Andrew Moyo
The 2019 Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF) which was held last week in Harare celebrated the milestones which have been achieved by the local literary industry over the years.
Running under the theme “Footprints of the Book: Milestones & Opportunities”, the fair did not only seek to celebrate past achievements but also explored opportunities that should be exploited for the revival of the country’s literary culture.
Interim chairperson of the ZIBF, Memory Chirere, said there was a need to retrace the history of the industry so as to try and recapture the blueprint that made it a success in the past.
“A case in point is to go back and see what caused the boom of the 1980’s which saw either the rise or the further strengthening of the likes of Dambudzo Marechera, Aaron Chiundura Moyo, the Mungoshi brothers, Barbara Nkala, Thompson Tsodzo, Cont Mhlanga, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Yvonne Vera, Virginia Phiri, Chenjerai Hove, Stanley Nyamfukudza and Shimmer Chinodya, among others,” he said.
“There is a need to go back to the drawing board, to find again what facilitated this boom and how it could be triggered again. We need to look at what we have done well, where we faltered and the reasons behind.”
The Indaba took centre stage on the first two days where several local and international speakers, including Stanley Nyamfukudza and Simphiwe Sesanti from Unisa’s Institute for African Renaissance Studies, articulated various topics.
Then came the exhibitions which was a convergence of book publishers, authors, academics, scientists, engineers, headmasters, teachers, students, librarians and the general public.
However, there was a decrease in the number of exhibitors, with 23 turning up as opposed to 2017’s 38, something that was attributed to the current economic climate.
“Several major publishers have not been able to even exhibit at this year’s show and we are working very hard in this area to up these numbers but the recovery will be a process, not an event,” said Chirere.
He added that while the industry was taking a beating, ZIBF was a platform to take a stand and show the world that Zimbabwean literature was still alive.
“As writers of Zimbabwe, we have taken a stand that while our publishers are trying to recuperate, we will use the fair to show that the writers are alive, regardless.
“ZIBF will continue to be our meeting place to exchange ideas and interact with readers and critics. We think that ZIBF is our festival. If we do not do that, we die.”
Despite the low turnout of exhibitors, there were numerous exciting activities which included the junior achievers competition comprising of spelling bees and live literature performances, a librarians’ and writers’ workshops, to name but a few.