Fear has a taste. It is this metallic tang that floods my mouth as I quicken my steps. My heart is a frantic tattoo, my mouth impossibly dry. I swallow. My tongue glues itself to the roof of my mouth. I squeeze Fatima’s hand and feel her answering squeeze. My breaths slow. And then the…
Fiction
Africa, african writing, Fiction, international, writing contests
Ellen Banda-Aaku Announces 2014 Writivism Short Story Prize Shortlist
It was a pleasure to read all the stories on the long list. The themes of the stories were varied however many reflected in different ways the realities of life in our societies. Spousal abuse; the apathy of civil servants; the torment of living to a very old age; were some of the themes tackled…
Africa, african writing, Book News, Fiction, international
Zimbabwean Writers’ Trouble in Paradise, by Beaven Tapureta
Zimbabwean artists, particularly writers, have been skeptical of wills and this has led to the mismanagement or utter neglect of their artistic estates when they pass on. While families of deceased artists may largely carry the blame for not raising a brow, artists need also to take responsibility of their creative works as these constitute…
Fiction, win zimbabwe
The Mungoshis’ Journey of Love, Trials, and Triumphs by Beaven Tapureta
The year is 1974. Jesesi Mungoshi, then a single young woman, is lying ill in her room at her sister’s house. She is apparently in pain. In a short moment, her sister’s husband comes into the room in the company of a friend and a fellow artist named Charles. Introductions are made. Charles has already…
Fiction, international, memoir
The Release of Ruth Marimo’s “OUTsider”
Scout Publishing has announced the release of Ruth Marimo’s memoir, Outsider: Crossing Borders, Breaking Rules, Gaining Pride. The release date is April 11, which is the National Day of Silence (USA). Ruth Marimo, a Zimbabwean writer, shares a story of surviving abuse, fighting deportation, and coming out as a lesbian. As a writer, Ruth Marimo continues to…
Book News, Fiction
Stories on Stage Sacramento
Natalie Baszile holds an M.A. in Afro-American Studies from UCLA and is a graduate of Warren Wilson College’s MFA Program for Writers, where she was a Holden Minority Scholar. An early version of Queen Sugar won the Hurston Wright College Writer’s Award and was a co-runner-up in the Faulkner Pirate’s Alley Novel-in-Progress competition. Excerpts were…
Book News, Fiction, Interviews
Fungai Machirori Interviews Novuyo Rosa Tshuma
The 2014 Caine Prize for African Writing Workshop is currently taking place in Zimbabwe. Ahead of the event, Fungai Machirori conducted a few interviews with Zimbabwean writers and publishers, as well as Caine Prize Director, Lizzy Attree. Fungai’s article of what was discussed can be found here. “Realising how much great content would go to waste from what was left…
african writing, Fiction, international
New Short story from Abdifatah Shafat, Kenya/USA
We introduce a new story by Abdifatah Shafat, who explores issues of migration and return. His latest offering, “The Final Visit”, traces the experience of a returned son whose appreciation of the land he grew up has been changed by his stay overseas, yet he has never stopped caring about the home things that matter…
Book Reviews, Fiction
Kagiso Senthufhe Reviews Henning Mankell’s ‘Daniel’
Kagiso ‘Dubla’ Senthufhe, esq., is a social researcher, freelance and creative-story writer based in the sleepy village of Metsimotlhabe in the outskirts of his hometown of Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. He graduated from the University of Botswana (‘UB-Basco’) with a BA degree in Sociology and Public Administration, in 1991, before spending a further two…
Book News, Fiction
Our Life Stories in Sacramento, California
SACRAMENTO, CA: Cosumnes River College (CRC) and the Hart Senior Center are holding their seventh annual conference, “Our Life Stories”, on April 12 at the Hart Center. With classes on the craft of writing, this cross-generational conference features some of California’s top authors, writers and poets. The workshops and presentations will address how to write…
