All roads are leading to the Harare Gardens in the capital of Zimbabwe for this year’s Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF) which opened on Monday.
The annual showcase is running under the under the theme “ZIBF@30: Enabling Creativity, Writing, Publishing and Reading for Africa’s Growth”.
According to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, the local authors and publishers from Africa hailed the ZIBF for coming up with a theme that enables growth and creativity in the writing sector throughout Africa.
The ZIBF turns 30 this year.
Speaking on the sidelines of the book fair indaba in Harare, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Cde Lazarus Dokora said there was need for information communication technology (ICT) literacy among school children, adding that hard copy books have now been complemented by e-books which are now available on the market.
The official opening took place on Monday and authors and publishers who came for the event from various African countries saluted the organisers of the book fair for coming up with papers and themes focusing on creativity.
The interface between indigenous language and knowledge systems in Zimbabwe, harnessing digital technology, intellectual property, copyright and book piracy, among other issues affecting the book industry today were among some of the papers that were presented.
The one week long book fair, which has attracted authors from Africa, also includes key stakeholders in the book industry such as writers, publishers, book sellers, librarians, school children and members of the general public taking part.
The book fair kicked off with Indaba (workshops) that took place at the Crowne Plaza Monomotapa Hotel in the capital Harare on Monday, under the theme Writing for Children Now, explored various themes linked to digitalisation and the use of indigenous languages.
Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF) chairperson Musaemura Zimunya said they had an overwhelming response to their call for participation at their indaba.
“Our sessions cover a variety of topics some of which fall under the following: indigenous language and knowledge systems, digitalisation, dialogue and tolerance in African communities, and health and environment, to name a few,” he said.
He said the main event would be a celebration of their existence as the closest thing to Africa’s prime book fair.
“In this spirit, we have chosen a theme that sums up our focus all this year: ZIBF@30: Enabling Creativity, Writing, and Publishing and Reading for Africa’s Growth,” Zimunya said.
Meanwhile The Herald, the state controlled media on Thursday stated that the ongoing Zimbabwe International Book Fair’s Indaba has denounced book piracy.
Presenting a preliminary report on the second day of the Indaba, Anti-Piracy Focus Group representative Blazio Tafireyi shared views on how to spearhead book piracy.
“Book piracy is crime like any other and perpetrators should be brought to book. Efforts are being made but more still need to be done. We maintain that equipment used for the crime should be confiscated and disposed,” he said.
Tafireyi highlighted the challenge being experienced locally as stakeholders and the law enforcers are not adequately equipped to nail pirates.
“Pirates are getting away with reproducing books and selling them on our streets. When they get caught, they are given the miscellaneous offence charge. The two years imprisonment or US$700 fine that is stipulated for breaching the copyright law is not being implemented,” he added.
When asked whether higher prices are contributing to pirates enjoying brisk business since their books are cheaper, Tafireyi had this to say:
“Pirates do not incur many costs as the authors. They do not pay the price of producing the work but simply steal completed work.
“It is therefore not fair for authors to reduce their prices to tally with pirates,” he said.
The Anti-Piracy Focus Group comprises authors, publishers, booksellers, consumers and law enforcement agencies.
The exhibition opened to the public on Thursday and entry to the fair is free. An official at ZIBF said they were expecting more than 100 exhibitors and some were still registering for participation as of yesterday.
The Young Persons Indaba took place on Wednesday while Traders’ Day, exhibitions and a writers’ workshop are billed for Saturday.
The Zimbabwe International Book Fair was held for the first time in 1983 in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. Until the opening of the Cape Town Book Fair in 2006 it was one of the main book fairs of Africa.
The book fair was organized by Trish Mbanga, former director of ZIBF since 1991 up to 1997. Under her leadership the fair grew to be an important meeting point for publishers, writers, poets and translators.
Zimbabwe Book Fair was credited with the Principle Prince Claus Award in 1997 from the Netherlands. The jury praised the book fair’s networking function in combination with its modern and practical approach.
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