Renowned Zimbabwean writer, Isaac Mpofu, says life is tough for writers in the country due to the current harsh economic environment.
Mpofu, who has written seven books, some of them top Ndebele novels used in local schools, says it is difficult for Zimbabwean writers to make a decent living from their works.
“… One gets some benefit from some (books) but of late the market is not good at all. That is talking in financial terms,” he said.
He said publishers are no longer giving them an update on their book sales like in previous years.
According to Mpofu, getting royalties from book sales “has become a very complicated affair. It’s supposed to be once a year that you get your royalties but of late publishers do not pay as well as they used to do.”
He further noted that the Zimbabwe International Book, which starts Monday and ends Saturday, is an event in which writers exhibit their works, meet readers and publishers and conduct some workshops.
This year’s ZIBF theme is “Growing the knowledge economy through research, writing, publishing and reading.”
In a statement Zimbabwe International Book Fair Association chairman, Obey Bvute, said, “The new era at ZIBFA will also foster transformation through advocacy and coordinated action plans of the book industry aimed at the creations of new product types enabled by digital technologies.”
