BULAWAYO - Dancing with Life: Tales from the Township by Christopher Mlalazi, has won an Honourable Mention in the 2009 Noma Awards. (Pictured: Christopher Mlalazi, whose short story collection won Noma recognition.)
The Noma Award has become the most significant book prize in Africa since its inception in 1980, with entries in the categories of scholarly or academic, books for children and literature and creative writing. Mlalazis collection of short stories was one of just four books from across the continent recognised this year, chosen from submissions from 43 publishers in 12 different African countries.
The judges said of Mlalazis book: Mlalazis collection of short stories is an important addition to the new writing from Zimbabwe concentrating on the social disintegration of the country. The stories stand out by being set in Bulawayo, drawing on the distinctive identity of a provincial city, its Ndebele culture, and its marginal relation to the centre. The success of the stories lies in the experiences of ordinary people coping with violence, anger and angst, rather than any self-conscious sense of form.
Brian Jones, a director of the publishers amaBooks, said that he was delighted for Christopher.
It is a major achievement forDancing with Life to be considered by the Noma panel as one of the best four books published in Africa last year, particularly as this is his first book. Were proud that we were the first to publish Christopher with a short story in Short Writings from Bulawayo.
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