WEALTH OF IDEAS

Nkiacha Atemnkeng   "NoViolet’s debut novel parallels the media narrative of that lost decade era which peaked in 2008 perfectly. I remember following events in Zimbabwe from the news and this book is a wonderful evocation of all I heard, saw and so much more. (Well, except the juicy guavas). So it’s a blend of reality and imagination. There were media reports about hectares of farmland being seized from white farmers and handed over to black farmers, homes seized and others destroyed. I heard of galloping inflation, hunger, empty store shelves, rigged elections, violence as a result of that, incarceration and torture of MDC opposition leaders and political activists, some to the point of death, fed up Zimbabweans running away across the border into South Africa, a few knee deep across a bridgeless, crocodile-infested dangerous river, fed up Zimbabweans emigrating to America, emigrating to Europe, emigrating to Asia in droves and droves and droves,"  writes Cameroonean ...

I woke up to this great news!  Congratulations, Noviolet. To Becky Hardie at Chatto, debut novel We Need New Names by Caine-prizewinning NoViolet Bulawayo, after a heated auction conducted by Alba Zeigler-Bailey at the Wylie Agency, for publication in 2013. Chatto acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada. We Need New Names tells the story of ten-year-old Darling and her friends Stina, Chipo, Godknows, Sbho and Bastard, who used to have comfortable houses and existences but now live in a shantytown called Paradise. For these children, the only way is down – or out. To America, in Darling's case. Pulled out from the poverty, disease and violence of Paradise by her aunt and taken to the Midwest, Darling faces a whole new set of problems: language, food, friendships, the internet and being part of a community of exiles. NoViolet's story 'Hitting Budapest' won the 2011 Caine Prize for African Writing and was selected for the Boston Review ...