Caine Prize for African Writing 2016

Congratulations to the 2016 Caine Prize for African Writing Winner, South African writer Lidudumalingani, for his short story, 'Memories We Lost'. A writer, filmmaker and photographer, Lidudumalingani was born in the Eastern Cape province in a village called Zikhovane. He’s currently based in Cape Town.

His winning story, “Memories We Lost”, explores mental health through the relationship of two sisters in a South African village, one of whom is schizophrenic and the other her protector. The sister’s situation deteriorates as her care is entrusted to Nkunzi, a local man who employs traditional techniques to rid people of their demons.

“The winning story explores a difficult subject – how traditional beliefs in a rural community are used to tackle schizophrenia,” said the prize chair, Jarrett-Macauley. “This is a troubling piece, depicting the great love between two young siblings in a beautifully drawn Eastern Cape. Multi-layered, and gracefully narrated, this short story leaves the reader full of sympathy and wonder at the plight of its protagonists.”

The Caine Prize is awarded annually to an African writer of a short story published in English. This year’s panel of judges consisted of Delia Jarrett-Macauley, Adjoa Andoh, Muthoni Garland,Robert J. Patterson and Mary Watson. Five writers made the 2016 shortlist: Abdul Adan(Somalia/Kenya), Lesley Nneka Arimah (Nigeria), Tope Folarin (Nigeria) and Bongani Kona (Zimbabwe) and of course Lidudumalingani.

The Zimbabwean edition of this year's Caine Prize anthology, The Daily Assortment of Astonishing Things, has just arrived at 'amaBooks from the printers. The collection features the shortlisted stories together with those written by writers participating in the annual Caine Prize workshop, including previous winner NoViolet Bulawayo from Zimbabwe.