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NoViolet Bulawayo

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Biography

NoViolet Bulawayo is the pen name of Elizabeth Zandile Tshele (born 12 October 1981), a Zimbabwean author. NoViolet Bulawayo, born in Tsholotsho, Zimbabwe, attended Njube High School and later Mzilikazi High School for her A-levels. She pursued her college education in the United States, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from Texas A&M University-Commerce and Southern Methodist University, respectively. In 2010, she completed a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at Cornell University, where she received a Truman Capote Fellowship. Bulawayo gained recognition in 2011 when she won the Caine Prize for her story “Hitting Budapest,” which later became the opening chapter of her debut novel, “We Need New Names.” Her novel was shortlisted for the 2013 Man Booker Prize, making her the first black African woman and the first Zimbabwean to achieve this honor. She also won the Etisalat Prize for Literature and the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, among other accolades. In addition to her writing, Bulawayo worked on a memoir project and served on the board of trustees for the pan-African literary initiative Writivism from 2014 to 2018. Her second novel, “Glory,” published in 2022, draws inspiration from George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” and explores a nation on the brink of revolution. The novel was praised for its portrayal of grassroots activism and its relevance to global movements such as Black Lives Matter. “Glory” was longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize and the 2023 Women’s Prize for Fiction and was described as an “unforgettable” Zimbabwean classic, known for its fearless and innovative storytelling that speaks truth to power.

News / Ranking / Titbits / Awards

In 2012, the National Book Foundation named her a “5 under 35” honoree. She was named one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2014. Her debut novel, We Need New Names, was shortlisted for the 2013 Booker Prize, and her second novel, Glory, was shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, making her “the first Black African woman to appear on the Booker list twice”.

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