Each year, African cities play host to a number of literary festivals. But as the coronavirus pandemic shuts international borders, writers and publishers have had to find new ways to connect with their audiences.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced the global literary festival circuit to surrender to postponements and cancellations. But this hasn’t stopped some passionate African bibliophiles from finding innovative ways to connect writers with their readers.
The Afro-Lit Sans Frontieres Virtual Literary Festival is the brainchild of author and publisher Zukiswa Wanner. The 8-day festival brings book lovers together, through live events on Facebook and Instagram.
“Firstly, you don’t need to think about being stuck in traffic to go to a literary festival,” Warner says. “All you need to have is wifi and be in your home and just open your Instagram. And there we are ..live.”
Now in its second season, the Afro Lit Virtual Festival will see 16 African writers from 14 countries stream content in English, French, and Portuguese.
Liberian author Elma Shaw Liberian Author says the virtual festival is an encouraging, inspiring way to open up Africa’s literary scene.
“Well I think a lot more people will be able to participate, to watch and learn about new books and writers. And even when the pandemic is over, what we are building here now should continue.”
The Festival includes book readings and lively Q&A sessions, with a focus on sharing the diversity of African literature – in terms of themes and language.
“Usually we listen and read more in English and French. Portuguese is not so common. But I think this is an opportunity. This will increase our level of communication. I’ve been talking to people from Malawi, Uganda, Namibia – so this is a great achievement of this festival,” says Ondjaki, an author from Angola.
“A lot of exciting African literature has been coming up. There is everything under the sun. There is humour, crime-fiction, science fiction… and I wanted to try and highlight this,” Zukiswa Wanner says.
The coronavirus may have brought big gatherings to a standstill, but as this virtual festival shows, a pandemic highlights the importance of literature.
“We do what we always do, tell stories,” says Ishmael Beah, an author based out of Sierra Leone. “I think we need to work more because now everybody’s at home, everybody’s listening, looking to hold onto something, looking to travel somewhere they cannot physically go. And this is our role, this has always been our role. And we are called to action even more so than before.”
The Afro-Lit Sans Frontieres Festival runs until the 27th of April.
