MN: Job well done. Your book first came out in the US, and this month in South Africa. Whenever I meet black African writers, in particular, they always complain about the lack of global reach. That the international publishing market is interested only in certain stereotypical themes, mostly poverty or violence pornography, when it comes to Africa. Or the themes of white fears of the barbarians at the gates wanting to revenge colonial wounds. If this is true, where, in your opinion, do you think the problem lies? Are other African stories too regional for the global market? Is it a quality and style of writing which these publishers feel won’t resonate with the global market?
Also, there was a time, during the apartheid era in particular, when the international world was mostly interested in the political novel when it came to South African literature. I am now thinking of your Nadine Gordimers and the rest. Even JM Coetzee became popular through his sociopolitical novels. We can count the likes of Bloke Modisane with his internationally successful memoir, Blame me on history. Do you think there’s an unspoken reluctance now in the publishing industry, especially the global one, to shun a political novel? African writers, especially black ones, as you may have noticed, are still busy trying to make sense of their historical scars and collective traumas through the popular genre of historical novel. Is this the reason why they find themselves in a global limbo, with the exception of those living in the West who tell their stories from an immigrant point of view, which itself has its own problems?
I know it is almost impossible for you to answer these questions, but please do your best. I just want to see whether you also have noticed this.
Bridget: This is difficult for me to answer with authority, as I have not done an analysis of what is published where. But, in my experience, the publishing industry has become a lot more challenging for writers of literary and historical fiction, particularly with an African focus. People are reading less (books now have to compete with pursuits like Twitter and Netflix), and the big publishing names, which have bought out many of the independent labels, are investing primarily in popular and genre fiction. I think we are in the midst of a confusing sea change, where the conventions of storytelling are rapidly evolving, in line with technology and consumer demand. I have had books accepted by editors, only to be turned down by the marketing division of the company; when I started writing, it was the editors who made the decision to publish. I did not easily land a publisher for this book, and I can readily believe that the odds are further stacked against black authors, notwithstanding the success of African-based black authors of historical/political/literary fiction such as Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, NoViolet Bulawayo, Tsitsi Dangarembga and Zakes Mda, to name just a few. I do think that the need for black African writers to “make sense of their historical scars and collective traumas” is absolutely critical, not only for the writers themselves, but especially for the readers. The world needs these stories, and it is so important to be alert to “the danger of the single story” coming out of Africa, as Adichie has highlighted. If commercial publishers are not providing the platform, perhaps other avenues need to be explored. Catalyst Press is one of the rare publishers strongly committed to releasing these kinds of stories. But they are a small company and can bring out only a few books per year.
I also think that much can be done to promote reading in Africa. When I visited Nigeria for an awards ceremony, I was impressed by how much seemed to be done to support, publish and promote local writers. I sometimes think we suffer from that colonial mindset that dictates that a book is successful only if it is embraced by the Western world. It would be wonderful if we could promote reading to the point where the African-based publishing industry gave black authors of historical and literary fiction the support and promotion they need.
Mphuthumi Ntabeni is a South African author living in Cape Town. His debut novel The Broken River Tent won the University of Johannesburg Debut Novel Prize in 2019. He worked with the drama department of Rhodes University on two plays he wrote for the South African National Arts Festival about Maqoma and his half-brother Sandile, both of whom had been Xhosa chiefs. He has a passionate interest in South Africa’s frontier history and the wars of land dispossession. His most recent novel The Wanderers was published in 2021.
