ImageNations

We continue today with our interviews with new authors, which began about two weeks ago. Today we interview the fifth author in the series,  Bryony Rheams , author of  This September Sun . Bryony Rheams was able to make some time to answer some questions for ImageNations. Soon after its release, This September Sun has won an award for first book in Zimbabwe.  Can you tell us something about yourself (place of birth, school and anything in between) I was born in Kadoma, Zimbabwe in 1974. We moved around a bit in my early years before finally moving to a mine just outside Bulawayo when I was about eight. I went to school in Bulawayo, completing my A levels in 1992. I then went to the UK on a gap year and also spent another year working in Zimbabwe before going back to the UK to go to university. Which writers or people have influenced your writing? Doris Lessing and Virginia Woolf How would you describe your style of writing? People tell me my writing is very easy to rea...

I opened my blog to find good news. I serialised new books from new authors and that included Bryony Rheam's This September Sun . This morning I got to know that it has won the the 2010 Zimbabwe Book Publishers Award for First Book... The book is available at the Books of Zimbabwe website . It is also available from independent bookstores within Zimbabwe and South Africa and would be available at amazon soon. However, if you cannot get a copy please direct your email to amabooksbyo@gmail.com. Extracts from the book, This September Sun, and other amaBooks publications, could be read from their website here . ImageNations contacted Bryony and she has accepted to be interviewed here... Look forward for this interview.

African literature has come a long way. It has moved from the periods where one could count the number of writers on ones fingers to today where quality works are produced almost everyday. Now, no one has the excuse of saying that he or she never had the opportunity of reading books by people of the continent. Before jumping fully into African literary works, I used to say that books written by Africans are too difficult to read and that they seemed to be meant for the big 'L' literature genre. Besides, having been born in a small town where there were no huts I was worried that almost every African book I picked had to deal with huts and fireside issues. The trend has changed and today we have writers writing on varied subjects and I don't mind reading about the 'Huts and Fireside' stories because I know there are others that write about other issues. Good. Within the past week or two I have come across five new first novels by five different authors from three di...