Esteemed and budding authors, including an eight-year-old who has published a collection of short stories, will be celebrated this weekend at the second edition of the Eastern Cape Provincial Book Fair.
Hosted by the sport, recreation, arts and culture department, the event starts with a gala dinner on Friday night to honour esteemed Xhosa writer, poet and academic Prof Peter Tshobisa Mtuze.
The department will also announce the 20 authors selected for publication from a pool of 191 manuscripts submitted for the financial year.
The public is invited to the main event on Saturday at the Mandla Makupula Leadership Institute in Stirling, where about 50 authors — most self-published — will set up shop to promote their titles in a variety of genres including fiction, politics, culture and religion.
Author Ezekiel Jewell, eight, from Makhanda, said: “I’m excited and honoured to be part of the provincial book fair and to be able to share my story with other children and other authors.”
Ezekiel wrote “A Collection of Short Stories” when he was just five.
Initially intended simply as a keepsake, the collection is now a published book.
Ezekiel will be reading some of his short stories at the children’s corner on Saturday.
MEC Sibulele Ngongo said: “The book fair will give a platform to budding writers to interact with legendary writers, publishers and industry likes.
“Invited guest authors include Nozibele Mayaba, Oyama Mabandla, Sihle-Isipho Nontshokweni, Prof Somadoda Fikeni and eight-year-old Ezekiel Jewell, among others.
“It provides a platform for dialogue and reflection on the transformative power of literature in our society.
“It underscores our commitment to fostering a culture of reading and appreciation for diverse languages in the Eastern Cape.”
Mtuze, 83, said of the gala dinner: “It’s a wonderful occasion, one which is met with a lot of appreciation, especially at my age.
“I haven’t had the opportunity to be given many accolades like that — it is an important occasion for me.”
Mtuze has published more than 30 creative and academic works and was the first black professor at Rhodes University as professor and head of the isiXhosa department.
He has authored numerous novels that are studied at schools and tertiary institutions, including UDingezweni, Umsinga and Vingc’amazibuko.
Mtuze is also known for translating significant works such as Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom and Steve Biko’s I Write What I Like into isiXhosa.
He said the greatest value in literature was its documentation of history.
“Literature is very important because it’s a record of the history of any group of people — people always record things they go through and experience in life and it leaves that record for the next generations to come.
“It’s important we write down, record and leave that heritage for our children and children’s children.
“It is important to write and promote books in multiple languages because that reflects our diversity, the differences among people.
“With democracy, we are supposed to be coming together and live a common destiny, and to make sure that we learn about each other and respect one another,” Mtuze said.
The travelling exhibition “Dear Mr Mandela, Dear Mrs Parks: Children’s Letters, Global Lessons” by the Nelson Mandela Museum will also be set up for the day.
This exhibition was launched in 2008, and updated in 2021 by the museum and Michigan State University, to showcase letters written by hundreds of children addressed to Nelson Mandela and Rosa Parks, illustrating the values and goals shared by the two leaders from different continents.
Children will also have the chance to write their own letters, according to Ngongo’s spokesperson, Zolani Sirumza.
“It’s going to be a day of festivities. Let us support our authors and buy their books.
“Let’s engage in dialogues that will be taking place.
“The topics range from what the current political landscape means to our country, what having Buffalo City declared as a Unesco city of literature means for the province and the future of African literature.”
The inaugural event took place at the University of Fort Hare’s Miriam Makeba Centre of Performing Arts in March.
Sirumza said: “We would like to call on the public to come to the book fair ... at the Mandla Makupula Leadership Institute in Stirling to interact with the likes of Professor Ncedile Saule, Nozibele Mayaba, Prof Somadoda Fikeni, Zonwabele Tshayana, Sihle-Isipho Nontshokweni, Tando Keke and so many of our writers.”
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