In The Herald Stanely Mushava reports on the recent 'regional edition' of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, in Bulawayo, in ZIBF @ 31 -- Promises and perils.
He suggests:
And amazing to hear in this day and age:
He suggests:
Despite its ephemeral nature, being an annual festival, ZIBF provides a window into the state of Zimbabwean writing and remains the foremost literary institution.One certainly hopes this is true, and it will be interesting to see how things go at the next regional events, and then at the main fair this summer.
Its slouch towards obscurity in recent years reflected the virtual dysfunction of the book value chain. With the industry in recovery mode, ZIBF has registered a decisive comeback with a national crusade targeting all major cities.
And amazing to hear in this day and age:
I asked a major publisher why his organisation does not have a website and he told me that publishing is pure capitalism. "If anything doesn't bring in more profit, why bother about it ?" he asked.(Interesting both for the rationalization as well as the apparent certainty that a website couldn't possibly enhance profitability.)