Author Kubuitsile wins yet another prize

Gasebalwe Seretse
Correspondent | Wednesday November 17, 2010 00:00

This is the second year that this prize has been organised and the second time that Kubuitsile has won a prize in the competition.

 'Last year, my story, Lorato And Her Wire Car, won in the junior category and my story Birthday Wishes was highly commended in the seniors' category.  This year, I did the opposite, my story Lightning and the Thunderers was highly commended in the junior category and my story The Mechanic's Son won in the senior category,' she told Showbiz in an interview.

According to the proud author, Mechanic's Son is about a boy whose father is a mechanic and the boy is ashamed of that.  He is afraid that his peers at school will see his father's dirty overalls and greasy hands and he will be embarrassed by that.  In the end the boy learns that there are things that matter and things that don't and that he has been misguided by things with no relevance.

The Golden Baobab Prize is a prize for citizens of African countries who write for children.  There are categories for stories for juniors, seniors and a special category for writers under the age of 18.

In other news related to the author, Kubuitsile, who is one of the few full-time local authors, has recently published two romance novellas with a South African publisher.  'I have two published romance novellas with Sapphire Books in South Africa.  The first is Kwaito Love and the second Can He Be The One?  They are sold through True Love Magazine.  For the first time, people in Mahalapye, where I live, are coming up to me asking about the books I write.  I understand they've been covered in Move Magazine and a few other places.  Unfortunately, these are the only books that people in Botswana will find difficult to get their hands on since they are only sold through the True Love Romance Club, which only sells to South Africa and Namibia.  This is too bad since I think they might really have a market here,' she told Showbiz.

So far, Kubuitsile has published 13 books and she is about to sign a contract for number 14, a young adult book called Aunt Lulu, which is to be published by Tafelberg in South Africa.  It was short-listed for last year's Sanlam Prize.  The Bed Book of Short Stories, which she complied for Modjaji Books in South Africa and was recently launched in Botswana, is set for a similar launch in London later this month.