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Harare Bureau
THE anti-piracy focus group convened by Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF) on Tuesday unveiled plans to introduce a national book award as an incentive for encouraging creation in the face of the financial onslaught against literature.The awards panel will be an affiliate of the ZIBF and prizes will be given concurrently with future book fairs.
Zimbabwe does not have stand-alone literary awards apart from the Zimbabwe Book Publishers Award which is confined to publishers.
Speaking at the sixth session of the ZIBF Indaba Conference on Tuesday focus group board member, Dr Nda Dhlodhlo said the award will be administered by a cross-section of panelists from the book sector, including authors, publishers and book sellers.
“A resolution was reached to award authors for what they would have created over a given period of time,” he said.
“The panel will be drawn from all stakeholders within the book sector including publishers, media and authors.
“The award will be a forum for acknowledging excellence among authors and encouraging creation. However, we are looking at key matters and soliciting input from stakeholders before looking beyond the borders.
“Previously the only awards for writing were conducted by ZBPA but these were more inclined to academic texts not creative works,” he said.
ZBPA president Blazio Tafireyi hailed the move as a welcome stimulus for the sustainability of local literature.
“Zimbabwe was lagging behind as many countries in the region hold annual awards across the genres.
“The benefits of such an initiative are that it will expand the arena and increase the quality of local writing. It will encourage more people to participate thereby making the sector more competitive.
“We have a lot of Chinua Achebes in Zimbabwe who are withholding great ideas from public attention because they fear that they will not realise gainful outcomes from their efforts.
“We are also coming from the awareness side of things. Running annual awards which embrace all categories will help place our literature on the map,” Mr Tafireyi said.
ZIBF chairperson Musaemura Zimunya said the move will create maximum publicity, visibility and neutral acknowledgement of excellence for the benefit of the whole book sector. After the close of the Indaba, there were commemorations of the 30-journey of ZIBF and outstanding literary achievers were awarded certificates of excellence.
Charles Mungoshi, Phyllis Jonson, Stephen Chifunyise, Ruth Shato, Ruby Magosvongwe, Chiedza Musengezi, Zimbabwe Writers Association, Zimbabwe Women Writers, Academic and Non-Fiction Writers Association were among the long list of recipients.
The indaba attracted delegates from Ghana, Switzerland, Japan, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Namibia and the US.
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