By Khanyile Mlotshwa in The Sunday News (Bulawayo 25/10/2009).TWO of Bulawayo’s literary voices are set to roar in London in a short story anthology to be published in January next year.Award winning writer, Christopher Mlalazi, and the sensational, Novuyo Rosa Tshuma, will feature along nine other writers drawn from Africa in an anthology, African Roar.In an interview with Sunday Leisure, the organiser, Ivor Hartmann, said the book will be published in collaboration with Lion Press in the United Kingdom (UK).The Lion Press Ltd is a publishing company founded by Zimbabwean writers in the Diaspora, to cater for the publication needs of Zimbabwean and Southern African writers in the Diaspora. “The StoryTime Anthology, African Roar, is a joint collaboration between StoryTime and The Lion Press (UK) owned by Sarudzayi Barnes. It is StoryTime’s first book anthology, in what is going to become an annual publication. For the debut, all the works published in StoryTime up until August 2009, were up for selection in the anthology,” he said.Hartmann, who has made a mark in internet publishing, said the anthology is an eclectic collection drawn from all stories published in the StoryTime ezine up to Aug 2009. “We held a running public vote and incorporated those results into a private judging from the anthology editors,” he said.Other writers to feature in the anthology are Chuma Nwokolo Jr., Emmanuel Sigauke, Kola Tubosun, Ayodele Morocco-Clarke, Nana A. Damoah, Ayesha Attah, Ivor W. Hartmann, Beaven Tapureta, and Masimba Musodza. Mlalazi is the author of the debut novel, Many Rivers, published by Lion Press Ltd (UK) in June. His first book, a short story collection titled Dancing With Life; Tales From The Township, was published by 'amaBooks in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in 2008. The short story collection went on to win the best first creative published book at the 2009 National Artistic Merit Awards (NAMA).Tshuma is the youngest writer in the country and has had short stories published in young people’s anthologies. She is published in Echoes of Young Voices: Identity and Diversity Beyond Scribbled Words. The book was published by ‘amabooks publishers in Bulawayo and was nominated for a NAMA in 2007. She has a short story in the upcoming BED anthology by Modjaji Books publishers in South Africa. Hartmann said his publication, StoryTime, an internet based initiative, was aimed at encouraging new literature out of the mother continent.“StoryTime is all about new African fiction. We provide a free weekly ezine showcasing the works of some of the hottest new African fiction writers,” he said.Hartmann, who recently encouraged writers to consider internet publishing as an option, said the future of literature in Zimbabwe the country was bright. “The future of literature in Bulawayo, and indeed the rest of Zimbabwe, is very bright. The past couple of years has seen new publishers stepping up, The Lion Press, ‘amaBooks, StoryTime, etc. to fill the chasms left by Zimbabwe’s economic downturn. And in-turn there is a flock of very talented new and established writers eager to be published,” he said.Hartmann said his project was aiming to publish African writers from every African country on the continent.“We would also like to cover every existing genre and perhaps create a few new ones too. And from this process I’d like to see more and more African fiction writers being published, online and in print, at home and abroad. With global online access rising in leaps and bound every year StoryTime is positioned to provide a well established platform exclusively showcasing African fiction literature,” he said.Hartmann said there was still a challenge in the development of African literature.He said, on the whole African literature is woefully underdeveloped with only a handful of authors who have gained local and international recognition and readership. “This is not to say we don’t have the writers, we do, and they are writing profusely. But one only has to look into any average bookstore in Africa to see how little presence African writers have in their own continent never mind the world at large,” he said.Hartmann said there is a need for a shift by local publishers, predominated by non-fiction publications, and local governments towards the promotion of fiction reading and writing. “We have many stories to tell and many readers both locally and internationally who want to read them, given the exposure,” he said.Hartmann said there was however hope that African literature will make an impact on the world stage.“African literature stands to make a huge impact on the international market. We have a rich and very long history combined with a superfluity of incredibly diverse cultures, of which only the tip of the iceberg has been thus far revealed,” he said.
