The Sunday Mail
Going through the Forbes world’s top earning celebrities list (2016), it is interesting to note that best-selling author, James Patterson, sits third overall.The writer, known for authoring the Alex Cross series, made a staggering US$96 million last year, proving the literary industry remains one of the top income earners in the world.
However, the same cannot be said for the book business in Zimbabwe.
The industry is nose-diving due to a number of challenges, chief among them piracy and the general state of the economy.
Consequently, many local writers have lost faith in the craft. They have either slowed down or stopped completely.
Also, despite boasting an array of talented authors, Zimbabwe’s literary industry — like other creative professions — is yet to make a significant financial mark on the international market.
This is where initiatives like the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, which comes to life tomorrow at its traditional Harare Gardens venue, can help.
The six-day fête, which ends on Saturday, is the biggest platform for the literary community to showcase works and brainstorm to come up with strategies to develop the industry.
Scores of literature enthusiasts are expected to attend.
This year’s ZIBF is themed “Igniting Interest in Reading for Sustainable Development”, which is befitting, considering concerns about a declining reading culture.
The theme was chosen from several possibilities derived from recommendations made by participants of the 2015 Indaba, which concluded that “reading is the major ingredient missing in the literally value chain”.
The fair is set to benefit authors, publishers, illustrators, photographers, designers, distributors, retailers, librarians and readers, among other interest groups.
Technological advancements have impacted on attention spans, and this has hit reading the hardest as people go for the short messaging promoted by social media, television, music and video games.
The ZIBF Indaba, slated for tomorrow and Tuesday, seeks to tackle these challenges and come up with solutions that will benefit the entire book value chain.
ZIBF Association interim executive board chair Blazio Tafireyi said, in a media briefing, they had already called for contributory papers.
“We are currently selecting and finalising the list of papers to be presented during the Indaba to be held from July 25 to 26,” said Tafireyi. “So far, preparations are at an advanced stage and we are receiving confirmation from several international, regional and local writers and distributors among others who will attend the fair.”
Some of the topics to be presented at the Indaba include reading culture, reading categories, skills for producing reading materials, reading and technology, access to reading material and intellectual property rights among other things.
Tafireyi thanked the Book Fair’s funding partners, but pointed out that it was necessary for the association source revenue from other avenues apart from donors.
“Let me take this opportunity to thank our funding partners, in particular Culture Fund in partnership with the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency and the Danish International Development Agency, Norcode/Kopinor and the Zimbabwe Book Publishers Association.
“But the focus, going forward, shall also be on how to raise financial resources for ZIBFA outside traditional donor channels so that our Book Fair will be benchmarked against international best practice shown by big fairs such as the Frankfurt Book Fair and the Guadalajara Book Fair,” he said.
ZIBF was first held in 1983, becoming one of Africa’s première book fairs before the Cape Town Book Fair which came on the scene in 2006.
It is one of the continent’s largest and most diverse annual exhibitions of books, magazines, journals, CDs, DVDs as well as printing and publishing technology on the continent.
The Book Fair was honoured with the inaugural Prince Claus Award in 1997, in recognition of its networking function and its modern and practical approach.
