MKEKA: CDEA kicks off a Writer’s & Editors workshop

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Left Prof Timothy Wangusa and Mme Goretti
who chaired the workshop for
Editors & Writers at CDEA in Dar es Salaam March'16

“One basic fact is that every writer needs an editor, as does every piece of writing intended for public readership/consumption. Not even a learned native speaker of a particular language is too good to need the service of an editor…” Prof Timothy Wangusa

A number of keen writers were privy to those wise words, ushered during a three day workshop for Writers & Editors, hosted by CDEA-Culture & Development East Africa. An organization based in Dar es Salaam, that works as a creative think tank dedicated at providing services to multi-stakeholders in the arts & culture development sectors in Tanzania and the wider East African Region. The workshop kicked off in the second week of March from the 9th to the 11th, with a mixed pool of writers as participants including; Feature Journalists, Children Book Writers, Poets, Bloggers, Columnists and Editors mostly from Tanzania.

Participants at the
Writers & Editors workshop at CDEA in March'16

Prof Wangusa was one of the key presenters in this workshop. A Novelist & Poet himself, he has been teaching literature for over 45 years to date. Also he has been the Minister of Education in Uganda (1985-8^) and later a Member of Parliament (1986-89). At Makerere University where he taught for most of his career, he was the Head of Department of Literature and later the Dean of Faculty of Arts.

Despite his accolades the man is humble and friendly, presenting on ‘Understanding the Writer and Editor relationship’, his sermon was quite insightful. “Learning from such a prolific writer as Professor Wangusa, was one of the highlights for me in this workshop. I feel like I’m being handed the baton to keep enhancing my craft…”-Ester Karin Mngodo-Feature Journalist/Poet.

Left Mme Ayeta Wangusa Director of CDEA
exchanging a word with Mme Demere of E&D
publishers at the last day of the workshop

The workshop also saw Goretti Kyomuhendo presenting on the ‘Tools needed to create a Good Story’. She is the founder of African Writers Trust (AWT) in Uganda, holder of an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Kwazulu Natal. Where she was awarded a Scholarship for Academic Excellence, to date she has five novels to her name including two children books.

In effect her organization AWT was the main push for the occurrence of this workshop. Last year in their annual ‘3rd Editorial & Publishing Training Workshop’, that called for writers & editors from all over East Africa. Zuhura Seng’enge was one of the writers picked from Tanzania, this young woman, who was then completing her BA in Education at the University of Dar es Salaam, is a budding short story writer and poet.

Participants of the workshop with
Zuhura Senge'nge (Last one right)

She was very moved by the workshop in Kampala. “One of the things we learnt there was commitment to what we do. That we can effect change in our writing community, so looking back at my own country, Tanzania; knowing the challenges the writing community faces here.
I thought it’ll be a good idea to pool writers in Tanzania and foster dialogue. So I brought the idea up to Mme Ayeta Wangusa the Director of CDEA, she shared the idea with Mme Goretti they’re friends and the rest as they say is history...”

The workshop also saw Ernest Maregesi gracing its stage, the Tanzanian who recently won the Mabati-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Literature in Nairobi, Kenya last year, for his debut novel ‘Kolonia Santita’. At the workshop he presented on his ‘experience in getting published, and how we can sell literature books in Tanzania & Africa’.

Left Mr Enock Magerese presenting
at the Editors & Writers workshop
at CDEA in March'16

“In my opinion, apart from the marketing and promotion of a book which takes a lot of money and time, we can only sell books by writing good interesting stories. Which have been invested-in a lot of research, time and energy.”-Enock Mageresi

Ernest, who writes in Kiswahili, is proud of his heritage with his favorite writer being our own Shaaban Robert. In sharing of his experience in getting published, he gave the participants candid reports of how his manuscript was initially rejected.

At some point after 7 years of working on his manuscript ‘Kolonia Santita’; he gave it to PPL (Popular Publications Ltd). A traditional publishing venture that rejected his manuscript, based on a report from an editor at BAKITA (National Swahili Council of Tanzania). Who suggested he rewrite the entire manuscript, and funny enough returned it to him with whole chapters missing. Indeed Ernest, advocated for self publishing as a viable option for starters, a route he himself took with Author Solutions (UK, USA & Philippines)..

On the last day of the workshop, participants visited two publishing outlets in the city them being ‘E & D’ Vision Ltd and CBP (Children’s Book Project). Here they got the chance to ask questions and learn more from Publishers and Editors in the country.

Prof Wangusa receiving a token of
appreciation for gracing the
workshop from CDEA personell

At the end of that evening there was an open dialogue with the public chaired by Mme Demere Kitunga, who is an Editor & co-director of E & D Vision Ltd. Here Prof Wangusa, Mme Goretti & Miss Zuhura headed the panel, with the topic being ‘Is Literature important for development in Africa.’

It’s here that Mme Goretti shared an excerpt from her novel ‘Waiting’, where we get a snapshot of a household in the village in Uganda. Being visited and attacked by Soldiers during the Uganda-Tanzania war, which overthrew Uganda’s leader Idi Amin.

Mme Goretti receiving a token
of appreciation for gracing the workshop at CDEA recently

The soldiers kill an old woman and leave a struggling woman in labor to her own devices, as the husband is motionless at gunpoint. Goretti paints brave heroines who aren’t mere victims, even whilst being abused. In effect the old woman who gets shot until her last breath, she is answering back & defying the soldiers. It was evident at the end of the ensuing dialogue that Literature can play a pivotal role in development on the continent and that more African stories need to be shared from East Africa.

“I was very encouraged; this was a very earnest lot they’re going to go far in their careers…” Prof Wangusa.

This article was first published on The East African Newspaper http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/Writers-get-tips-on-how-to-work-with-publishers-/-/434746/3142840/-/14b4e30/-/index.html