By David Jenkin
The question of ‘what would I do’ is at the very heart of zombie apocalypse fiction, says Herrmann, and that is one reason why zombies never go out of fashion. Zombies have infiltrated popular culture in a big way in recent years but only with the publication of the first book in the series,
Journal of a South African Zombie Apocalypse, has the genre received a proper local treatment.
Herrmann was faced with a big decision after completing the work. He had received some interest from a major publishing group but he opted instead to go the self-published route. That afforded some advantages, principally the ability to maintain creative control, and it meant the book would reach shelves far quicker. However, this decision also came with obstacles, namely with marketing, distribution, and the stigma of being self-published.
“It’s a tricky one because anyone with a big enough bank balance can now go and put their own book out, self-publishing has become so accessible and so affordable. You can write anything you want and put it on
Amazon, it’s that easy. A lot of people out there think they’re now authors based on that.”
The lack of quality control gives self-publishing a bad reputation and many assume that self-published writers simply weren’t talented enough to interest the publishing houses, says Herrmann. He adds that in book stores, they usually land up on the shelves at the back.
His solution was the grass-roots approach, marketing directly to his target demographic. His stand has become a regular fixture at comic book and sci-fi conventions around the country where South Africa’s emerging geek market can be found. There he has been able to find a firm following and the SAZA brand has been growing ever since, in tune with the growth in popularity of such conventions locally and geek culture in general.
The first book is a coming-of-age ‘what-if’ story about a teenage boy who must try to survive in what Herrmann calls a “new, new South Africa”. Initially intended to be a once-off, its popularity led to
The South African Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide, a manual on how to survive such an event that, while tongue-in-cheek, does offer practical advice unique to a South African context, he says.
The third book in the series,
Zombie ZA, is due to be released in late June this year and will take the unusual approach of offering survival advice to zombies, a reverse of the previous book. Looking further ahead, more fiction is on the way and in addition to merchandise such as T-shirts and survival kits, SAZA is launching its own zombie union, which Herrmann says is a wink towards South Africa’s trade unions.
Beyond the humour and the scares, however, Herrmann believes the genre has an important point to make. “The zombie apocalypse and zombies themselves are a metaphor for that dystopian future everyone expects to arrive,” he says, “It’s about the crumbling of society that we’re all waiting for because we’re polluting the planet or there’s an asteroid coming – zombies are just a vehicle for that.” The genre investigates and reflects on who we are and what we would do, he says, and the human element transcends the monster. He adds, “Often the human actions are more horrific than the zombies themselves.”
Although the sight of a zombie hoard on screen makes a powerful impact, reading such a story is a different experience with its own merits, he says. “It’s left to your own imagination and it ties into feeding your own worst nightmares. Reading it, you’re more likely to place yourself in the story than watching it, that’s the fun part about reading, and the art of reading is still alive.”
For more information, visit www.saza.co.za. Alternatively, connect with SAZA on Facebook.