Nokuthula Mazibuko started writing professionally for South African TV, radio, and print seven years ago. She’s written for Soulcity and Molo Fish II, and more recently appeared as a writer on Litnet (the young voices online writers’ conference).

Thulacreative.co.za is my first bold professional step into the net!” she says.

And bold it certainly is. Her entire website is licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 licence. This means that you can freely download her book of short stories called ‘Love Songs for Nheti’, translate it, make audio versions, illustrate it - as long as it’s for non-commercial use. And if you’re a company that wants to publish it commercially, you can contact Mazibuko directly.

Mazibuko is happy with the results so far. She’s currently talking to companies about the possibility of animating ‘Love Songs for Nheti’.

“It’s still early stages, but am very interested, and excited about animation, as it transcends all kinds of boundaries!” she said.

Mazibuko decided to use the licence because of her belief that ideas should be shared and acknowledged. She was also excited by the opportunity for feedback and adaptations by her readers.

“I do a lot of edutainment, so I’m keen for the information to be spread as widely as possible, and for feedback to show that others are considering the ideas, improving them and passing them on,” she said.

The move didn’t come without some trepidation, though.

“I must admit I ‘m still finding my way around, and do feel intimidated at times. I am keen to find out if this will work from a creative point of view. How will it feel to see an adaptation of my work?!”

Mazibuko was nervous about someone altering her work in a way that is offensive. I explained to her that, although you’re giving people a licence to copy and make derivatives of the work, your “moral rights” remain in place, allowing you to object to derivatives that are offensive.

For Mazibuko, this is a learning process, an experiment in creativity and the spread of ideas. A true creative artist of the people, Mazibuko says: “I want to encourage other writers to join me on this exciting journey of discovery!”

Check it out. This is a truly South African story.

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