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botswana literature

Company: Group Africa Publishing

Job Title: Writer

Location: Nairobi - Kenya

Employment Type: Part Time

Job Description

We are looking for a freelance writer (from Tanzania, Botswana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Rwanda).

The person must be self-driven and able to work without any supervision. Some journalistic background is required. We want someone who can write well in English. You will be required to carryout interviews and approach the relevant organizations on subjects related to mining, agriculture and construction. This is a part time job. If you can fit in this position, please go ahead and send us your resume.

Position Requirements

• Skills / Qualifications Required: must have good journalistic skills
• Minimum Education Level required: College
• Minimum Years of Experience required: 1 to 2 Years

Date: 19 February 2011

LSE Space for Thought Literary Festival creative writing workshop

Time: 12-1pm
Venue: Alumni Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Lauri Kubuitsile

Lauri Kubuitsile will speak about the publishing climate in Southern Africa (in particular Botswana and South Africa) and how it’s different from the UK. She’ll also talk about writing across genres including television writing, writing for children, writing short stories and writing for adults.

Lauri Kubuitsile is a full time writer in Botswana. She has thirteen published books including those for children, young adults and adults, and her short stories have appeared in publications on four continents. She has written two television series for Botswana Television: Morwalela and Re Bina Mmogo II . Her writing prizes include the Golden Baobab Literary Prize (USA) -the junior category in 2009 and the senior category in 2010, the BTA/AngloPlatinum Short Story Contest (South Africa- 2007) and the Botswana Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture’s Orange Botswerere Prize for Creative Writing (2007). She was chosen as a writer in residence in El Gouna Egypt for the month of May 2010. She writes a weekly column called It’s All Write about books and writing in the Botswana national newspaper The Voice and she blogs at Thoughts from Botswana.

Registration

This event is free and open to all, but pre-registration is required. Pre-registration will be possible via this webpage from Monday 31 January.

From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event.

CPD

This event has been certified for CPD purposes by the Continuing Professional Development Certification Service. It is the responsibility of delegates to register their details with a LSE event steward at the event in order to obtain a CPD certificate of attendance. If a delegate fails to register their details at the event, it will not prove possible to issue a certificate. Certificates of attendance will be emailed out within 10 working days of the event.

If you are planning to attend this event and would like details on how to get here and what time to arrive, please refer to Coming to an event at LSE

Deadline: 21 March 2011

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

2011 Bessie Head Literature Awards (sponsored by Pentagon Publishers) for Novel, Short Story, and Poetry

The Bessie Head Heritage Trust and Pentagon Publishers announce prizes in literature, three prizes to be awarded each for novel, short story, and poetry. Residents and citizens of Botswana are invited to submit manuscripts on any topic in one of the above categories. Categories are defined according to standard literary characteristics, and are limited to the following lengths :

Novel at least 40,000 words; no upper limit
Short Story up to 10,000 words / 10 pages
Poetry a set of one to three poems

Your submission must adhere to the following criteria:

1. Your work must be original, unpublished and not submitted to any publisher.

2. Your manuscript must be in English and be thoroughly revised and proofread.

3. Your manuscript must be typed or printed. Handwritten entries are not accepted.

4. You must submit four copies of your work by post. Photocopies are fine.

5. Do not send more than one manuscript (novel, short story, or poetry). You may submit exactly one entry per year of the contest.

6. Do not submit a school assignment; school projects are not accepted.

7. Your submission must include a cover page with this information: (a) your real name (no pen names are accepted), (b) your postal or email address, (c) one or two phone numbers for contacting you, (d) a title for your work, and (e) a clear statement of the category of the work (“novel”, “short story”, or “poetry”).

The first page of the manuscript itself – not the cover page – must also clearly state the category and title of the manuscript .

8. Except for the cover page, your entry must not have your name on it. Judges will judge all manuscripts blindly; i.e. they must not be able to identify the authors.

9. Your entry must be accompanied by one photocopy of your Omang or your passport and residence certificate (these photocopies need not be certified).

10. You must enter your work yourself. A publisher or friend may not submit it for you.

11. Deadline: All entries must be postmarked by 21 March 2011 and received no later than 31 March 2011.

Any submission that does not follow the above criteria will be disqualified.

You are advised that you may be asked to authenticate your work, and you should not destroy any drafts, including the first one, since you may be asked to produce them.

Contestants may only win once in any category in any four-year period (if you win a prize, you are not allowed to enter in the same category again for three years). The 2011 cash prizes are as follows:

Novel: First prize P2500, 1st runner-up P1200, 2nd runner-up P800

Short Story: P1500, P900, P600

Poetry: P1200, P800, P500

Post — not email — your cover page, identification, and four copies of your manuscript to

Bessie Head Literature Awards
P.O. Box 70401
Gaborone

If you wish to receive an acknowledgement that your entry has been received, please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Winners and details of the prize-giving ceremony to be announced in mid-June 2011 on the website www.bessiehead.org.

Queries to bessiehead@gmail.com or visit www.bessiehead.org/awards/FAQ-Lit-Awards.htm.

Winners are barred for three years from again submitting manuscripts in the same category, though they may enter other categories. Bessie Head Heritage Trust members, Pentagon Publisher employees, contest judges, and members of their families are prohibited from entering. Pentagon Publishers reserves the right to publish prize-winning manuscripts and to evaluate the other manuscripts for publication. It acknowledges the rights of copyright in the manuscript and the lawfulness of the copyright holder's rights and title to these rights.

Day Translations, a professional translation company is in need of someone from Botswana who speaks Setswana who can listen to a video and transcribe them. They will be speaking Tswana in the video and we need someone to write down what they are saying in Excel or Word.

This is a simple project and we are a professional translation company and we pay for this. If you are interested, please email us to shopwood@daytranslations.com

You may also call 1-202-787-3984. You don't have to be a professional. We just need someone who can write Tswana and to work with us. Please indicate your desired rate of pay and call or email today.

For inquiries, e-mail shopwood@daytranslations.com

Deadline: 31 December 2010

Gaborone, Botswana
11th – 14th July 2011

FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS [Deadline Dec 31, 2010]

Organised by Reading Association of Botswana (RAB) International Development Committee - Africa (IDC-A) International Reading Association (IRA)

THE 7TH PAN-AFRICAN READING FOR ALL CONFERENCE

The purpose of the Pan-African Reading for All Conference(s) is to develop ways of translating “Education for All” into “Reading for All”. The 7th Pan-African Reading for All Conference will be hosted by the Reading Association of Botswana and will be an opportunity for teachers, writers, librarians, publishers, and development workers from Botswana and other nations to continue developing a coordinated approach to literacy in Africa. In addition, the network of educators and other professionals across Africa for sharing best practices and research will be strengthened. A greater responsiveness among authors and publishers to the needs of the newly emerging literate populations of Africa anticipated as a result of Education for All will be provoked. Overall, the conference will highlight support structures needed, to be established or strengthened, for the promotion of reading as a cornerstone for the Education for All process, nationally and internationally.

The Pan-African Reading for All Conference has become an important literacy event on the African continent. It provides a platform for policy makers in government and the donor community to interface with literacy professionals, and researchers at all levels to share vital knowledge and information on appropriate ways and strategies of delivering literacy and reading skills to all communities. In the six countries where the conference has been held, the positive developments registered have included growth and development of community libraries, adult literacy classes and children’s reading tents; the emergence of reading and writing clubs in schools and communities; and, positive policy pronouncements in favour of the book sector and publishing industry. The first conference, which was held in Pretoria in 1999, focused on reading among children. The second, held in Abuja in 2001, considered the role of communities in building a reading culture. The emphasis of the third, which was in Kampala in 2003, was on analyzing and ultimately surmounting the factors that impede the transmission and use of literacy skills. In 2005, the fourth conference was taken to Swaziland where the emphasis was on exploring the connection between literacy and sustainable development. The fifth conference, held in August 2007, took place in Ghana where Literacy for Human Liberation was the main theme. The most recent was The 6th Pan-African Reading for All Conference, which took place in Tanzania from August 10th -14th, 2009. There the focus was on Literacy for Community Based Socio-economic Transformation and Development. The determination of the conference theme draws from the local scene of the hosting country, but extends to matters of regional and global interest. Objectives of The 7th Pan-African Reading for All Conference

The objectives of the conference are to:

• Strengthen capacity within Africa in collecting and analysing data to support formulation of policy and interventions that address the barriers that make it difficult to achieve the vision of literacy for all; • Generate frameworks for the development and implementation of new initiatives that address specific literacy problems;

• Consider how reading and writing can be harnessed effectively for opening up social futures across Africa and the world at large;

• Interrogate a range of approaches to literacy that promote reading in families, facilitate the setting up of rural libraries and encourage the development of reading materials.

CONFERENCE THEME, SUB-THEMES AND TOPICS

A. Conference Theme: A Reader, the Empowered Leader

B. Sub-themes

i) Literacy and empowerment

ii) Literacy, leadership and marginalized groups

iii) Innovation and literacy instruction

iv) Literate citizenry and a participatory society

v) Literacy and Human Rights

vi) Broadening literacy

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS

Presentations will be of the following types:

• Individual papers: These will be presented by one, or more, individual(s) and will be allotted 30 minutes each (20 minutes for the presenter(s) and 10 for discussion).

• Colloquia: These will be presented by four or five people working together and will be allotted 2 hours. The presenters may divide the time amongst themselves as they like but should allow at least 40 minutes (not necessarily all together) for audience reactions.

• Workshops: These will be interactive sessions, in which the presenter is expected to act as a facilitator rather than as a speaker. Each will be allotted one hour. A workshop should have a practical purpose and involve the participants in some activity.

• Poster sessions: These will be graphic displays of information, which will be posted on the walls of the session rooms and/or in the corridors. Each display will stay up for several hours, and a period of 20-30 minutes will be allotted for conference participants to come and discuss it with its presenter.

• Films: These should be presented on video tape and will be allotted 30 minutes each. Tapes should be no more than 20 minutes long to allow time for viewers’ questions and comments.

Presentations should fall under one of the sub-themes listed and may address literacy issues at any level of learning. To propose a presentation, please fill out the proposal form provided here.