Call to commune
For African and African diaspora writers of narrative or creative nonfiction who are based in South Africa
“... don’t worry about imagination. You have all the imagination you need, and all the reading, journal writing, and learning you will be doing will stimulate it. Play with your ideas. Have fun with them. Don’t worry about being silly or outrageous or wrong. So much of writing is fun. It’s first letting your interests and your imagination take you anywhere at all. Once you’re able to do that, you’ll have more ideas than you can use. Then the real work of fashioning them into a story begins. Stay with it. Persist.”
Applications are open for our inaugural year-long, stokvel-style writing commune. The commune is open to all African and African diaspora writers based in South Africa who are creating, revising or refining a piece of book-length narrative or creative nonfiction on any topic in English for a general audience. Ideal commune members would be critical of capitalism (and its supporting interlocking systems of domination, oppression, exploitation and exclusion) and interested in egalitarian alternatives — particularly for book production, dissemination and access.
How will it work?
The commune will organise and operate as a co-created workshop of 12 participants, including the convenors, T. O. Molefe and Neo Maditla. Each of us will work to create, revise or refine an individually authored book-length manuscript and contribute to a communal manuscript on a collectively chosen theme or topic.
Commune members are free to choose the topic, length and style of their individual manuscript, and how to go about writing it. Themes and topics of the communal manuscript will be chosen collectively by commune members, as will the roles, responsibilities and amount of work each of us is expected to put into it. In both cases, fellow commune members are expected to provide encouragement, camaraderie, and feedback as peers, reviewers and readers. Sharing readings and other resources as the manuscripts develop is highly encouraged.
What do you mean by co-created?
The commune is co-created in the sense that the structure and content of the convenings will be decided and led by commune members based on our collective needs, aspirations and realities. It will also be co-created in the tradition of stokvels in that each member contributes what they can to the commune on a purely voluntary and optional basis — with no consequence or penalty should they choose or be unable to contribute. Contributions can be monetary or not. About 80% of the commune’s initial funding of £12,000 was provided by the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme based at the International Inequalities Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science. The rest comes from our own resources.
Subject to review and approval by commune members, initial allocations of this budget are as follows: a stipend of £400 per person to offset costs of writing and participating in convenings; travel, accommodation and meals for the first in-person convening; and 5GB of data per person per month for the virtual convenings and access to the commune’s digital space.
How often will the commune meet? And what happens between meetings?
The commune will convene formally at least once a month between July 2023 and June 2024, on dates to be agreed upon. Three convenings — late-Sep/early-Oct 2023, early-2024 and mid-2024 — will be in-person residential retreats over a week or a series of weekends, depending on everyone’s schedules and availability, at a venue in South Africa to be decided by commune members. The remaining convenings will be virtual, on a medium and for a duration to be agreed upon. In periods between convenings, members will have access to a digital space (on a platform to be collectively decided) to commune. During these intersession periods, members will dedicate as much time as needed, is available and collectively agreed on to work on their individual manuscripts and contributions to the communal manuscript. As an indication, the commune was conceived using a benchmark of at least 20 hours per month spent on the process, craft and act of writing.
How do I apply?
To apply, read the full information sheet and FAQs below. If this sounds like something you'd like to participate in, please complete and submit the application form by 15 June 2023. We will get back to all applicants by early July. If you have questions or any difficulties completing the application form, email us.
Deadline: 15 June 2023
Applications are now closed.
If you would like to follow the work of the commune or be notified should we issue another call, please subscribe to our forthcoming newsletter.
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I do not yet have a full—or any—manuscript. Can I still apply?
Yes. Having a strong idea that you are committed to and the determination to flesh it out into a fully formed manuscript will do.
My manuscript is my academic dissertation/thesis. Can I still apply?
Yes, please do. But, remember: a significant amount further reimagining, reading, research, rework and revision are usually needed to turn a dissertation/thesis into a piece of nonfiction for a general audience — even if produced in a creative writing programme.
My manuscript is co-authored. Can I still apply?
Yes, of course. Each co-author should complete an application and mention their involvement in the co-authored work in the synopsis section of the application.
What do you mean by narrative or creative nonfiction? What is the difference?
Both narrative and creative nonfiction use literary styles, techniques and methods to truthfully tell stories rooted in fact. The degree to which each is rooted in fact varies depending on the objective. But they always strive to be truthful. While the distinction between the two is paper thin, narrative nonfiction tends to have a strong focus on story (characters, events, places, moments, contexts, tensions, story arch, etc.) while creative nonfiction tends to be more experimental. We welcome a diversity of approaches.
My manuscript/idea is fiction. Can I still apply?
We are in favour of creatively blurring the fiction-nonfiction genre binary if that is what's needed to tell the story well. So, please do apply provided what you intend to work on meaningfully incorporates nonfiction elements.
What will the communal funds be used for?
Members of the commune will decide how best to use the funds to meet their collective writerly needs. An initial allocation has been made for participant stipends, costs of the convenings and mobile data. However, the final allocation will depend on what commune members decide based on the writing needs, aspirations and realities of the group.
Examples of other possible uses include hiring a facilitator for specific session themes or topics, acquiring research materials, and covering the costs of childcare so that members with childcare duties can be fully present.
I can't afford to contribute anything to the commune. Can I still apply?
Yes, of course. Being present and attentive would be contribution enough. Remember, though contributions do not have to be monetary.
I am not based in South Africa. Can I still apply?
Yes. However, you must commit to travelling to South Africa for the in-person retreats. The costs of this travel will be for your own account. Kindly confirm that you are prepared to do this in your application.
Why did you choose English as the language for a commune for African and African diaspora writers based in South Africa?
According to the last census, English is second only to isiZulu in South Africa in terms of total number of speakers. When you factor in the rest of the continent and the diaspora, English made the most sense, however imperfectly, as the common language of the commune. We do not accept this status quo and are thinking about and open to alternatives that prioritise and reaffirm the importance of African languages.
I write in a language other than English. Can I still apply?
Yes, but please indicate in your application how you imagine participating (e.g. would you provide, or need support to provide, English translations of what you produce for other commune members to read?).
What do you mean by African and African diaspora?
For this commune African and African diaspora refers to anyone descended from peoples, nations and societies of the African continent that were subjected to European conquest, slavery, imperialism and colonialism, and the related epistemicides, of the post-1492 world.
What happens to my individual manuscript and contribution to the collective manuscript at the end of the commune's period?
You retain full rights and control of your individual manuscript, and are free to decide what to do with it. With your permission, Collective Media Co-operative Limited reserves publishing rights to the communal manuscript.
Why have you started this commune?
The short answer is that we saw the need for among our peers.
The medium-length answer is that the commercial media and publishing model in South Africa, and elsewhere in the world, outsources the costs and risks of producing a book-length manuscript to writers. Under commercial pressures, the industry also allocates too few resources to preparing manuscripts for publication, does too little to engage audiences while excluding those who cannot afford the cover price, and compensates authors and other workers involved in the book origination process poorly. Self-publishing, on the other hand, has its own risks and limitations that affect the quality and appreciation of the works produced. This has meant, ultimately, that only the most well-resourced and networked people are regularly producing and reading books, which often reflect the perspectives and narratives of elites. Our commune is an attempt to model an alternative, based on ubuntu philosophy. Read more about this in the information sheet.
For the fuller answer, watch this space.
This sounds like a great initiative. How can I support you?
Thank you. You can start with sharing this call as widely as possible. If you would like to offer no-strings-attached financial support or if you have book production, publishing or other relevant expertise that you would like to offer, please send us an email.
I have a question not answered anywhere in this call. What should I do?
Send your question by email.