Impressive line-up for Intwasa

Year Award in 2005 and was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize.
The Dust Diaries was described in The New Statesman’s article on the Best Books of 2004 as “a unique achievement written with integrity and great imaginative power” and by Doris Lessing in the Times Literary Supplement: Books of Year 2005 as “a truly wonderful book”.
At the Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo, Sheers will read from his work alongside local writers, including award-winning poet and novelist John Eppel, during an evening of poetry and prose at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, give a talk about The Dust Diaries and his new novel, and lead a workshop on creative writing for experienced local writers. His visit to Intwasa is supported by Wales Arts International.
Other Literary Arts events planned for Intwasa 2006 include discussions on writing in the vernacular and writing for children, a tribute to N.S. Sigogo and several poetry and prose reading sessions. There will also be several book launches, including Grace Mutandwa’s Whose Daughter, my Child? and Jaroslav Seifert’s Inkondlo/Nhetembo, Czech poetry translated into English, with further translation into Ndebele and Shona by Pathisa Nyathi and Chirikure Chirikure. Zimbabwe Women Writers, the Zimbabwe Writers Union, the Budding Writers Association of Zimbabwe and the Youth Poetry Circle will also be involved in Intwasa Literary Arts. Three competitions are also planned. Two are for school students in the Bulawayo area – one for a short story, the other for performance poetry – which are entered through secondary schools in Bulawayo. The third is the Intwasa Short Story competition, open to all Zimbabweans for a short story in English of up to 1500 words, which must be submitted to P.O.Box 2311, Bulawayo before August 11. Many of the entries in last year’s competition were, according to Intwasa Literary Arts Chair, Jane Morris, of “a very high standard, with both the winner, Thabisani Ndlovu, and the runner-up, Diana Charsley, subsequently having stories published in Short Writings from Bulawayo III.”
Supporters for Intwasa Literary Arts in 2006 include Wales Arts International, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, the British Council, the Embassy of the Czech Republic, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, Dunlop, Zero Suppliers, Portland Holdings, ‘amaBooks Publishers, Birdlife Zimbabwe and Contact Family Counselling Centre.