EDITORIAL
Zimbabwean writers continue to shine in various competitions and this is enough proof of how much our literature has grown. We say congrats to all of you, we know the list is long. We have extended poetry submissions to December only for Ndebele and Tonga poets as there are few contributions in these languages. Regarding the Epworth Community Outreach Programme which is being sponsored by the Culture Fund of Zimbabwe Trust, WIN-Zimbabwe will this November concentrate on follow-ups to writers’ clubs in Epworth and also expand its net to out-of-school aspiring writers and poets. The writers club will attend the writing skills training workshop and the annual Writers’ End of Year Get-Together to be held next month in Harare. We are glad to have found a new space to do our work. While we acknowledge how far removed we are from the CBD, we are grateful to have managed to save our membership and programmes and we are optimistic about the new move. Enjoy the newsletter.
WIN STRIKES NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH THELMA BOETTRICH
Multi-talented Thelma Boettrich
WIN-Zimbabwe will, with immediate effect, operate from Highlands after entering into a partnership with Thelma Boettrich, a talented fine and craft artist and mbira musician.
The new partnership covers WIN in terms of office space and also it will see the writers’ association collaborating with Boettrich’s AAUWENA Arts organization which was formed in 2008 to conduct cultural exchange programmes globally and contribute to the eradication of poverty through artistic self-help projects.
Auntie Thelma, as she is popularly known, said, “I welcome the established partnership between ourselves and WIN. It is a wish, a long standing wish that artists from different walks of life work together with one voice so as to have art as a form of living. This partnership is highly anticipated to go a long way. Welcome to a world of unity!”
Also commenting on the new development, WIN-Zimbabwe Board Secretary Gamuchirai Chihambakwe said Ms. Boettrich has brought hope not only to WIN but also to various new artists.
“The team at WIN is very excited about the new partnership it has formed with Auntie Thelma who has so graciously opened up her office to us. Her work and support to the arts bring hope to many budding artists. We look forward to launching various programmes from this new platform of teamwork and camaraderie,” she said.
Born in Chimanimani, Boettrich is a multi-talented artist who has embraced art as an integral part of her life.
In 2008 she produced her six-track mbira album Natural Woman, laced with Afro-fusion and ethnic beats. She has exhibited her bamboo art, ethnic ware and accessories at local events such as the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) and also abroad.
In an interview with the Herald last year, Boettrich said, “Art is a reflection of perception and this statement is an apt description of my talent in doing everything.”
SHORT STORY COMPETITION WINNERS AND
WORKSHOP IN DECEMBER
Established writer Memory Chirere who facilitated last year's workshop
The 2013 WIN Short Story Writing Workshop will be held in December just a few days before this year’s edition of the Writers End of Year Get-Together, a final activity on WIN calendar. The competition winners will be announced and awarded at the get-together.
The dates and venue will be communicated to all those who entered the competition soon. Meanwhile, let the adjudicators do their job!
Previous Winners
NEW MEDIA WRITING PRIZE 2013
The prize encourages and promotes the best in new media writing, and is leading the way toward the future of the 'written' word and storytelling. In the past three years the NMWP has attracted entries from the very best and most innovative writers in the field. Read More…
CALL FOR MORE NDEBELE AND TONGA POEMS
While our call for poems for the ‘4 in 1’ poetry anthology was met with ‘huge’ response in the English and Shona languages, a few poems in the other two languages Ndebele and Tonga have been submitted.
It is therefore worth it that WIN has given some extra time until December to Ndebele and Tonga poets who wish to feature in the anthology as the typing and compilation stage begins.
MUNYORI LITERARY JOURNAL NOW ACCEPTING SHONA STORIES
Have you been wondering where to publish your Shona fiction masterpiece? Look no further. The answer has been provided by Munyori Literary Journal, a multi-genre Zimbabwean-American literary platform for global writers and artists, which has recently expanded to include a Shona section on its website (www.munyori.com).
So far the journal has published ‘MaBlack Boots’ written by Tendai Huchu, who is also author of an amazing book called ‘The Hairdresser of Harare’.
2013 ZIBF, AN EVENT WIN-ZIM WILL CHERISH FOREVER
By Tawanda Kandenga (WIN volunteer and attaché)
The 2013 Zimbabwe International Book Fair which ran from September 31 to October 5 left an ageless mark on WIN-Zimbabwe. This is an event WIN will always cherish in the years to come. Already we are eagerly waiting for the next Book Fair as we remain soldiers in the writing jungle, as we keep on fishing and sheltering writers across the nation.
Our maiden feature at the Book Fair was rich, so pregnant with experiences that will surely take us on the road to fulfilling our dream.
First and foremost the preparations for the event had been vivid and somehow tense. There was no time to waste. At the offices it was indeed a beehive of activity.
WIN had four members for live literature performance, who were Supa Mafuta, Handsome Chidzonga, Hatina Dube coming all the way from Masvingo, and Gengezha Freedom. There were 11 members who participated in the writers’ workshop which was scheduled for Saturday, October 5, the last day of the Book Fair. The members included Supa Mafuta, Anymore Dzarira, Freedom Gengezha, Handsome Chidzonga, Clever Kavenga, Lisbon Tawanda Chigwenjere and his WORD Writers Club from Midlands State University, Elias Dzenga, James Nyamajiwa, and Alois Sagota.
We set up our table on a Wednesday as other various exhibitors also thronged the Harare Gardens to showcase their products. WIN Zimbabwe was on Stand No 51 and that’s where I saw wonders unfolding.
Even though Wednesday was for traders only WIN table attracted a number of visitors as if it was already the day for the public. People swarmed around our stand so zealous and enthusiastic. They took turns one after the other asking questions which tore open their aspirations and never hid their inspiration. It is was so shocking that just on the first day we had a whooping number of new members registered with us. By the end of the day when we expected a few members to join we had over 30 new entrants, mainly students who had come for the Young Persons Indaba.
When the ZIBF was now open for both students and the general public, we saw an amazing increase in the number of visitors at our stand. Until the last day new members who had registered with WIN totaled 51, an interesting figure in just three days. All the people that came with questions to the table went back satisfied that immediately most of them promised they will go back home and grab the mighty pen that they had possibly discarded due to a number of personal factors.
On the closing day of the ZIBF some WIN members performed at the Live Literature Centre and others participated in the Writers Workshop held at the National Art Gallery. This was a kind of workshop which sparked a lot of interesting debate. The workshop theme was ‘Writing for Children’. The issue that sparked much debate was language, particularly the Shona language versus dynamism of culture.
In conclusion WIN Zimbabwe is proud to have participated in this year’s ZIBF event, for it really changed the status quo of our organization. WIN Zimbabwe is already waiting for the 2014 edition and we will continue with our mission, that is, “unclipping wings of imagination”. Thank you!
Editor: WIN-Zimbabwe also facilitated the participation of two of its members from Mutare in the Writers Workshop held at the 2013 Mutare Book Fair at Turner Memorial Library.
CONGRATULATIONS
NoViolet Bulawayo (Elizabeth Zandile Tshele)
NoViolet was the pride of Zimbabwe at this year’s Man Booker Prize. NoViolet’s debut novel We Need New Names was on shortlist for this much coveted Prize, becoming the first female writer from Africa to ever go that far. The prize was finally won by 28 year old Eleanor Catton of New Zealand for her 832-page novel The Luminaries.
Tinashe ‘Mutumwapavi’ Muchuri, poet, writer, performer, actor and journalist
He won the Delta Corporation Arts and Entertainment Journalist of the Year at the National Journalism and Media Awards (NJAMA/2012-2013). Muchuri is the staff writer at the revived Parade magazine.
Sabina Mutangadura
For moving from the 2013 Golden Baobab Prize longlist to the shortlist for the Early Chapter Book Prize with her story simply titled ‘Seven’. In the same Early Chapter Book Prize category is Richard Street (South Africa) for ‘Rhino’ and Karen Hurt for ‘What’s Going On at 179 Jabulani Street?’
Mutangadura’s ‘Seven’ is one of the overall eight shortlisted stories recently announced by Golden Baobab. Winners will be announced on November 13, 2013.
- Book Review: African Roar 2013 (Edited by Emmanuel Sigauke, StoryTime)
- Book Review: Reflections of the Heart by Tsungi Chiwara
Are you ready for this year’s WIN Writers’ End of Year Get-Together?
Renowned dub-poet Albert Nyathi presenting at the 2011 Get Together.
