CALL FOR SHORT STORY ENTRIES
INTWASA SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2014
The Intwasa Short Story competition enters its
10th year this year, 2014. The competition was inaugurated in the first
year of the festival and is an annual literary event seeking to promote
original creative writing talent in English. The competition also seeks to
promote Zimbabwean narratives from Zimbabwean writers, be they in Zimbabwe or
living in the diaspora. In 2011 the award for the winner was renamed the Yvonne Vera Award, after the late Dr.
Yvonne Vera. Dr. Vera was a literary genius whose works include Why Don’t
We Carve Other Animals?, Nehanda, Without a Name,
and Butterfly Burning. The Yvonne Vera award carries a $500 cash prize.
The rules of the
competition are as follows:
- There
is no particular theme
- Entries
must be written in English
- Entries
should be previously unpublished
- Only
one entry per person
- All
work must be original
- Entries
must be typed.
- Maximum
words are 3000 words.
- The
competition is open to all Zimbabwe citizens and residents
- Entries must be submitted by June 30,
2014
- Late
entries will not be accepted.
- Only
the short-listed candidates will be personally notified
The Intwasa
Short Story Competition is one of the very few literary writing competitions in
Zimbabwe and continues to encourage and promote the original Zimbabwean
narrative. Last year the competition was won by Bulawayo resident, Sipho Mpofu,
with his story A Balance of Power.
Previous winners of competition:
Thabisani Ndlovu was the first
winner of the competition. At the time Thabisani was a literature teacher at
Falcon College. He describes the effects of his story Cold Careless Hands winning the competition as ‘reviving
my interest in creative writing and being a challenge to produce even better
work.’
Since
winning the competition, Dr. Ndlovu has been awarded a PhD in African
Literature in English from Witwatersrand University and has held the post of
Deputy Director of the International Humans Rights Exchange there.
Bryony Rheam won the
competition in 2006 with her story The
Reunion, which concerns a woman who
is consumed with jealousy at a party where she thinks she sees someone she went
to school with who appears to be more successful and beautiful. Winning
Intwasa, ‘gave me the confidence to carry on writing. I enjoy writing short stories
and it’s great to know that others might also enjoy them.
Bryony
has had short stories in many Zimbabwean anthologies and her first novel The September
Sun, published by amaBooks in
Zimbabwe and Parthian Books in the United Kingdom, won Best First Book at the
2010 Zimbabwe Book Publishers Association Awards and the e-book recently topped
the ‘Best Seller’ list for books sold in the United Kingdom on Amazon. Bryony
has a BA and MA in English, and presently works as a teacher of English in
Zambia.
Novuyo Rosa Tshuma won the
competition in 2009, which had then been renamed the Yvonne Vera Award, with You in
Paradise, about the peculiarities of
being an immigrant in Johannesburg. The story is also featured in her novella
and short story collection, Shadows,
which was recently published by Kwela in South Africa She comments, ‘Winning
the Yvonne Vera Award was a major boost to my writing confidence. I was young –
21 – and still in the process of formulating my writing vice. It motivated me
to see where the story goes.’ She is presently a Maytag Fellow pursuing an MFA
in Creative Writing at the University of Iowa.
Violette Kee-Tui won with her
story Tattered Cloth. The story explored interracial relationships and had the
judges singing her praises, especially about her use of language and imagery. Violette
Kee-Tui is a former editor of the Edgars Store’s Club Magazine. As well as
being a teacher of English, Violette writes articles for a number of magazines.
Mbonisi Pilani Ncube took the
award in 2012 with his story Chanting
Shadows. Mbonisi Pilani Ncube lives
and writes from South Africa.
The other
winners are Chaltone Tshabangu, the only writer to have won the short story
competition twice, and Bongani Ncube.
Writers are invited to submit their stories to:
403 LAPF
House
Jason Moyo
Street
8th
Avenue
Bulawayo
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