The United States Embassy in Malawi organized a Writers’ Workshop which drew over 20 participants from young to old, emerging and established writers with facilitators Muthi Nhlema and Shadreck Chikoti; alumni from Iowa University International Writing Programme.
The prestigious Programme involves the participation of writers from different parts of the world and Chikoti a 2019 graduate, indicated that the experience accorded him the opportunity of gaining more experience in America.
Chikoti who first published in 1991, described it as an honour to be given chance to share the skills learnt from the US Programme with upcoming and established creative writers at the American Center in Lilongwe.
Having written for about three decades, this has exposed him to be in different spaces and interact with various writers in Malawi and beyond.
According to him, the country’s creative landscape needs more of these platforms for young people to have the necessary exposure to improve their writing skills.
The current President of the Malawi Writers’ Union spoke on the need to give budding and established writers the opportunity to publish.
“People don’t know where they can go to publish their works; there are no platforms to publish their works, there are no websites like it is in different countries especially in the developed countries. There are no places where you could go for a writer’s residency or an arts residency. So we need to create these opportunities.
“We talk about the lack of reading in Malawi, but where are people going to buy the books? Are the books available? Is literature available or is it expensive for them to find? So it’s not just about the reading culture, it’s also about making these materials, these books available to the public.”
He spoke on the many existing opportunities for writers and advised them to be passionate and hungry enough to learn more and connect with like-minded people.
Chikoti acknowledged that writing is a difficult journey which takes time to persuade others to be within the cycle and continue writing.
One of the workshop participants, Linda Mchawi is a writer and editor with an interest in the literary space in Malawi and across the globe and interested in writing and reading books.
She indicated that when she heard that Muthi and Shadreck were conducting a Writing Workshop, she was curious to learn from them, sharpen her skills and also just to meet the other writers within Lilongwe who are doing amazing works and learn from them.
“It’s been a great experience; we’re learning quite a bit as the workshop is on-going. Muthi is a very lively character and just seeing him in action and what he’s telling us today, there’s a lot to pick up from the discussions we’re having over the work that has been shared to us.
“Just seeing how everyone thinks is also very enlightening and I’m definitely looking forward to interacting with the other writers more outside of this workshop, but as well as to see what everyone else is working on and what they’re going to produce after the workshop”.
Nhlema is a short story writer and is spotlighted as one of the 100 African writers of Speculative Fiction and Fantasy by Geoff Ryman and his first novella, ‘Ta O’Reva’ about Nelson Mandela’s return to a post-apocalyptic South Africa won third prize at the 2015 International Freeditorial Long-Short Story Competition.