Creative Writing in Cape Town c/o Hatua Kali Storytelling School is set up to create the beginnings of a new ecosystem for emerging writers and storytellers.
After two years of actively building community, creating supportive infrastructure and designing learning and feedback processes—equipping writers with the tools they need to begin crafting impactful stories—we are ready to begin the next part of the writer development process: editing and publishing.
We want writers to experience story development, editorial support, publication and exposure in a way that reflects a healthy professional publishing process. Every six to eight weeks, we now open a call for writers to submit essays and short stories connected by a unifying theme.
Writers whose work is selected for publication are supported through an editorial process and 1:1 coaching. They are also paid an author fee for their submission, and we work together to distribute and promote their work through our existing communication channels.
Our First Theme: “What Makes a Story Interesting to You?”
We invited writers to reflect on their personal taste in literature. What is it about a story that compels them to read further? Deeper? What interrupts their concentration or turns them away from a story?
The two selected essays stood out for:
Voice and style: A beautiful, unique and authentic expression of each writer’s perspective.
Depth of exploration: Evidence of having really dug into the question and explored their personal taste in literature.
Contribution to the community: A message within each essay that could support other writers’ creative growth.
Without further ado, meet our two writers.
Andrea Green-Thompson
As a multimedia storyteller, Andrea values the importance of a story and the myriad ways to tell it. With extensive experience in visual storytelling, Andrea has returned to the written word and is exploring ways to weave the two into cohesive, holistic tales. Five years as a tattoo artist and a degree in journalism provide them with a unique skill set to achieve this goal.
Zandile Moyo
Pen Name: Roszavia grew up writing stories and entering art competitions. Now an electrical engineer, she rediscovered her love for storytelling as an adult. Writing helps unclutter her mind and navigate maladaptive daydreaming. She is particularly fascinated by folklore, which she sees as containing the threads connecting cultures worldwide. More recently, she took up photography to help her find the magic in the mundane.
Congratulations on your selection!
Over the next week, we’ll work together individually and as a group to workshop each essay, provide a safe landing space to unpack the experience of sharing work and explore the next steps in each writer’s portfolio.
Keep a lookout for their published essays next week. They are brilliant, and we’re so excited for you to read them!
And watch out for our next Open Call for Writers, where you can submit your work too.
