Taking African Short Stories to the World
Introducing BookBeak, an app connecting African
writers with the world’s readers through storytelling
Africans have been telling stories for
centuries, passing nuggets of cultural knowledge and heritage from one
generation to the next through fables, folktales, and epic narrations. Newly
launched storytelling app, BookBeak, is now making it possible for those new
and old African stories to be shared with the world.
Founded by three young South Africans, BookBeak
is the first African app-based platform to aggregate African short stories from
published, unpublished and self-published writers and serve them to a global
audience.
Empowering Africa’s storytellers:
It all comes down to accessibility. “Our
continent is rich with writers who have great stories to tell, but no real way
to share those stories with the rest of the world,” comments Kamo Sesing,
founding member of BookBeak. “We’re changing that. Africa is the
fastest-growing smartphone market in the world so it only made sense to build
an app that could serve the people of the continent these African stories
directly into the palm of their hands, as well as audiences across the rest of
the world.”
Social Impact:
Of all of BookBeak’s remarkable features, it’s
most meaningful and impactful is by far its revenue sharing model to benefit
its contributing writers. Revenue generated from BookBeak’s global subscription
base will be shared on a 50/50 basis with contributing writers, and then
further tiered remuneration based on the number of downloads received by their
respective stories. This will allow people to make a living through their
unique storytelling talents.
Says Sesing, “Our continent has huge
unemployment problems. BookBeak will not only provide an additional income
stream for these storytellers but also help them build their audience and
following, propelling them towards future success.”
Encouraging Afro-centric reading:
“We also realised that many African parents have
been struggling to find children’s stories that are representative and relevant
to them,” adds Cameron Naidoo of BookBeak, “so we’ve created a library of
beautiful, culturally relevant African short stories just for children,
allowing their creativity and imagination to flourish while engaging with the
diverse library on the app.” Parents can download kiddies’ short stories, as
well as audio shorts to keep their little ones entertained and engaged.
“Parents can even create a personalised story for their little one in minutes,
simply by typing in their child’s name to replace the main character’s name
from one of the many stories on the app,” adds Naidoo. “This is an amazing
feature where the kids become the heroes of their own story!”
For adult readers, there is an impressive
library of African short stories from published, unpublished and self-published
authors, which is updated with fresh and exciting content every week.
BookBeak is now available for download from
Apple and Google Play stores. When signing up, you become eligible for three
FREE premium reads followed by a monthly subscription of only R59 a month to
get full access to BookBeak’s entire library for your enjoyment, whilst also
supporting Africa’s talented storytellers.
“The global appetite for African stories is
growing. Whether you’re a writer or a reader, join BookBeak and start sharing
your African story today,” Sesing concludes.
For more information visit www.bookbeak.co.za
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