Publishing in ... Zimbabwe

       In The Herald Stanely Mushava asks whether Zim literature operating at zero profitability ? as piracy has apparently cut deeply into what little money might go to local authors.
       "Prolific novelist, playwright and screenwriter Aaron Chiundura-Moyo" is the example on offer, and it's a pretty depressing example:

Moyo, far and away one of the more accomplished artistes, revealed that his 14 books have collectively earned him less than US$400 from 2000 to date.

       This after:

In 1991, Moyo's play Kuridza Ngoma Nedemo raked in around $20 000 (local currency) in royalties.

       (Of course, the hyper-inflation unleashed by the Mugabe regime probably has something to do with diminished returns, too.)
       Matters are not helped by widespread acceptance of various forms of piracy either:

"I have engaged police and parent ministries on the problem. I have observed that they are not even in consensus among themselves that piracy is a crime. Some chefs see it as a form of employment while others are discreetly involved," he said.

       Still, Moyo also shows himself an old-fashioned, (previous) status quo -- emphasis on the status -- kind of author in denigrating the rise of self-publishing:

"Yes, publishing has never been easier. It no longer requires passing through the prohibitive bureaucracy older writers had to endure to see their works in print.

"However, my reservation is on whether the new authors are living up to the same standards set by the preceding generations. In my opinion, they are not," Moyo said.

       (When was the last time anyone from the preceding generation admitted that new authors were actually living up to -- or exceeding -- tired old standards ?)