Night of the Stars - June 2008I've had a lot of wonderful experiences since my novel got accepted. Some big - like my novel getting accepted. Some small - my cat respects me more now that I'm a published writer (although I may be wrong about this). But one of the most special and memorable was the recent Umuzi Night of the Stars, held at the Park Hyatt hotel in Rosebank, Johannesburg. The reasons why this was such an awesome event were as follows: Firstly, it was the first-ever event of its kind that I have ever been to as a novelist. And for that reason it is unique. My sister, who has written seven children's books, explained to me a while ago that you never have any authorial experience quite like the first one. |
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| The writing, the waiting, the anticipation, the pain of rejection, the long, long months in between acceptance and publication - these are all things to treasure because never again will you be a "book virgin", able to experience them with the same intensity and utter ignorance about what to expect. Secondly, there were so many awesome people at the function. Annari van der Merwe and Stephen Johnson, who head up Umuzi - professional, enthusiastic and dynamic people. Daniel Rabinowitz who handles all Umuzi's sales and marketing and does what is possibly the most demanding job on the planet with panache and expertise. I also met the wonderful Laura Boon. Laura is a multitalented lady. One of South Africa's first literary agents, she also manages a lot of Umuzi's events, and was responsible for the fact that this one ran like a well tuned Swiss watch. How she remembers everybody's name, I'll never know. I was privileged to meet an author whose name is destined for fame and who also happens to be an incredibly nice person - Peter Harris. Peter recently wrote "In a Different Time" (a title which I adore), based on his real-life experiences as a lawyer in apartheid South Africa handling the defense for four members of Mkonto we Sizwe, the anti-apartheid resistance movement. It's a work of fact that reads like a fast-paced thriller. This book is a must-read, especially for South Africans, because Peter's writing describes the old South Africa in all its dire reality. Reading it, I felt ashamed of the acts of cruelty and racism that took place while I was an ignorant teenager, living in Johannesburg and completely unaware, in my protected little life, that there was even such a thing as apartheid. Note to readers - the ending has a sad and shocking twist. And thirdly and finally, the reason that this function was so awesome was that it showed me more about a whole segment of the bookselling process which I hadn't realised the full importance of until now - the booksellers themselves. This lauch was held for the booksellers of Gauteng - and having spent the evening with them, I can truthfully say that they are a festive bunch of people. Wine flowed freely and was consumed as fast as it flowed. Raucous laughter and conversation caused hairline cracks in the lobby's ceiling. But when everybody entered the auditorium for the hour-long presentation of the Umuzi and Random House releases for the year - well, a dropped pin would have sounded deafening. These people love books and reading. They live for books and reading. It is their life, their passion, and their career. Which is why Umuzi hosts these evenings, where they can promote their titles to these all-important people, and thank them for a job well done. It was a wonderful evening and I, together with my partner Dion, felt proud to attend. © Jassy Mackenzie 2007 |