2012 Caine Prize anthology published in Zimbabwe

'amaBooks are delighted to have published African Violet, the 2012 Caine Prize anthology, joining other African publishers Cassava Republic in Nigeria, Jacana Media in South Africa, FEMRITE in Uganda, Sub-Saharan Publishers in Ghana, Bookworld Publishers in Zambia and Kwani? in Kenya in their commitment to making good stories from Africa available to be read across the African continent. The book is also published by New Internationalist in the United Kingdom.

       The Caine Prize for African Writing collection showcases short stories in English by writers from across the African continent. For the first time, the 2012 anthology is published in Zimbabwe.

Selected from 122 stories from 14 African countries, this anthology contains the stories from the 13th annual Caine Prize for African Writing shortlist, along with those from the 10th Caine Prize workshop for African writers, which was held in South Africa earlier in the year.

The Caine Prize is recognized as Africa’s leading literary competition, often referred to as ‘Africa’s Booker’. The book contains contributions from two Zimbabwean writers, Melissa Tandiwe Myambo, whose story La Salle de Départ was shortlisted for the 2012 prize, and Tendai Rinos Mwanakana.

The winner of the £10,000 Caine Prize for this year is Rotimi Babatunde for his short story entitled Bombay’s Republic, which deals with the story of a Nigerian soldier fighting in the Burma campaign of World War Two. The other authors shortlisted for the Caine Prize appearing in the publication are Billy Kahora (Kenya); Stanley Kenani (Malawi); and Constance Myburgh (South Africa).

The other stories in the collection are by Mehul Gohil (Kenya), Grace Khunou (South Africa), Lauri Kubuitsile (Botswana), BM Kunga (Kenya), Waigwa Ndiang’ui (Kenya), Yewande Omotoso (Nigeria / South Africa), Beatrice Lamwaka (Uganda), Rehana Rossouw (South Africa) and Rachel Zadok (South Africa).

‘Dazzling and splendidly diverse’ – The Times, London

‘A vital collection drawing on a rich treasury of material’ – The Guardian, London

‘Africa’s most important literary award’ – International Herald Tribune

'Over the past ten years, the Caine Prize has done a great deal to foster writing in Africa and bring exciting new African writers to the attention of wider audiences' - J. M. Coetzee