Every year on November 1, authors around the world are celebrated. These are creators and writers who put in long hours to paint pictures with words that educate, inspire and entertain.
AKU held its inaugural celebration of Authors’ Day virtually across all campuses with a week of activities. These included panel discussions, book fairs and Meet the Author sessions. The events were organised by the Office of the Provost and the University Librarian’s Office.
“International Authors’ Day is an important event, particularly as we acknowledge writers and appreciate their hard work,” Associate Vice Provost and University Librarian Peter Gatiti said. “We intend to nurture efforts that inspire authorship through engaements with authors and publishers.”
A total of 53 participants, associated with AKU, who have written over 50 books, showcased their work at the event. In addition to books, faculty and staff at AKU have written over 16,000 peer-reviewed journal articles that have been published around the world and are available on the University’s eCommons archive. These academic papers have been downloaded over two million times over the last nine years.
During the main event, Provost and Vice President-Academic Dr Carl Amrhein said: “AKU boasts a wealth of human capital including researchers and academicians who create new knowledge through their publications.”
While delivering his keynote address, Dr Farouk Topan, a prolific writer, educator and researcher, who is Professor Emeritus, at AKU’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (ISMC) encouraged upcoming writers not to fear rejection by publishers. “Go ahead and write what is in your heart. The only way to become a writer is by writing.”
AKU authors outlined discipline, resolve and tenacity as traits to uphold when submitting manuscripts for authorship. They pointed out that writers need to read more to improve their writing skills. The panel discussion involved Dr Anjum Halai, Vice Provost and Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Karachi; Professor Stephen Lyon, Head of Educational Programmes and Development, ISMC; Professor Saad Shafqat of the Medical College in Pakistan; and Professor Peter Kimani, from AKU’s Graduate School of Media and Communications.
Dr Alex Awiti, Vice Provost, East Africa, who is also an author and has written more than 700 columns in the Kenyan media, recounted that what began as a difficult task has now become part of his leisure activities. He revealed that he mostly does his writing on Sundays.
While concluding the virtual event, AKU President Mr Sulaiman Shahabuddin noted the growth of writing and authorship over the years and encouraged faculty, staff, and students to continue improving the writing culture at the University.
On-campus activities were also held to celebrate the authors. A slideshow celebrating all AKU authors was displayed on various digital screens in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Kampala libraries. Authors available on campus gave brief speeches on their authoring journeys, experiences and lessons. Selected book publishers were at hand to help participants sample authors’ output and to give guidance on publishing. At the ISMC library in London, Sophie Rudland, a publisher working with the Middle East and Islamic Studies at I.B. Tauris publishing, gave a reflection on her publishing journey and discussed how to write good book proposals. In Karachi, the library held a book fair where leading publishers and booksellers showcased their products.
AKU prides itself as a citadel of knowledge generation, and this year it celebrated authors from across all its campuses who have published books.
