DURBAN Book Fair will have a special focus on Sunday, 1 December at Michell Park when it celebrates authors and poets with disabilities. This month’s theme, Reading For All – Celebrating inclusivity for Persons with Disabilities kicks off at 10am at Mitchell Park and runs till 4.30 pm.
The Durban Book Fair (#DBF) is a well-respected and attended initiative, growing in popularity and attracting professionals from diverse backgrounds and the community at large. This Sunday, the fair will celebrate authors and poets with disabilities, and the theme is Reading For All – Celebrating inclusivity for Persons with Disabilities.
The morning will start with an introduction of the theme by Shakila Maharaj, an accomplished career woman who is blind, and fair organiser, Kiru Naidoo, at 10.25am, which will be followed at 10.30am by an overview of the internationally acclaimed book Nothing About Us Without Us by Dr William Rowland and assisted by Jeanette McKenna.
This will be followed by a talk on Creating accessible reading formats for print disabled persons by Deena Moodley, technical specialist for assistive technology and accessible production for students with disabilities at UNISA. From 11.30am, Shelley Barry reflects on her writing in the areas of poetry and film in her book Of Words And Wheels. Shelly has authored and co-authored several published works and has written, directed and produced numerous screenplays and documentary scripts and teaches film at the University of Johannesburg. She has received several awards for her films internationally and a SAFTA in 2018 for her contribution to film as a person with a disability.
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Next up at noon is a discussion on Life with Albinism filled with pearls by Mpho Tjope. Mpho is a published author, albinism activist, founder of an NGO focusing on youth with albinism, one of the Obama Leaders for 2019 and named one of the top 100 young Mandelas of the future 2019.
Shakila Maharaj, who is an organisational psychologist, will then address those present on Audio Description – the visual made verbal, making images accessible to blind readers. At 1pm, historian and author, Dr Janet Hodgson, will speak on what inspires her to write, reflecting on her published works. At 1.30pm, Nenio Mbazima’s autobiography Strong Wind- Deaf But Not Handicapped, will be discussed by the author, and at 2pm, Val Rankin Prinsloo will speak on Valley of Victory, a true story of trials, tribulations and triumphs. Val’s mission is to promote mental wellness.
Sheri Brynard, Downs Syndrome advocate and the only person with Down Syndrome to have a tertiary teacher’s diploma in South Africa, will talk about her book Live without Limitations, Sheri Just The Way I am at 2.30pm, and this will be followed by a talk on two books, If those walls could see and Sacrine is sweet by Dr Siva Moodley.
Ending off the day, there will be a talk from 3.30pm to 4pm on understanding the diverse access needs of the print disabled market in the production of ThisAbility Newspaper by Simon Manda, founding member and lead journalist of ThisAbility.
#DBF is organised on voluntary support and is free to all. It takes place the first Sunday of every month at the beautiful Mitchell Park, Morningside.
Go along and listen to talks, and browse a number of book stands selling new and re-read books in a relaxed and interactive setting.
Contact Anivesh Singh on 083 778 1991 or anivesh@mweb.co.za.
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