[5] After being given a five-year grant by the National Research Foundation (NRF), the project began to remedy this situation by constructing an “online archive of writers associated in one way or another with KwaZulu-Natal …; to investigate the links between literature and tourism in scholarly colloquia and publications; and to support a number of students involved in the project through bursaries”.

[4] In addition to this, the project created a “series of documentary films made by David Basckin and Zoë Molver about writers including Lewis Nkosi, Marguerite Poland and poets Douglas Livingstone and Roy Campbell.

[7] In order for a writer to be included they need to have either been born within the KwaZulu-Natal province[5] or have written “extensively or intensely and typically about the region or places within it”.

Described as providing “fascinating sites, information and experience to people interested in local literature”,[9] the project has been commended for its impact in KwaZulu-Natal.

[14] Yasantha Naidoo recommended the Grey Street Literary Trail “for those wanting to experience the rich, cultural heritage of Durban’s oriental district”.

[10] Through the South Coast Writer's Trail, the project has been acknowledged as expanding the history of the region to more than just a “holiday destination, somewhere to lie on the beach [or] try to find elusive sardines and take a well-earned break”.

[22] Despite the niche market the project caters to, it has received significant attention from international and national students and tourists interested in the field.

[18] In 2017 Niall McNulty and Lindy Stiebel published A Literary Guide to KwaZulu-Natal,[23] a compilation of their research over several years.