In this February edition of the Writers Space Africa Magazine, we bring you Nathaniel Ziphoezinhle Mpofu, a multi-award-winning author of several books, librarian at the Bulawayo Public Library, Zimbabwe, and third place winner of the 2021 Wakini Kuria prize for Children’s literature. Blessing Peter Titus (PPBlessing) had a chat with him.
PPBlessing: Thank you for joining us for this interview, can we get to know who Nathaniel is?
NZM: I’m a multi-award-winning author and librarian from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. My academic itinerary includes Mzingwane High School, Foundation College and Bulawayo Polytechnic where I studied Library and information science.
PPBlessing: Seeing that you’re a librarian by profession, how come you write?
NZM: Being a librarian actually helps and enforces the need to write. I’m literally always surrounded by books, stories and a whole plethora of atoms of diction. If I had an efficient manifesto all librarians would write a book per year as part of the job description.
PPBlessing: You earlier mentioned that you are a multi-award-winning author, what other awards have you won aside from third place in the 2021 Wakini Kuria prize for Children’s literature?
NZM: I’ve been thrice nominated for the ROIL Bulawayo Arts Awards (BAA) Outstanding fiction award. It’s a rather new movement in Zimbabwe. I won it once in 2018. My other nominations are the African Writers Award for Creative non-fiction in 2020, and a longlist in the Kendeka short story prize in 2021.
Nathaniel with Pontsho Rikhotso (next to him) and enthusiastic readers at Jozi book fair 2016
PPBlessing: This is wonderful. Do you only write children’s literature or you write other genres too?
NZM: I have a children’s book series titled Inkless Quills; that being the first instalment and Nerfetiri is the sequel. Inkless Quills was accepted for school library use by the Gauteng ministry of education, South Africa in 2021. My other books are in the young adult, and poetry genres. Except for a memoir, No.44 Andrea Drive. A Horcrux, an exorcism and a memoir.
PPBlessing: Interesting. Are these available in print or ebooks?
NZM:They’re available in print and digitally on www.amazon.co.uk and www.cartofafrika.com
PPBlessing: Alright. Let’s step back a little, when exactly did you start writing and why?
NZM:My real inception to write more than homework was from watching J. K Rowling’s motion picture adaptation of her debut book in the franchise, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone, then reading the book itself. Imagine the comparison. I was probably 10, and the idea that well-written words could paint the pictures in the movie I had seen found me pants down. From then I wanted to write but I only started to compile an actual novel in 2006, The Parallel World.
PPBlessing: Wow! You started out quite early. When did you first get published and what was it?
NZM: 2015. The Parallel World was my first novel.
PPBlessing: Why didn’t you study a course related directly to writing such as literature since you’d already had an interest in writing at the tender age of 10?
NZM:I was accepted for a Masters in Creative Writing at Rhodes University in 2020. I couldn’t go through with it because I couldn’t afford the costs at the time.
Nathaniel with his fiancée, Zibusiso Nyathi, author of ULuba (a children’s book series)
PPBlessing: Okay. How about at your undergraduate studies? Why did you go for library and information science instead?
NZM: It was circumstance and time. I had to enrol for something and librarianship fit like a glove at the time.
PPBlessing: Assuming an ideal situation, what course would you have studied?
NZM: Architecture.
PPBlessing: Why?
NZM: Architecture has been in my family since my father. I deviated a bit from it in pursuit of writing. Wherein I won and lost. Architecture’s still my first love.
PPBlessing: One of the battles a lot of Writers face is getting published, how have you managed to overcome this challenge and get 11 books published?
NZM:I hear you. Writers write page-turning manuscripts and end up shelving them in a broom cupboard somewhere because a few traditional publishers said “it’s not what we’re looking for.” Hence the advent of self-publishing. I’ve self-published all my books.
PPBlessing: That’s great. Can you share tips with other writers who want to also self-publish?
NZM:The idea is to be contented with your book to the extent that you feel no need for an editor or proofreader because you would have done that enough. Leave that manuscript alone for a day or two, then revisit it and clean it up again and again until you see no fault. Then invest in a ‘professional’ editor to go over your work. Acquire an ISBN from the National Library of South Africa by sending an email or call to kholofelo.mojela@nlsa.ac.za /012 401 9776. Include the title of the book and publisher on your request. Response time is 1-5 days or through your country’s National Archives. You will usually need to deposit two copies of your book depending on their constitution.
PPBlessing: Thank you for the insight. I almost thought you had no need for an editor until you finished that sentence. What will you tell those who write but aren’t confident about publishing their work?
NZM:The fact that of all the things you can do for the catharsis you need, and you choose to write, makes you a writer and that’s all that you need to remember. You could have pledged yourself to a hundred other addictions or you do both simultaneously. Whatever formula works for you. The constant is that you chose to write. And for that I applaud you. Writing is the most immediate form of inception too. You’re not built to comprehend the impact your words will have on whoever reads them. So let that battle go. It’s esoteric biology and you won’t win that war. But as I said it’s inception. So you also can’t comprehend the betterment or antonym that your words will bring to your readers. You won’t live enough to configure both to the ‘T’ anyway so take that leap of unequivocal truth in your words. No one else will. Write like a god, and eventually, you will be one.
Nathaniel with Sibahle Malunga. Writer and business diva at Jozi book fair
PPBlessing: As a self-published author, what’s the best self-publishing platform you’ll recommend?
NZM: I’m only on Amazon and Cartofafrika. Arguably the list is shorter when you’re African but that’s the system, and if the system doesn’t work for your words what do you do?
PPBlessing: Which among these two platforms serves you better? You find a way to make it work for you I suppose.
NZM:Better than pushing my books myself? Neither. Nothing beats putting yourself out there and vindicating your own writing. That’s priceless.
PPBlessing: You mean you have a personal blog or website where you sell your books or you sell directly to bookstores?
NZM:Yes, I do. It’s https://nathanielmpofu.wixsite.com/website I also sell directly to bookstores and on social media but we all know social media’s only ecstatic for social mediocrity. So since writing’s furthest from that we can only offer the masses patience. Sabali in Swahili.
PPBlessing: How has being a multi-award-winning author influenced your writing and lifestyle?
NZM:That hasn’t changed much in me really. Every 101 poems for her was my retirement book.
PPBlessing: Retirement? Do you mean you are no longer going to write?
NZM:Yes. And no.
PPBlessing: Please explain.
NZM:I’ve written enough. The agenda now is for all that to be read with the same passion.
PPBlessing: Okay… How do you intend to achieve that?
NZM:Perhaps you have pointers?
PPBlessing: Well, there’s the option of aggressive personal online and offline marketing or you could even contract a marketing firm.
NZM:I appreciate it. Thank you
PPBlessing: Does your retirement mean no more writing even in the future?
NZM:Do we ever really know?
PPBlessing: Well, only you can answer that. Any concluding words as we wrap up?
NZM:‘Let no man be fooled that they can write. (Paraphrasing) For we intend to do unheard-of things with it.’ -Chinua Achebe
My sincerest gratitude to WSA for giving me this platform to talk about my version of hallmarks and thoughts in this CRAFT. Let’s keep writing.
PPBlessing: Thank you for being with us through this interview. Make it a date with us next month as we bring you another renowned author. Until then, keep reading the Writers Space Africa Magazine.
This Interview was published in the February 2022 Edition of the WSA Magazine. Please click here to download
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