Young Botswana woman rewards African writers

A young Botswana woman, Paula Otukile hosted the Mulher Forte African Literature Awards at the University of Botswana recently. 

In an interview, Otukile said Mulher Forte was a Portuguese phrase simply meaning a strong woman. The Mulher Forte African Literature Awards (Pty) Ltd company was registered on September 8, 2020 and its aim is to give recognition to literature in Africa. 

The company will create literature awards competition annually and interactive literature webinars, workshops and debates.

“I was inspired by the love of African narrative and saw the need in the book industry market to create a platform that can give literature recognition. African writers from all over the continent are eligible to partake in these awards.

"The rise of self publishing reduced the quality of books and let to a rise of more authors. Hence in Africa people write but do not gain anything out of it. Mulher forte was created to help reduce the rise of bogus publishers who scam people of their money online, so many young Africans can easily search reputable publishers from Mulher Forte African literature page on Facebook and publish,” she said.

She said Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Cape Verde, South Sudan, Zambia, Uganda, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Angola Swaziland, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, are part of the competition. 

Otukile, however, explained that they intended to extend the invite to more African countries especially the francophone in the third annual awards. The awards are said to be strictly for only African writers as well poets and those

in the publishing industry because the aim was to unite Africa and improve the quality of performance and writing.

This year, Otukile pointed out that they did not find sponsors locally. She said they pitched at the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture in Gaborone but were advised to apply at her home village, Mahalapye even though she already moved to Gaborone. 

She, however, did not let that demoralise her, but she knocked on other doors.

Botswana National Library Services liked the project but there is delay in coming up with a working plan for the two. Writers Pen in Kenya, Read Us Africa Book Club in Uganda, Bothata Kennedy Silase Foundation in Lesotho offered different sponsorships.