Busi Mtshede in Durban, South Africa Sunday Leisure Correspondent
AWARD-WINNING and prolific Bulawayo novelist — Noviolet Bulawayo has done it again! Noviolet together with another Bulawayo-born novelist, Sue Nyathi managed to outwit a brood of African authors at the just-ended Time Of The Writer Festival held in Durban, South Africa last Thursday. This year’s festival gave two of Zimbabwe’s young authors the opportunity to present a realistic insight of Zimbabwean stories, which are often misinterpreted.
Noviolet and Nyathi shared their opinions from a wide variety of situations on the creative, technical processes and perspectives that shape their writing.
Noviolet said the festival was special as it reminded her of home.
“This festival is so special to me because it has reminded me of home and I wish I was doing this in Zimbabwe. The language here and meeting fellow Zimbabweans has been the highlight of this festival.
“This has been one of my best experiences as a writer. I enjoyed sharing the platform with Sue, as I was reminded of our collective experiences as writers,” she said.
Noviolet noted that she would be working on another book soon.
Nyathi who penned the book — The Polygamist — in 2013, said she was excited because this was her first time to attend a festival of such a nature as a writer.
“This is the first time I have been invited to a writer’s festival and I am so excited. I enjoyed being on stage sharing my culture through my creative expressions as a writer.
“I am working on the final touches of my second book ‘‘The Gold Diggers’’, which has taken me two years to complete, as I have been preoccupied with other issues. First it was the pregnancy and I stopped writing for more than four months. I have also had to balance writing and motherhood. I write in the early hours of the day before my son wakes up,” she said.
The Time Of The Writer Festival is an annual event, where a select group of writers from the African continent gather in Durban for a week of thought- provoking literary dialogue and exchange of ideas.
The 18th edition of the festival was presented by the Centre of Creative Arts and the National Department of Arts and Culture, the City of Durban the Grench Institute and the Goethe-Institute.
In her biography Sue talks of how she got her name and venturing into book writing.
“Becoming Sue happened because my 3rd Grade teacher failed to pronounce my full name, Sukoluhle. This is a Ndebele name, which means ‘Beautiful Day’. I guess it must have been for my parents when I made my debut into this world 34 years ago. My love affair with books began at a young age. I loved to read and books transported me beyond the borders of Bulawayo, which is where I grew up with my three other siblings.
“As I grew older, my passion for reading eventually translated itself into a desire to write. In high school I gained popularity through my books which were circulated like a rental DVD. All my classmates figured I would become a bestselling author but as life had it I ended up studying finance and investment at university. Nonetheless this did not diminish my first love for writing. Even though I worked in the financial markets I would nurture my writing after hours. The economic challenges in Zimbabwe forced me to seek opportunities in the diaspora. Incidentally it is in Johannesburg where the doors to the world of publishing were opened to me. Writing for me is pure escapism especially from an arduous role as a consultant in an economic development and strategic planning firm. When I’m not chasing deadlines I love to let my locks down and relax. For me this means being in the company of family and friends, enjoying good food and good wine with a generous helping of love and laughter. Of course there has to be good music playing in the background. Certain songs narrate the episodes in my life. Right now I feel like right there on the ocean and my ship has finally come,” reads her biography.
Noviolet on the other hand needs no introduction as she has over the past few years gained international recognition, through winning a few awards for her talent in writing.
Noviolet attended Njube High School and later Mzilikazi High School.
She completed her college education in the US, studying at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and earning bachelors and masters degrees in English from Texas A and M University-Commerce and Southern Methodist University respectively.
In 2010, she completed a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at Cornell University, where her work was recognised with a Truman Capote Fellowship.
Her debut novel — We Need New Names — was released in 2013 and was included in the 2013 Man Booker Prize shortlist.
She is the first ever Zimbabwean to be short-listed for the Man Booker Prize. She also won the Etisalat Prize for Literature and the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award among other accolades.