Durban - Once upon a time in the city of Durban, lovers of reading dreamed that one day many children would be able to write their own stories and have them published.
Some of the city’s great thinkers came together to make this dream a reality and today primary and high school children have a chance to see their ideas in print and on display at the Durban International Book Fair (DIBF) this August.
“We have to cultivate the next generation of readers and writers,” said book fair co-founder Anivesh Singh.
The Harambee project, a KiSwahili concept which means “all pull together”, is encouraging primary and high school pupils to participate in a writing competition and submit stories and poems in English and isiZulu up to a maximum of 2 000 words.
The winning entries will be compiled and published in two books of short stories to be launched at the DIBF.
Singh said the theme was open to interpretation and could include stories about teamwork and cohesion.
“I hope the accomplishment ends up on their CVs, something they can talk about and say that at the age of 12 or 15 or 16, I had my first book published. It really sets them up for success later in life,” he said.
Singh said the DIBF would also host a series of workshops on subjects related to the industry, like proofreading, editing, and self publishing. He encouraged schools to contact the organisers to arrange school trips.
What he wants is to see children discussing, arguing and getting excited about books. Already out of the starting blocks are pupils from Eshowe High School who have taken up the challenge and started submitting entries.
The school’s English head of department Roanne Moonsamy said their book club and writing and poetry club were writing up a storm and the majority of them would be entering the competition. They would all attend the DIBF.
“Kids don’t like reading anymore so I’m impressed with them,” she said, adding that the school was “very serious” about cultivating a culture of reading.
“The skill of writing comes from being well read. We have kids that are published monthly in the literary magazine, Paper Trail.”
Moonsamy said every Tuesday and Thursday the school adjusted its time table so there was time to sit in silence and read, and even the teachers had to do so.
She said the book club also had a “drop everything and read” campaign in which they chose the day when the whole school had to stop whatever was happening and read.
“When the bell goes off everyone stops lessons or lunch break and the entire school goes to the field and reads in absolute silence,” Moonsamy said.
Durban is Africa’s only Unesco city of literature and organisers are keen to get the youth to participate in the DIBF from August 9 - 13 at The Globe theatre, Suncoast. Last year almost 4 000 people attended the literary event, coming in from as far afield as Nigeria, China, India and Indonesia. Entries for the competition close on May 31. The organisers can be reached on [email protected]
The Independent on Saturday