Zwani: A scribe-turned-novelist, relishes publishing
Nnasaretha Kgamanyane | Friday July 10, 2020 16:23
A former journalist, she is busy establishing herself as one of Africa’s finest female authors rising provocatively to the stage.
Please meet Brigitta Zwani. She is a novelist and publisher. In her new found love, Zwani has published a novel entitled The Shrink and will later publish her second novel titled Hope this year.
“Woven on the backdrop of hardships, shattered hopes and new beginnings, I introduce characters that will warm your heart, move you to tears and leave you wanting more. My heart for children and teenagers has in 2019 led me to spearhead an online comic series dubbed The Shrink Comic, where young followers find hope and reassurance. The comic was based on my first novel The Shrink, which was launched on March 2018,” she told Arts & Culture. Zwani also takes pride in her publishing company, Biggles and Boggles, that was conceptualised when she was at University but later launched in 2017. The first book to be published at the company was her first book, The Shrink. They later published the second novel titled The Killer in Her Closet by an upcoming sensational author, Mogomotsi Monnana.
Biggles and Boggles focuses on publishing fiction. This company also has a Facebook page where they encourage Batswana to read and write. Zwani said through her company’s page, they started Monday Book Review segment in which they ask the public to send them reviews of books they read. She said they hope to get more readers submitting their reviews.
“We have since received a great deal of writers submitting great pieces. There is a lot of potential in Botswana. We however need a sponsor so we can make this a monthly thing with a nice incentive attached to it. My pain, grief, fears and aspirations inspire me to write. I write most when I am sad or heartbroken. I haven’t been able to write Hope (my next book) for the past two three years. I started writing it in 2016. We are in 2020 and I am still stuck,” she said. Zwani added that some of the challenges they face are not following traditional ways of publishing because of financial constraints. She added that they assist writers who want their work published to self-publish. She also said they do not distribute, which was one of the greatest gaps local authors face. She also stated that Batswana authors were not marketed well or aggressively enough.
She said that resulted in her publishing company creating an app called BigglesBooks, which is an online Library. She said the hoped it will reach a larger audience. This app will be launched in the next month or two. Local authors are urged to contact them in their page Biggles and Boggles on Facebook.
“ I am very happy that my company is doing so well despite the fact that it is still new,” she concluded.