International Publishing Fellowship: PREFACE

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All I knew at the start was that I had been nominated by the British Council Uganda to attend their International Publishing Fellowship. The news came from a kind gentleman at the Council, someone many of us in the Creatives, Arts and Culture space consider a quiet hero. When he broke the news to me in August, I struggled to stifle the excitement on phone. The weeks that followed were a rush of emails, visa application details, packing and talking myself through the nerves of stepping into something new. Our hosts, Rebecca from the British Council-UK and Emma from Oreham Group were a calming source of reassurance all through the preparations.

Then came a lovely coincidence, and I will stress that it really was just coincidence. Our cohort turned out to be an all-women group of six, five of us founders of our own publishing outfits. A joyful group of women from Ghana, Georgia, Pakistan, Ukraine, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

I was a little anxious about meeting everyone because women groups can go either way . But once we’d all trickled into the hotel on Wednesday, 26th November and sat down for our first group dinner, the anxiety melted. The conversation felt easy, the energy was warm, and I realised this could easily become one of the best weeks of my life.

Written by

Crystal Butungi Rutangye

I delight in the power of the written word to share ideas, thoughts, stories, memories, and other aspects of humanity. With over 14 years' experience, my expertise includes editing fiction and non-fiction trade books, ghostwriting, book production management, and training new writers/editors. I lead a team of zealous book editors, graphics designers, and illustrators at Scribe House.

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