NATASHA UYSWITH a respected career in media and publishing arming her literary arsenal, Namibian writer, publisher and all-round creative, Bryony van der Merwe recently added to her varied list of achievements the release of the children’s picture book ‘The Accidental Hero’.
Now based in the United Kingdom, Van der Merwe collaborated with illustrator Anil Yap to produce a delightful storybook about a young giraffe named Alfonso, who is separated from his herd on the African plains.
The adorably clumsy Alfonso becomes something of an accidental hero along the way, saving both himself and the friends he encounters on his journey. ‘The Accidental Hero’ is Van der Merwe’s second children’s book. She wrote it several years ago, but it had been gathering dust in a drawer.
In addition to some tourism-related books, she also wrote (under a pen name) and published a children’s picture book, called ‘The Big Adventure’, illustrated by Ida Blaauw, alongside her debut novel ‘Bog Standard’. “Working on other authors’ picture books every day inspired me to take the plunge,” says Van der Merwe, who is based in Sheffield where she works as a designer.
“I liked the illustration style of one of my authors’ books, and that’s how I found Anil Yap. I supplied him with my mock-up and page plans, and he did amazing illustrations, really bringing to life the characters.” Van der Merwe says she had “tonnes of fun” creating the layout and style of the book, which she is “insanely proud of”.
With a varied career path which started with typesetting at The Namibian, Van der Merwe worked as a journalist and graphic designer at the Namibia Economist – all before the tender age of 20, when she co-founded the youth magazine Voice.
“We published six editions before having very little business sense finally caught up with us, and the magazine folded,” says Van der Merwe of the short-lived but iconic publication.
A stint at a graphic design agency in Knysna, South Africa, followed before she returned to Namibia to work for Macmillan Namibia, where she says she finally had a this-is-what-I-want-to-do-with-my-life moment.
“After newspapers and magazines, books were amazing to work on. They were sturdy, they had a spine and could stand up on their own. Books had a long shelf life, which meant that any work I put into them could still be enjoyed a decade down the line, which was very rewarding.”
Her love-affair with books was cemented during her time at Macmillan, where she learned a lot about the industry, fuelling her to start Wordweaver Publishing, which, at the time, was Namibia’s only dedicated fiction publishing house.
“What followed was the stuff of dreams, and I’m still humbled by the experience. I made beautiful books, formed close relationships with many talented authors and illustrators, and really loved my work,” she says.
“At times I felt as though I had the support of the whole country behind me as we went from strength to strength and finally put Namibian authors on the map. I was chosen to represent Namibia at several international book fairs, including the Frankfurt Book Fair twice, and won several awards.”
Van der Merwe eventually sold her shares in the company, and in the transformation that followed she found herself learning and growing once more. With the move to the UK she began doing design work for other authors, focusing on children’s books.
“I am also busy developing a training course in children’s book design. Picture books have fast become my favourite genre to work in, and every day is a new adventure. Yesterday I was working on a book that involved a racing bike that could talk. Today I’m working on a book about a clumsy child. On tomorrow’s schedule is an ABC book with a twist,” she says optimistically.
‘The Accidental Hero’ is available for purchase on Amazon, and hard copies are currently being printed and will be available in local bookstores next month.
