Southern African Book Development Education Trust
Home	Mission	Programmes	Partners	About us	Site Map	Contact us

OPEN FORUM ON SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING

ZIMBABWE INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR 2001, HARARE, ZIMBABWE

The Open Forum at ZIBF2001 was organised by the Zimbabwe Academic and Non-Fiction Writers Association (ZANA), Zimbabwe, with the support of the Southern African Book Development Education Trust (SABDET), UK. This one day event, open to all interested in scholarly publishing in Africa, has been held at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair for the past three years with the aim of promoting information exchange, debate and networking. SABDET, which initiated the Open Forum, is delighted to be working in partnership with ZANA to continue and develop the initiative.

These notes were prepared by Mrs Mary Tandon of the Executive Committee of ZANA and are freely available for the use of all interested persons. We would ask you to please credit the source of the material, and the occasion, the Open Forum at ZIBF2001, from which it arose.

Margaret Ling
Hon Secretary
SABDET

OPEN FORUM
10th August 2001

This is the first time that the Zimbabwe Academic and Non-Fiction Writers Association (ZANA) had organised the Open Forum at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair 2001. Before this (since 1999) the Open Forum (OF)had been organised by the Southern African Book Development Education Trust (SABDET) in association with the ZIBF in Harare.

The aim of OF is to bring scholars and students together with scholarly publishers and others concerned with scholarly publishing in Africa to debate, discuss and share information around a theme of relevance for scholarship and scholarly publishing in Africa. OF also provides a space for the parties concerned to clarify problems and obstacles, and to facilitate personal contacts and networking. OF is scheduled to run concurrently with the Harare International Book Fair.

The OF’s theme this year was NON-FICTION WRITING AND PUBLISHING IN AFRICA: CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES. There was a full day workshop with about forty participants, held at the Monomotapa Hotel, Harare. The participants were not only academics but also young aspiring non-fiction writers.

The OF was made possible through the interest and assistance of SABDET. Costs for the OF have been kept to a minimum by working closely with ZIBF and drew as far as possible on the human resources participating in the Book Fair and/or the local residents.

Presentations:

Getting Published in Africa: The Non-fiction Writer’s Perspective
Speaker: CHIEDZA MUSENGEZI

Academic Writing for Distance Education
Speakers: NEPHAS MUFUTUMARI , Director of African Virtual University
CHARITY NDEYA-NDEREYA, from the Zimbabwe Open University

Copyright and the African Writer: Present Realities and Future
MONICA SEEBER
MR GREENFIELD

Writing non-fiction in and for Africa: Constraints and Opportunities
JOE CARUSO, from Colombia University
JENNY YON, Chairperson of ZANA, Harare Branch

Summary of Papers Presented

The first session was chaired by Prof. A. Mlambo.
Topic: Getting Published in Africa: The Non-fiction Writer’s Perspective
Speaker: CHIEDZA MUSENGEZI

Chiedza commenced her deliberation by mentioning two recent publications that are relevant to writers and publishers – The Politics of Publishing in South Africa edited by Nicholas Evans, (Holger Ehling Publishing and University of Natal Press, 2000) and The Ordeal of the African Writer by Charles Larson (Zed Books, 2001)

She gave an overview of two groups of publishers that form the mainstream of publishers in Africa. The African publishers, that is, African based and owned, and multinational companies based in the first world and operating in African countries. The African Publishers belong to the body called African Publishers Network (APNET). APNET aims at strengthening and promoting indigenous publishing in the African Continent. The multinational companies are several, for example, Maskew-Miller Longman, Heinneman and MacMillan. They are commercial enterprises and are extremely sensitive to the market, and because they are commercial enterprises they concentrate on textbook publication.

There are more opportunities for both writers and publishers in the field of non- fiction writing. These arise from the need to provide school reading materials. Governments are constantly reviewing school syllabuses for various reasons i.e. change in the political regime, the new awareness on issues on gender, human rights, protection of the environment and so on.

African tertiary education has also expanded. This also provides challenges and more opportunities for writers and publishers

The cost of books in African countries is beyond the reach of many people and students. Such an environment encourages illegal photocopying of books. Therefore there is need to form bodies to lobby for greater protection of intellectual rights that would benefit writers and publishers.

The paper concluded with a quote from I. Staunton: "the role of the publisher is not simply to publish but to offer a supportive and critical interface through which writers can reflect upon their work before it is published."(Charles Larson, Zed Books,p.110)

The second session was chaired by Margaret Ling.
Topic: Academic Writing for Distance Education
Speakers: NEPHAS MUFUTUMARI, CHARITY NDEYA-NDEREYA

Nehpas’s paper was on Opportunities for Academic Writing, Learning and Research with the use of ICT .

AVU stands for University Without Walls. In other words there is no university campus. It was launched in 1997 as a World Bank funded project. Learning is through the use of information and communication technologies. It has its headquarters at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. It works in partnership with existing institutions all over Africa. It also bridges the digital and knowledge gap between Africa and the rest of the world. Its objectives are to:

Increase access to tertiary and continuing education in Africa
Improve the quality of education
Bridge the digital divide by improving connectivity
Encourage sharing of African knowledge
Reduce the brain drain.

The opportunities offered by AVU are as follows:

Collaborative content development and teaching through the sharing of African experience
Networked academic writing and computer assisted academic writing
Staff capacity building through further training and contact
Research support, knowledge and academic resource sharing
Integration of distance learning and technology through the provision of electronic learning resources like satellite; internet and multimedia systems
Digital library resource

UVA is sustained through funds from the following partners – The World Bank, African Governments, Foundations, Global Corporations and interested individuals.

Charity’s paper was on Writing Learning Materials for Distance Education Learners. This is a non-conventional way of obtaining education where the teachers are physically distanced from the learner. The instructional or learning materials are organised and delivered to the learner so that he/she can learn in his/her own time. Because of the nature of distance education, writers or designers of such self-instructional materials (or modules) have to be very focused, clear, easily understood and followed.

The modules are standardised in the sense that all learners in the course receive exactly the same material. These materials are extensively researched by a team of authors, content reviewers and at least one editor. The learner thus gets the benefit of arguments from different schools of thought from the different authors. The student has the opportunity to compare, contrast, refute arguments or align his own argument with those of the authors.

Besides the written texts, there are also other accompanying materials like the audio visual tapes, video and interactive CDs.

Charity concluded her paper with an encouraging note to textbook writers. If an author’s textbook has already been accepted, then for the book to be accepted as material for Distance Learning, it only requires the author to add a guide to the textbook, work out questions and answers and where possible to use interactive technologies.

The third session was chaired by Mr. S. Makaore, treasurer to ZANA Harare Branch.
Topic: Copyright and the African Writer: Present Realities and Future
Speakers: MONICA SEEBER, MR GREENFIELD

Monica declined to give a paper. She preferred to have open discussion and address the needs of the participants present rather than to tell her views to the audience.

Mr Greenfield introduced himself as Director of Zimcopy. Zimcopy is an NGO that protects the reproduction rights of authors. A right is not what someone gives you but that which no one can take away from you. The creator is the right owner. The exclusive rights of authors can be exercised by

The author or his/her heir
The publisher or other licensee
An agency
A collecting society, a reproduction rights organisation (RRO) such as Zimcopy in Zimbabwe

Collective administration of rights is the best option because individual exercise of rights is often impracticable because of the large number of works and users. The rights collected administratively are the economic rights. The moral rights remain with the creator.

Zimcopy’s members are writers’ organisations. Presently the member organisations are:

Zimbabwe Women Writers,
Zimbabwe Writers Union,
Zimbabwe Book Publishers Association,
Zimbabwe Union of Journalists
Zimbabwe Academic and Non-Fiction Writers Association.

This small membership has the potential to grow once Zimcopy begins to operate. It has taken in Zimbabwe almost five years to create an appropriate legal framework. A new Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act was passed by Parliament and gazetted last year (2000). All that remained was for the Act to be signed for operation. Zimcopy has the right to enter into bilateral agreements with other country’s copyright RROs.

The last session was chaired by W. Shumbayaonda.
Topic: Writing non-fiction in and for Africa: Constraints and Opportunities Speakers: JOE CARUSO, JENNY YON

Joe’s presentation covered the following issues:

Lack of alliance of African authors, librarians, readers, community-based booksellers, and publishers committed to the promotion of African writing in Africa and in the USA.

Undergraduates and graduates in the US who train in African studies are under pressure to finish their dissertation quickly and to indulge in wide-ranging comparative studies in which Africa figures little. As a result this generation of students are not prepared to teach and write about Africa. There is a need for more up-to-date textbooks. African writers and publishers could address this need

There is also an untapped and under-served market in the USA for children's literature, fiction and non-fiction. There is a market in the US for children's literature from Africa.

There are not enough co-publishing alliances between publishers in the North and those in Africa. More work needs to be done in this area.

Political/social factor: the reparations debate in the USA within African-American communities is generating more interest in African and African diaspora history and cultures. Randall Robinson, Director of Transafrica, suggests that the debate about reparations can only lead to a renaissance of interest in the past – a rediscovery for Diaspora Africans of their past … including their rich past on the African Continent.

Joe also noted possible opportunities to enhance non-fiction writing in and for Africa.

Africa’s 100 Best Books of the 20th Century, organized through the auspices of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, is a challenge to US-based Africanists to mobilize resources to support the event.

The African Studies Association and the Africa-America Institute (Washington, DC/New York) have launched a research fellowship program for Young African scholars, "Claude Ake Memorial Award". The Ford Foundation funding will support research in Africa and a visit to the US to attend the annual meeting of the African Studies Association.

The digital environment. Examples:

International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) project: African Journals Online. See http://www.inasp.org.uk/ajol/index.html
Michigan State University, in association with African Studies Association, Council for the Development of Social Science Reasearch in Africa (CODESRIA) and the Association of African Universities: "African E-Journals Project" - mainstreaming African online journals in a commercial E-journals service primarily for Humanities and interdisciplinary Studies, Project Muse (based at John Hopkins Univ. Baltimore) while providing free access at African Universities.
See Peter Limb, email: limb@msu.edu or Michigan State University African Studies http://www.isp.msu.edu/africanstudies/
On a smaller scale: Columbia University Libraries, the Council of American Overseas Research Centers and the West African Research Center in Dakar, have embarked on a digital project to make available in electronic format African language publications: African Language Material Archive (ALMA). With authorisation, this project will produce, on CD-ROM and for the Internet, publications in Wolof, Pulaar, and Mandinka from Senegal and the Gambia. UNESCO is providing the CD-ROM in West Africa.

Jenny Yon’s paper posed several reflective questions on the Constraints and opportunities on non-fiction writing in and for Africa.

Are these constraints self-imposed or are they the result of external forces? Some are self-imposed. The author lacks confidence as a result of lack of experience in writing, fear of being rejected by the publisher and lack of information about writers’ rights. A determined writer can overcome such constraints. Initially writing skills can be acquired by writing for newspapers, magazines and journals; thus creating self confidence. Criticism and advice from the editor must be viewed positively and should not be misconstrued as outright rejection. In fact criticism provides the opportunity for growth and development.

Normally when a writer gets a piece of work accepted for publication for the first time, s/he is so overwhelmed with gratitude to the publisher that s/he overlooks the writer’s rights. For example, the right to know the publication date of the manuscript. The writer depends on what the publisher offers which is likely to portray a protectionist attitude. However, this is fast changing with workshops and seminars on writers’ rights.

Constraints around the publisher are mainly: a limited vision, lack of aggressive marketing and lack of book launches.

Promotions and advertising campaigns from bookstores, once seen from time to time are now a rare phenomenon. In Zimbabwe, booksellers themselves often do not know what books are on the market.

Against these constraints mentioned in the paper, Jenny suggests the way forward :

Writers must improve and develop their writing skills. In Zimbabwe, there are several writers' organisations that hold writing skills workshops for their members. In Malawi, the Writers Union compiled a booklet: A Guide to Writers’ Rights making a writer aware of his/her copyrights and the rights when negotiating with the publisher – for example, the right to know the publishing date and on price change; the right to advice on crises ; the right to infringement information; the right to interest on royalty delays.

For the publishers, they need to have a broader outlook. This means that larger print runs and lower costs, making books more accessible to the public, including the less well-to-do section of the civil society. Publishers also need to explore and develop marketing strategies directed at new, not popularly known markets. There is also a need to study the developing desktop publishing strategy and see whether it can lower costs of book production.

In conclusion Jenny proposes that writers and publishers need to work together to explore ways of overcoming artificial or self-imposed constraints that are the result of a narrow perspective. It is particularly important in these times of economic hardship to look further afield and find opportunities to grow.
Back to African Scholarship at ZIBF