare book fair have been re-scheduled to September because of the elections.
“Yes, the main book fair in Harare will be affected. The election date is not known yet but we expect it between July 23 and August 23, so we have to move to end of September. However, we will be giving out more confirmed details in the near future,” said Mr Tafireyi.
He said the Bulawayo Book Fair will be held from June 1 to 2 at the Bulawayo City Hall while the Masvingo Book Fair is expected to take place at the Masvingo Civic Centre from June 8 to 9, just before the expected elections.
Mr Tafireyi added that the ZIBF will soon issue out a call for papers (abstracts) for the two-day Indaba Conference which presents an opportunity for book industry players to have a multi-perspective discussion of the chosen theme and hatch action plans or resolutions.
In the previous years, presenters at the Indaba have been drawn from here in Zimbabwe and far places across Africa.
The past will definitely provide some sidelights for the future of the book in Zimbabwe and/or the whole of Africa.
Last year, the ZIBF ran under the theme “Making the Book Pay”, with stakeholders exploring various ways of making writers benefit from their intellectual property.
Although the 2017 Indaba had its own enlightening moments, a much more edifying look at issues affecting local writers was taken at the ZIBF workshop held at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe on August 5.
The writers flexed the theme a little bit for the workshop and met under “Writing the Book that Pays”, examining topics like ‘writing children’s books that pay’, ‘is it still possible and profitable to continue to write and publish in the African languages in Zimbabwe?’ and ‘the quality and value of the current set books from Zimbabwe’.
Last year’s ZIBF also coincided with the introduction of the new curriculum in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.
Under the chosen 2018 theme “The Book: Creating the Future”, one expects a brainstorm of the local book industry, its collapse or should we say its success in the competitive global space.
With so far little done to fight down piracy, the rapid encroachment of the e-book and a dwindling book-buying or reading culture, what could be the “tomorrow” of our book industry? What about the effects of this new crop of publishers, many of them young and inexperienced, who are appearing on the market?
The writers’ expectations are high, and hopefully when they meet in September they will manage to map a better future.
Online Reporter