Renowned Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo has won the Best of Caine award, a prestigious honorary prize recognising the most outstanding work from past winners of the Caine Prize for African Writing, as part of the award’s 25th anniversary celebrations.
Bulawayo received the award for her acclaimed short story Hitting Budapest, which won the Caine Prize in 2011. The story was commended by judges for its “powerful language, distinctive tone of voice, and bold, compelling storytelling.”
The prize was presented during the inaugural Words Across Waters: Afro Lit Fest held at the British Library in London, where Bulawayo reflected on the impact the Caine Prize had on launching her literary career.
“Winning the Caine Prize as an unpublished writer back in 2011 was truly the kind of defining highlight to jumpstart a career. It brought my work to a global audience, affirmed my literary path, and strengthened my confidence and commitment to writing, so that finishing a first novel worthy of the recognition bestowed on me by Africa’s most prestigious literary award my first ever recognition was non-negotiable,” she said.
She described winning the Best of Caine award 14 years later as “a moment to reflect on the journey.”
Hitting Budapest tells the story of six children from a shantytown called Paradise who sneak into a wealthy neighbourhood named Budapest to steal guavas. It is narrated by a nine-year-old girl named Darling, who describes Budapest as a place entirely removed from her reality.
“Budapest is like a different country. A country where people who are not like us live.Budapest is big, big houses with the gravelled yards and tall fences and durawalls and flowers and green trees, heavy with fruit that’s waiting for us since nobody around here seems to know what fruit is for. It’s the fruit that gives us courage, otherwise we wouldn’t dare be here,” she says in the story.
The short story was first published in the Boston Review and later became the first chapter of Bulawayo’s debut novel We Need New Names. The novel received critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the 2013 Booker Prize, making Bulawayo the first Black African woman to achieve that honour. It was also shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award the same year.
Bulawayo was born and raised in Zimbabwe and moved to the United States at the age of 18. Her literary career has since flourished internationally.
The judging panel for the Best of Caine award was chaired by Nobel Literature Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah, and included celebrated Ugandan novelist Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and Ghanaian film producer Tony Tagoe.
The announcement was made by Ellah Wakatama, chair of the Caine Prize.
Bulawayo’s recognition with the Best of Caine award not only marks a milestone in her literary journey but also cements her place as one of Africa’s most influential contemporary writers.
