The Sunday Mail
TALENTED writer and public speaker Tendai Dara is set to hold authors’ awards that are meant to honour established and budding writers.
The TD Authors’ Awards, as they have been named, have been slated for February next year. Famous storyteller Ignatius Mabasa has been drafted to lead the committee running the envisaged event.
“When this idea of recognising authors came to us, we then decided that the best way was to also look at those writers who came before us. We have also reached out to families of departed writers so that our list will be all-inclusive,” he said.
Preparations are reportedly at an advanced stage, while a call for nominations is set to be made soon.
“We are receiving overwhelming support from prospective sponsors and we feel very proud. We should be able to hold a credible awards ceremony.”
Dara has since diversified his portfolio to include assisting aspiring authors and public speakers to launch themselves. His publishing unit is the one that assists authors. It offers training free of charge to those who want to learn the ropes in writing.
“We also help those who would like to publish. Again, we offer training and then publishing services at a cost price. As of now, we have seven books that should be out by year-end. Besides publishing their books, we also help market them, giving them a global spotlight. They also assist those interested in learning the art of public speaking.
“We are working with an agency that has already endorsed me as well — Champions Public Speakers UK — and with them, we are doing online workshops because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
Dara, who released yet another book titled “The Untold Story of Hatiperi”, said the new publication is a fusion of both motivational and educational messages.
“This is a concept that has been in me for the past two years. It is a new way of writing that I decided to experiment with, in which I do not end at motivating people. I also try to educate so that people can implement whatever they have gone through in the motivation. The motivational puts you into the mood and then what will be left is implementation. I am basically taking people out of the comfort zone that they will be in after being motivated.”
Officially released at a NashTV-hosted event in Harare on August 14, the book has an unusually long title “The Untold Story of Hatiperi; In God . . .” from a tweet to a trending culture as narrated by Tinotenda Matayi.
The book was published in-house by a publishing unit within Tendai Dara Incorporated.
The title sounds fictional yet the 82-page book is not a work of fiction per se but an action-oriented book that seeks to make things happen.
“The Untold Story of Hatiperi” seeks to show that there are many things that people do not know of when they set out to build a brand. The book highlights certain struggles that people go through as they try to build a brand.
“The idea is that after going through the book, you realise that after all, you are not alone in these challenges. Several other people have encountered them before,” explained Dara. “The Untold Story of Hatiperi” is the author’s fourth book, although he has put the release of “Rudo” on hold.
“Rudo”, which is a fictional/comic/romantic book all rolled into one, will be released sometime around the end of October. His other titles are “The Success Pyramid” (2019) and “Turning Point” (2020).
Dara has of late been involved in digital marketing in collaboration with Hot Plate Grill, Barcelos and KFC, among others. He is one of the most sought-after young speakers in Africa, who was listed on the 2020 SADC top 50 most promising young speakers.
