Monday, August 29, 2011

WABO's 2nd Monthly Workshop to Be Held 17 September

Invitation to the 2nd WABO Workshop- Getting Published

On Saturday 17th of September, the Writers Association of Botswana (WABO) will be holding the second in their monthly writing workshop series. The topic for this month is “Getting Published” and will be run by WABO vice chairperson and published author Lauri Kubuitsile.

The workshop will be at Maru-a-Pula School and will begin promptly at 2 pm. It is free for WABO members (with their membership cards), non-members will be required to pay P20. Membership forms and cards will be available if you would like to become a WABO member. The membership fee is P100 per year.

The first hour of the workshop will be for the monthly topic. The second hour will be time for people interested in sharing their own work (in English for this workshop only) and having it critiqued by the group. If you intend to share work, it will be on a first come, first served basis and you will be required to come with photocopies of the work that will be read (at least 20 copies) for attendees. The work should be no more than 500 words.

Please RSVP at botswanawriters@gmail.com with the subject 'Getting Published' workshop.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

WABO runs writing workshop in Gaborone, Botswana





"The artist is distinguished from all other responsible actors in society - the politicians, legislators, educators, and scientists - by the fact that he is his own test tube, his own laboratory, working according to very rigorous rules, however understated these may be, and cannot allow any consideration to supersede the responsibility to reveal all that he can possibly discover concerning the mystery of the human being," The creative process, James Baldwin 1962

The Writers Association of Botswana held a short story writing workshop today (Saturday 20, 2011 between 2 and 430pm). Facilitated by short story writer and author of Go tell the sun Wame Molefhe. The focus was on the basics - plot, characterisation etc which although somewhat obvious sounding are not always so easily remembered in the act of penning stories. This workshop provided a rare opportunity for Batswana writers to interact with each other and share and discover their own creative processes. Participants were asked to submit an 800 word or less story prior to attendance and will receive individual feedback from our facilitator in the days following the workshop.

It became glaringly obvious, both from direct requests and general feedback from the participants, that there is a need to hold more workshops or at the least create opportunities for both established and up and coming writers to commune over their work. This workshop had twenty participants and WABO urges all Botswana based writers to attend future workshops and commit to the responsibility of the process of telling their story.

We are grateful to Maru a Pula School for welcoming WABO on to their campus and donating the workshop space.



Tuesday, August 2, 2011

You're Invited to a Short Story Writing Workshop

On Saturday 20th of August, the Writers Association of Botswana (WABO) will be holding the first in their monthly writing workshop series. The topic for this month is “Writing Short Stories” and will be run by Wame Molefhe, a published short story writer and secretary general of WABO.

The workshop will be at Maru-a-Pula School and will run from 2:00-4:30. It is free for WABO members, non-members will be required to pay P20. Membership forms and cards will be available if you would like to become a WABO member. The membership fee is P100 per year.

The workshop will cover elements of short story writing. Participants will work through a series of exercises. Participants who would like to share their stories will have an opportunity to have their work critiqued.

Places are limited so please RSVP at botswanwriters@gmail.com, write 'Short story workshop' in the subject line with a 800 word excerpt of the story you wish to be critiqued at the workshop. Closing date for receipt of applications is 13 August 2011.