Meet the 2023 Commune members!
Collective Media Collective is proud to announce the first members of our As-Yet-Unnamed (AYU) Writers’ Commune. In this first iteration, we gave priority to writers who are creating, revising or refining a piece of book-length narrative or creative nonfiction on any topic in English for a general audience. AYU Commune members are 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.
The idea for the commune came from lessons learned through Collective Media Cooperative's different projects over the years to agitate for fairer economic relations and outcomes in media and publishing. We piloted a version of the commune during the pandemic and are delighted to see the full version up and running, with funding from the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity and, in the tradition of stokvels, from our own pockets.
Our public call on May 11 yielded 40 applications from across the country. We were initially going to make room for 12 members, but the sheer quality of applications pushed us to find ways to stretch the funds to accommodate 16.
AYU Commune members are in different stages of their writing processes, either creating, refining or revising. Our engagement over the next year, through online sessions and in-person retreats, will help them along their journey towards the production of a full manuscript that is ready for publication. Beyond the individual manuscripts, all writers will be collaborating on a communal manuscript, on a topic to be decided by the group.
The writers are:
Bongani Kona is a writer, editor and lecturer in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of the Western Cape.
Esinako Ndabeni is a Wits Honours’ Creative Writing Student and co-author of Born To Kwaito: Reflections of the Kwaito Generation (Blackbird Books).
Gail Smith is a feminist writer and journalist.
Karabo Kgoleng is an award-winning broadcast and print journalist.
Katlego Tapala is a writer and copy editor.
Lindokuhle Nkosi is an editor and versatile writer whose textual artistry beautifully intertwines with installation and performance.
Lodi Matsetela is a narrative impact strategist and producer.
Makgosi Letimile is a Cape Town-based disability activist and writer.
Molebatsi Masedi is a features and speechwriter currently completing a biography of a liberation struggle martyr.
Neo Maditla is a journalist, researcher and editor.
Phethani Madzivhandila is a Pan-Africanist historian and activist.
Rofhiwa Maneta is a Johannesburg-based journalist and author of A Man, A Fire, A Corpse (Blackbird Books).
Sindi-Leigh McBride is a writer from Johannesburg currently based in Basel where she is a PhD Candidate at the Center for African Studies at the University of Basel.
Sipho Hlongwane is a former journalist and columnist currently working as a media agency executive.
T.O. Molefe is a writer and editor with an affinity for collaborative, transformative social research.
Tshiamo Malatji is a writer and an anarchist organiser in Bloemfontein.
The group came together in Muldersdrift recently for our first in-person retreat. The week-long retreat at Cradle Moon Lakeside Lodge was organised in response to the issues brought up by the writers in their applications. It was also an opportunity for them to learn more about the work Collective Media Cooperative has been doing over the past eight years. We invited photographer Cwaka Sinxadi, of Kwanda Photography, to take photos of the group. Those who could not make it to the retreat—Lodi Matsetela, Rofhiwa Maneta, Sindi-Leigh McBride and Gail Smith—kindly shared their portraits.
As the convenors of this commune, Neo Maditla and T.O. Molefe would like to thank every single person who applied. We would also like to thank the writers who will be in communion with us for trusting us with their work as we journey together towards co-creating a community primed to fulfil our individual and collective writing needs and aspirations.
In future newsletters, you will learn more about each of our members as well as their projects. We will also share resources and opportunities for writers. Please get in touch if you would like to know more about our co-op, hear more about our previous projects and collaborations, or work with us.