The Abantu Book Festival kicked off yesterday, 6 December, and will end on 9 December. Among the festival’s guests are winners and finalists of the 2018 Brittle Paper Awards: Zimbabwean-South African Panashe Chigumadzi, who won our Essays & Think Pieces Award for “History Through the Body or Rights of Desire, Rights of Conquest”; South African Sibongile Fisher, who won our Creative Nonfiction Award for “The Miseducation of Gratitude”; and South African Mapule Mohulatsi, who was a finalist for our Anniversary Award for “The Nervous Condition of the Mother Tongue.”

Mapule Mohulatsi, author of Mizz President.

Chigumadzi and Mohulatsi are at the event to discuss their new books. Chigumadzi’s These Bones Will Rise Again (The Indigo Press, June) combines reportage, memoir and critical analysis to “reflect on the November 2017 ousting of Robert Mugabe, radically reframing the history of Zimbabwe to include the perspectives of workers, women and urban movements.” Mohulatsi’s Mizz President (Everychild Books, August) is a 32-page children’s book about a girl thrust into an unexpected position of power. The three authors can be met at the event. Here are their schedules:

Sibongile Fisher. Photo credit: Mlungisi Mlungwana.

FRIDAY, 7 DEC.
Kids’ Zone
Eyethu Lifestyle Centre: 11:30-12:30
Performance ft. Lebohang Masango & Mapule Mohulatsi

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Topic: On Historical Fiction: Broken Rivers and Dance Drills
Eyethu Lifestyle Centre: 14:30-15:30
Moderator: Sibongile Fisher
Description: What goes into historical fiction? Accomplished scribe, Fred Khumalo, and debutant Mphuthumi Ntabeni, discuss the ins and outs of historical fiction.
Featuring: Mphuthumi Ntabeni, Fred Khumalo

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SATURDAY, 8 DEC.
Kids’ Zone
Eyethu Lifestyle Centre: 11:00
Performance ft. Mapule Mohulatsi & Mzwandile Ntombela

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SUNDAY, 9 DEC.

Topic: This Generation
Eyethu Lifestyle Centre: 10:00-11:00
Moderator: Panashe Chigumadzi
Featuring: Lola Shoneyin, Novuyo Rosa Tshuma

See the rest of the programme on the Abantu Festival website. Or follow The Journalist on Twitter.
This article was originally published by Brittle Paper.