Bibliography
 |
Novels
- The Uncertainty of Hope (2006). Weaver Press
Anthology appearances
- Writing Mystery and Mayhem (2015). Weaver Press
Valerie Tagwira is a Zimbabwean writer who is a specialist obstetrician-gynecologist by profession. [1] Her debut novel The Uncertainty of Hope, published in 2006 by Weaver Press, won the 2008 National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) Outstanding Fiction Book. [2] [3] [4]
Valerie Joan Tagwira was born in the city of Gweru, in central Zimbabwe, but lived for most of her childhood in Rutendo (Redcliff), a town in the Midlands Province. [5] She attended Monte Cassino Secondary School in Macheke and St James High School in Nyamandhlovu. She graduated in 1997 from the University of Zimbabwe's Medical School, and subsequently studied at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists while working in London, UK. [6] Her first novel, The Uncertainty of Hope – which is set in Mbare, a suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe, and, as she has described it, "is all about the day-to-day nitty-gritty during the hard times of 2005" – was written during the time when she was in England, between 2002 and 2010, travelling home twice a year. [1]
The Uncertainty of Hope, published in 2006 by Weaver Press, received widespread favourable reviews. Percy Zvomuya in the Mail & Guardian wrote: "Tagwira’s book is a celebration of urban sisterhood and abiding relationships that withstand the deprivations of harsh, life-negating policies." [7] According to reviewer Annie Gagiano, "the overwhelming, lingering and realistic impression left by this work is of lives lived under extreme difficulty, but faced with immense courage, dignity and the vital support of caring friendship among women. It is, indeed, a highly accomplished first novel and a valuable addition to the African literary archive, however painful it may be to read its many harrowing moments." [8] Writing in The Standard newspaper, Bertha Shoko concluded: "This is a 'must read' for anyone with a passion for good literature. Tagwira manages to make me angry, happy, hopeful, and hopeless, as she narrates this touching story about Zimbabwe". [9] Charles Mungoshi in The Herald said the novel was a welcome addition to the canon of Zimbabwean literature, [10] while the reviewer for The Zimbabwean, calling the book "satisfying and thought-provoking", was reminded of award-winning Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo's novel Changes . [11] [12]
The Uncertainty of Hope won the National Arts Merit Award (NAMA) for literature in 2008, [3] [13] and is studied by Advanced-Level students as part of the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) English Literature curriculum. [14]
Tagwira also writes poetry and short stories. [13] [15] She is included in the anthologies Writing Mystery and Mayhem (Weaver Press, 2015), edited by Irene Staunton, [16] and New Daughters of Africa , edited by Margaret Busby. [17]
|
Dambudzo Marechera was a Zimbabwean novelist, short story writer, playwright, and poet. His short career produced a book of stories, two novels, a book of plays, prose, and poetry, and a collection of poetry. His first book, a fiction collection entitled The House of Hunger (1978), won the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1979. Marechera was best known for his abrasive, heavily detailed, and self-aware writing, which was considered a new frontier in African literature, and his unorthodox behaviour at the universities from which he was expelled despite excelling in his studies.
Tsitsi Dangarembga is a Zimbabwean novelist, playwright and filmmaker. Her debut novel, Nervous Conditions (1988), which was the first to be published in English by a Black woman from Zimbabwe, was named by the BBC in 2018 as one of the top 100 books that have shaped the world. She has won other literary honours, including the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the PEN Pinter Prize. In 2020, her novel This Mournable Body was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 2022, Dangarembga was convicted in a Zimbabwe court of inciting public violence, by displaying, on a public road, a placard asking for reform.
Yvonne Vera was an author from Zimbabwe. Her first published book was a collection of short stories, Why Don't You Carve Other Animals (1992), which was followed by five novels: Nehanda (1993), Without a Name (1994), Under the Tongue (1996), Butterfly Burning (1998), and The Stone Virgins (2002). According to the African Studies Center at University of Leiden, "her novels are known for their poetic prose, difficult subject-matter, and their strong women characters, and are firmly rooted in Zimbabwe's difficult past." For these reasons, she has been widely studied and appreciated by those studying postcolonial African literature.
Charles Lovemore Mungoshi, was a Zimbabwean writer.
Brian Chikwava is a Zimbabwean writer and musician. His short story "Seventh Street Alchemy" was awarded the 2004 Caine Prize for African writing in English; Chikwava became the first Zimbabwean to do so. He has been a Charles Pick fellow at the University of East Anglia, and lives in London. He continues to write in England and put out an album titled Jacaranda Skits.
Sarah Ladipo Manyika FRSL is a British-Nigerian writer of novels, short stories and essays and an active member of the literary community, particularly supporting and amplifying young writers and female voices. She is the author of two well-received novels, In Dependence (2009) and Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream To The Sun (2016), as well as the non-fiction collection Between Starshine and Clay: Conversations from the African Diaspora (2022), and her writing has appeared in publications including Granta, Transition, Guernica, and OZY, and previously served as founding Books Editor of OZY. Manyika's work also features in the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.
Petina Gappah is a Zimbabwean lawyer and writer. She writes in English, though she also draws on Shona, her first language. In 2016, she was named African Literary Person of the Year by Brittle Paper. In 2017 she had a DAAD Artist-in-Residence fellowship in Berlin.
Stanley Nyamfukudza is a Zimbabwean writer.
NoViolet Bulawayo is the pen name of Elizabeth Zandile Tshele, a Zimbabwean author. In 2012, the National Book Foundation named her a "5 under 35" honoree. She was named one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2014. Her debut novel, We Need New Names, was shortlisted for the 2013 Booker Prize, and her second novel, Glory, was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, making her "the first Black African woman to appear on the Booker list twice".
Neshani Andreas was a Namibian writer, who had also worked as a teacher and for the American Peace Corps. She is best known for her novel The Purple Violet of Oshaantu, which made her the first Namibian to be included in Heinemann's African Writers Series. She died at the age of 46, having been diagnosed with lung cancer in early 2010.
Barbara Makhalisa, also known by her married name as Barbara Nkala, is a teacher, Zimbabwean writer, Ndebele translator, novelist, editor and publisher, one of the earliest female writers published in Zimbabwe. She is the author of several books written in Ndebele, as well as in English, of which some have been used as school textbooks. Barbara is married to Shadreck Nkala. They have three adult children and six grandchildren.
Ruvimbo Hope Masike, professionally known as Hope Masike is a Zimbabwean musician and dancer. She is known as "The Princess of Mbira" and her music has its roots both in traditional and modern African culture. Hope is also the lead singer for Monoswezi. She initially studied Fine Art at Harare Polytechnic.
Irene Staunton is a Zimbabwean publisher, editor, researcher and writer, who has worked in literature and the arts since the 1970s, both in the UK and Zimbabwe. She is co-founder and publisher of Weaver Press in Harare, having previously co-founded Baobab Books. Staunton is the editor of several notable anthologies covering oral history, short stories, and poetry, including Mothers of the Revolution: War Experiences of Thirty Zimbabwean Women (1990), Children in our Midst: Voices of Farmworker's Children (2000), Writing Still: New Stories from Zimbabwe (2003), Women Writing Zimbabwe (2008), Writing Free (2011), and Writing Mystery & Mayhem (2015).
Weaver Press is a Zimbabwean independent publisher formed in 1998 in Harare. The press was co-founded by Irene Staunton, who has been credited with "quietly shaping post-independence Zimbabwean literature", with Murray McCartney, and the Press has published many notable African writers. Weaver's list focuses on books on political and social history, the environment, media issues, women's and children's rights, fiction and literary criticism.
The National Arts Merit Awards is a set of annual awards granted by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ) in recognition of outstanding achievements in the arts and culture.
Thamsanqa 'Tamy' Moyo is a Zimbabwean musical artist and actress. She rose to fame after releasing her 2016 song “Ndibereke" she is also known for her role in the 2020 film “Gonarezhou".
Jesesi Mungoshi is a Zimbabwean actress. She made her debut appearance in 1989, in the film titled, African Journey.
Flora Veit-Wild is a German literary academic, Professor of African Literatures and Cultures at Humboldt University, Berlin. She has published on the Zimbabwean writer Dambudzo Marechera, and on the body and madness in African literature.
Out of Darkness, Shining Light is a 2019 historical novel by Zimbabwean writer and lawyer Petina Gappah. Her fourth novel, it was published by Faber & Faber in the UK and by Scribners in the US. The novel was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in 2020 in the category of Outstanding Literary Work and won the 2020 National Arts Merit Awards for Outstanding Fiction Book.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
