A possible TV appearance

I’ve been approached by Free Range Films to have my creative work showcased on “Mantswe a Bonono,” a TV programme showcasing South African writers of various backgrounds, works, genres and languages.

The company says it was commissioned by SABC 2 to produce the documentary series which was aired in 2005. This year they have been commissioned for the second series of Mantswe and currently in the research phase of the production.

"Mantswe a Bonono focuses on The language criteria which we are exploring are works written in Sotho / Setswana / Sepede / Xivenda / Xitsonga / Afrikaans. We are especially also researching individuals who are located in provinces such as Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West Province, Free State, etc. If they’ve relocated to main cities we’d also be keen to meet with them.”

They say they’ve received lots of feedback on local poets, novel, writers and screen-writers. ”It would be great to hear from people who write for radio, people who write letter, unpublished writers, TV commercial writers, journal writers, etc. If there is a team who works together on their various projects we’d also love to hear from them.”

I must say I feel honoured and excited that they tracked me down from my online presence and approached me. It’s a sign that consistently putting in the work will pay off.

The biggest benefit is that my work will be put in front of a national audience, and hopefully, attract the attention of readers and publishers alike.

But I’m not counting on a giant leap in my career as a result of the coverage (assuming I am selected). I’ve been this road before, where I am interviewed by a big-time media programme and nothing happens beyond the good wishes.

For example, when “Some Roses, a Hamburger, the AK47 and a Puddle," a short story anthology I contributed to was published in 1993, I did a number of interviews, with including a radio chat with Jennifer Crwys-Williams on 702.

Jenny was very warm during the interview, and I was subsequently interviewed on TV about my writing. But nothing came of it except my 15 minutes of fame. Part of the problem, I think, is that I didn’t know how to leverage the coverage into more work/ increased coverage, something I have since made a point to learn.