Newly launched isiZulu publishing company, Kwasukela Books, came about as a result of both a love of reading, and the realisation that the publishing opportunities for authors of indigenous language books was severely restricted in South Africa.
English literature student Wade Smit, 23, from the University of Cape Town, established Kwasukela Books after having spent time working at Vernac News, a multilingual student newspaper based at UCT. Smit was taken aback by the quality and quantity of indigenous language writing that was being published by the paper, yet all of the isiZulu books that had crossed his path were relatively old. So who was publishing these new authors?
As a writer of both English and isiZulu stories, Smit soon realised the difficulties encountered in trying to publish non-English literature. The publishing establishment is still relatively unchanged in its set up, so Smit took it upon himself to launch his own publishing company, one that would provide up-and-coming African authors a framework to publish their work in there own languages. Kwasukela Books first publication, Izinkanyezi Ezintsha (New Stars), does exactly that. An anthology of short fiction stories, the book features several new African authors, as well as some more established writers, such as the legendary Fred Khumalo.
Izinkanyezi Ezintsha is available for sale via a number of independent retailers, including Bridge Books, MyAfricanBuy.com and African Flavour Books.