Decolonising the Book

Last year, writer Thando Mgqolozana caused a stir when he said he would no longer participate in literary festivals since he often felt like the lone black voice in front of a crowd of white people. He was reported as saying: “The audience does not treat me as a literary talent, but as an anthropological subject.”

His statements prompted Tiny Mungwe of the Centre for Creative Arts, the usual boss of TOW, to invite him to co-curate this year’s festival. Together they wanted to change things, to try to discover the path to a new future for books and publishing in South Africa, a more inclusive path. The festival invited leading black writers to help them find the answers. Panel and group discussion centred around finding ways to change the status quo.