Open Book Festival 2013: The Ghost-Eater and other stories

  • 0


Title: The Ghost-Eater and Other Stories
Collected by Diane Awerbuck
Publisher: Umuzi
ISBN: 9781415205686

 

Buy The Ghost-Eater and Other Stories from kalahari.com

One thing about bookworms: they do not let anything deter them from some time with fellow literature lovers. This was proven at the launch of The Ghost-Eater and other stories on Sunday, 8 September at Warren Editions Project Space (just around the corner from The Book Lounge). Although it was a cold and wet afternoon in the Mother City, over thirty people crowded into the small art studio.

The event formed part of the annual Open Book Festival which has been underway since the 7th of September and ended on the 11th of September.

Decadent cupcakes, crunchy cookies, a wide selection of wines and hot tea welcomed guests who started filling the space quickly, admiring the displays of art on the wall and mingling with one another.

“Welcome to a book launch where there’s no book!” were the words of welcome from Fourie Botha, who represents the publisher Umuzi.

The Ghost-Eater and other stories will not be printed in standard book form, but is being made available for download on e-book retailers such as Amazon, Kalahari and Kobo from Wednesday 11th September.

No copies were available at the time of the launch.

There is talk of its being printed in hard copy, but Fourie says they first want to see how the e-book will do.

The Ghost-Eater and other stories is a collection of 31 short stories from different writers who all took part in a creative writing workshop at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) with the compiler of the book, Diane Awerbuck, last year.

Diane is the winner of the Commonwealth Best First Book Award for Africa and the Caribbean Cabin Fever.

“Buy the book and you’ll see some amazing talent. The authors are definitely people to watch,” says Diane, who is excited by the new voices emerging from the anthology.

“This anthology is a great showcase which can be taken overseas to show people what talent we have in South Africa,” says editor Louis Greenberg.

Although each story is uniquely different, the themes of death and memory run through the book, tying them together.

The writers, some of who are being published for the first time, are excited about the project.

23-year old Jolyn Phillips’s story, “Fraans”, is a collection of memories from her hometown Gansbaai. Although it is a work of fiction she drew inspiration from her memories.

“The story is about forgiveness and finding closure,” says Jolyn, who is currently doing her masters in English Studies at the University of the Western Cape. She is busy with an anthology of her own short stories titled Going Home.

She believes the e-book format is perfect, as it will reach more people.

“I see this as a wonderful platform for new voices that would not otherwise be able to get this chance to have their work recognised. It’s such a hotch-potch of different things, it’s great.”

Sandra Hill’s prose “By any other name” took her on a personal journey in which she dealt with themes of displacement, belonging and the idea of leaving or staying.

“My story is completely fictionalised, although it is based on someone I used to know, an old friend I lost contact with years ago,” says Sandra, who is accompanied by her nine-year-old daughter Phoebe, an aspiring writer.

Tembi Charles’s “Long life” also deals with leaving home.

“The story is about facing change and about needing home, yet discovering that home is not what it used to be.”

Her story revolves around a Zimbabwean citizen who emigrated and decides to visit his homeland. When he arrives he discovers things have changed; it is not as he remembers it.

Tembi can relate to her main character.

“Things aren’t the same at home [Zimbabwe], but I still love it. For me there is really no place like home.”

21-year old Bronwyn Douman deals with the past and present in her story, “The Embrace”.

“The story follows a woman as she remembers something traumatic that happened to her during the apartheid years. It’s mainly about the disconnect in relationships, such as the woman’s relationship with her husband.”

The Ghost-Eater and other stories promises an array of intrinsically South African voices mixed with a fresh new outlook and is on download for R120.

This contribution was produced as part of a collaboration between LitNet and the University of Stellenbosch's Department of Journalism in 2013.


Teken in op LitNet se gratis weeklikse nuusbrief. | Sign up for LitNet’s free weekly newsletter.

  • 0

Reageer

Jou e-posadres sal nie gepubliseer word nie. Kommentaar is onderhewig aan moderering.


 

Top