The Boy With Stories to Tell…

Some stories are not written because life was easy.
Some stories are written because silence became too heavy to carry.

My name is Astone Zulu. I am 21 years old, a Zambian writer from the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. I began writing in 2023 as a hobby without fully knowing that words would slowly become one of the biggest parts of my life.

At first, writing was simply a place where I could think freely. It was where imagination met emotion. I found myself creating fictional worlds, characters, and conversations that reflected many things I had quietly observed around me. Over time, I realized I was not just writing stories. I was writing pieces of struggle, hope, ambition, pain, and purpose.

Growing up, I saw people fighting silent battles every day. I saw young people with dreams but very little encouragement. I saw families going through difficult moments. I saw talented people losing hope because life became too heavy. Those experiences stayed in my mind, and writing became my way of speaking about them.

The journey has not been easy.

There were moments when even taking classes and enrolling in school became a challenge. There were moments of uncertainty, pressure, and self doubt. Being a young writer in Zambia also came with another challenge. Literature culture is still growing, and many young writers struggle to find spaces where their voices are fully supported or recognized. Sometimes it feels easier to quit than to continue.

But even in those difficult moments, storytelling kept calling me back.

Storytelling matters to me because it allows me to speak about the realities people often ignore. It helps me tell stories about what young men and women in my community go through. It allows emotions to breathe. It allows pain to be understood. It allows people who feel unseen to finally feel noticed.

Books became my voice.

There are things people struggle to say openly. Fear, disappointment, loneliness, pressure, failure, and hope are emotions many carry quietly. Through writing, I discovered a way to stand up and speak, not only for myself, but for others who feel unheard. I want people to read my work and realize that there is still light at the end of the tunnel, even when life feels dark.

One of my books, Gazing at the Stars, was inspired by someone I once knew closely. The story is fictional, but the emotions behind it are real. It tells the story of a boy who grew up in a broken home yet continued to hold onto faith and hope. Despite the difficulties surrounding him, his talent was eventually discovered, and he began to see light beyond the pain he had known for years. That story reminded me that people are often stronger than the situations they come from.

Another book, Truth to Power, was inspired by something I constantly observe after graduation. Many young people leave school believing hard work and principles alone will open every door. Then reality introduces them to systems filled with corruption, compromise, and pressure. The book explores what happens when someone’s principles begin to close doors instead of opening them. It asks difficult questions about integrity, ambition, and the choices people make when survival and values collide.

My books lean into purpose, struggle, truth, ambition, and emotion because those are the things real people experience every day. I do not want to write stories that simply entertain. I want to write stories that make people think, reflect, and feel understood.

More than anything, I hope my writing leaves people with hope.

I want someone reading my work to believe again in their future. I want young people to understand that the sky is not the limit to what they can achieve. I want them to know that setbacks do not mean the end of the journey. I want people who feel lost to remember that it is never too late to start over.

Every story I write carries a piece of that message.

There is still light ahead.