Egypt’s COP27 and Zambia’s Kariba Dam

Ruth Hartley Storytelling, Apartheid, Books by Ruth Hartley, Colonialism, Creativity, Displacement, Freedom Fighters, Identity, Politics, Power, Southern Africa, The Shaping of WaterLeave a Comment

Disembarking at Cairo, we were confronted with an enormous billboard welcoming delegates to the COP27 climate conference. 40 000 delegates were meeting to discuss, among other things, the painful question of financial responsibility for fixing the climate crisis caused largely by the activities of developed countries. Visiting Egypt was a long-held dream. It was wonderful for many reasons, not least […]

The Halley’s Comet Exhibition at Mpapa Gallery Zambia 1986

Ruth HartleyHistory, Mpapa Gallery, ZambiaLeave a Comment

Rockets, comets and Deep Space research Ariane, is the rocket developed in France by the European Space Agency and first launched in 1979. I feel that I have a connection with it that goes back 36 years to 1986 when I was one of the directors of the Mpapa Gallery in Zambia. The Ariane rocket was named after Ariadne the […]

Goodreads, dry gardens, and a visit from Trinity

Ruth Hartley Storytelling, Children's Stories, Promotion, Writing Process, Zambia4 Comments

A delightful visitor – the best of my readers and reviewers I had an unexpected and delightful visit yesterday from Trinity. She arrived holding my book Dust and Rain. She is busy reading it and wanted to ask me some questions. Let me tell you that this is one of the best things that can happen to a writer. We […]

Welcome Readers – come with me to Zambia and read my new story –

Ruth Hartley Storytelling, Book Launch, Children's Stories, Dust and Rain, ZambiaLeave a Comment

Dust and Rain: Chipo and Chibwe save the Green Valley Two children make a perilous journey through the heart of modern and magical Africa to save their parents’ farm in the Green Valley from drought and climate change. Kambili brings the drought in a whirlwind of dust into the lives of CHIPO, an eleven-year-old girl with a special gift, and […]

Spinning stories out of the stuff of life

Ruth Hartley Storytelling, Dust and Rain, Zambia2 Comments

When you see this post I will have just arrived in Zambia and my children’s book Dust and Rain: Chipo and Chibwe save the Green Valley will have been published by Gadsden Publishers. How a story grows and changes as the world spins It was a shock when I first realised that my story, Dust and Rain, so relevant 20 […]