BOOK lovers gathered in Mbombela, Mpumalanga for the first Ingcayizivele Book Festival at the Mbombela Civic Centre on Saturday, 30 September.
Ingcayizivele, which means first of its kind, is the first book festival in the province and hopes to promote and celebrate the culture of reading and writing.
Young and old as well as veteran journalists and popular authors from Mzansi and outside the borders of Mzansi were part of the festival.
Lungelihle Dlamini, a member of Bookhive, which organised the festival, said they decided to host the festival as they saw a gap and lack of reading in Mpumalanga communities.
"This is a huge problem we needed to address hence we decided to host this festival in Mbombela. It will promote and celebrate the culture of reading. It will also share the processes of writing a book for aspiring authors," she said.
Nolwazi Mathebula (15), who is an avid reader, told Daily Sun the festival will help young people improve their vocabulary and get to know life better.
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"Reading is very important because it does not only refresh our minds, but helps us think out of the box. This festival is an excellent opportunity to help us build knowledge and vocabulary. It will also help us further our reading and comprehension skills," she said.
Author of the popular Hlomu series, Dudu Busani- Dube said it is amazing to have a festival that focuses on ordinary people and that also brings authors from all types of publishing, such as self-publishing, indegenious or traditional publishing.
"I think it's amazing and it is going to do a lot for Mpumalanga as a province. This is the first in the province that focuses on us and our books. I hope it is something that will grow and be an annual event," she said.
