Zimkitha Macengulashe Zilo is a South African publisher and literary activist building a township-based reading culture.
She founded Uhlanga Books in Khayelitsha in 2020 to amplify African languages and township voices overlooked by mainstream publishing.
Her work challenges structural barriers to reading and creates community spaces where stories reflect the realities of everyday South Africans.
Township readers face systemic barriers: no bookstores, underfunded libraries, and too few books in indigenous languages. How can all advocates for literacy contribute to community spaces where stories are visible and shared?
Zilo says: “In communities where households struggle with unemployment, food insecurity, and lack of infrastructure, books are often the last item on the budget. Bookstores are scarce in townships, and libraries are few, underfunded, or not easily accessible.
“Then too often, children open a book and encounter worlds, characters, and cultures that feel distant from their own. When literature does not reflect your reality, it is difficult to see reading as a meaningful part of your life. This shows us that it isn’t that people aren’t interested in reading: but that the books, languages, and spaces that reflect our lives are missing.”
