THE WRITERS BUREAU
STUDENT STORIES

"Wow! Wow! Wow!’ I said as I read my letter informing me that my novel had been published. My excitement reached fever pitch when I opened the pages of the book over and over. Great! I told my friend John who responded with ‘You a published writer? You're pulling my leg’. He looked at the front cover of my novel and saw the title ‘Nyika Yasanduka’(The World has Changed) as well as my first name and surname written in capital letters. ‘So it can happen eh? This is a turning point in your life. You've blazed a trail for our village. You've gained the admiration of everybody. It sounds like a fairy tale.’

“I had toiled for many years in the wilderness, working round the clock, hoping to turn my disappointment into a gem. My manuscripts had been rejected by several editors time and again because they did not meet their standards. Having been found wanting, I kept on trying, proving myself guilty of incompetence and sentencing myself to literary death. Had it not been for my friends encouraging me, I would have abandoned my writing world. They gave me the never-say-die spirit. I was the subject of gossip, the target of slander. ‘Hopeless Bookworm’, the villagers called me. So, when I saw my name in print, it was like a resurrection. My success story spread like wild fire. I went from one home to another, telling whoever I met about my success.

"My life suddenly changed. The villagers became interested in everything about me: my steps, my clothes and even my food! ‘Shakespeare, Dickens, Achebe, Soyinka!’, they chanted as they lifted me shoulder-high. A friend asked what the secret of my success was. I replied that every huge success is a climax of small related successes and I've learnt the value of self-discipline as a budding writer. I don't take anything for granted in writing. Even a minor punctuation or spelling mistake makes me brood as if I were the worst offender under the sun. While I was talking, a small girl brought me another letter. It stated that my novel would be a set book for the school certificate/GCE O level examination. This was confirmed by a radio announcement that I was the writer of an important book in Zambia, one of the rising stars in the writing world!”

Evans Simbuli, Zambia

“My reason for choosing The Writers Bureau course was a desire to write and learn how to do it well. As part of one of my assignments I had to research the market and offer an article to a magazine. I’d written about a beautiful walled town called Montreuil-Sue-Mare, where Victor Hugo found his inspiration for ‘Les Miserables’. My tutor really liked it so I found the courage and confidence to send it to the editor of ‘The French News’, a national monthly newspaper in France. She liked it too and I could hardly believe my luck when she asked me to be her local correspondent for the Nord Pas de Calais area. My role was to research and write up monthly events in my region; plus every month I’d search out interesting people or occasions and offer her my ideas; she would often commission me to do an article, like covering ‘Le Braderie’ in Lille.

“I learnt how to liaise with editors, keep my writing tight and work to deadlines, research using the internet, network with other correspondents and tourist offices and interview people from all walks of life. It’s been a fantastic opportunity for me to meet interesting people and learn about different cultures and customs. Plus, I have been able to gain front row seats in order to take the best photographs and access VIP places with my press card and my freelance writer's pass.

“It’s very rewarding for me. I’ve made new friends and I’ve even found an old school friend who contacted me after seeing my name in the paper.

“Even more priceless than that; I have gained a wealth of knowledge, met an abundance of colourful characters, seen places of interest, wonderful backdrops and unusual situations, all of which I can take into the next chapter of my life and my fiction assignments.”

Marion Catchpole-Dossat, France