In a talk I listened to, you mentioned a mentor (Meg Vandermerwe) who suggested you actually write your story. Maybe give our readers some background about the birth of the book? And also: Maybe you could elaborate on your writing in Paulet House in Somerset East. Do you think writers need some inspiration and a place to write?
I have been so fortunate in my writing journey to have had mentors. And each beautiful experience has led to another one. Meg was just moved by the short piece (and I didn’t even know it was called the short form at the time) but that story led to the birth of the book since I couldn’t leave it alone.
Writing at Paulet House was an opportunity that came about after having submitted my manuscript to Kwela Books. And so I participated in the 2021 Jakes Gerwel Foundation/NB Publishers’ Mentorship programme for upcoming writers, to refine my story. The experience was so enriching and beneficial for a writer with all the mentors and fellow writers. I had never before been to a writer’s residency. Often when I was writing my book, I would be in a noisy environment but strangely enough, I have become used to the noise and thus I can write anywhere. I realised that if I keep waiting until I’m at the right place, I will never write. However, writing at Paulet House did make a difference and that’s important for every writer.
Tebello Mzamo grew up in Gugulethu in Cape Town and completed her master's degree cum laude at Rhodes University. Her work has already appeared in the journals TYHINI, Writing ThreeSixty and New Contrast, in the short story collection Incredible Journey: Stories that move you and in the online newspaper GroundUp. In 2009 she was a recipient of a silver merit certificate in the I’m a Writer! Competition of the SABC. Tebello is currently working on her first novel.
