Invitation to the launch of Moving On and Other Zimbabwean Stories

Please join us.

Intwasa Short Story Competition 2014

CALL FOR SHORT STORY ENTRIES

INTWASA SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2014

The Intwasa Short Story competition enters its 10^th 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- Entries should be previously unpublished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

8^th Avenue

Bulawayo

Email: Info.intwasa@gmail.com or info@intwasa.org

           

NoViolet Bulawayo Comes Home to Bulawayo

The launch of NoViolet Bulawayo’s debut novel ‘We Need New Names’ at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on September 17 was a memorable occasion. It had been a long while since the gallery had hosted such a crowd, with over 300 people packing into the courtyard to welcome NoViolet home and to hear her in conversation with Dr Drew Shaw of the National University of Science and Technology. To use NoViolet’s words:

'Bulawayo came out proper with a crowd of close to 300, i'm made to understand, and gave me the launch of my dreams even as i had been told that folks in the City of Kings don't come out much anymore. very honored by the presence of many people i admire, and the many i do not know, who saw me worthy of their time and ears and hearts. then there was Ericah Gwetai (mother of the late Yvonne Vera, who found me in a room before the launch and sang me a song, dlala nkazana ♥). if you see me walk like i own the earth, forgive me because i'm suffering from too much love, from a small, proud place that came out big to show me who they were, and who i was. that was not a launch, it was a baptism, and Bulawayo, blue eyed city you, home of my girlhood you, you Bulawayo, ngiyazendlala on your feet with gratitude, thank you kabanzikazi.'

The launch was organised by ’amaBooks Publishers, the British Council – Zimbabwe, the Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo and Bulawayo Agenda. The book is published by Weaver Press in Zimbabwe and distributed by ’amaBooks in Bulawayo.

The link to the soundcloud recording of NoViolet Bulawayo's conversation with Drew Shaw during the Bulawayo launch of We Need New Names is below.

https://soundcloud.com/drew-shaw-6/noviolet-bulawayo-in?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=twitter

Photographs courtesy of Lene Lauritsen and Intwasa Arts Festival koBulwayo