Time truly flies when you are having fun! Can’t believe today is my last day on the job! Once I got the hang of WordPress, I truly enjoyed the experience of curating ZW Literature. My country has a vast archive of literature and a huge and growing database of writers. If you are curious to know more, please tap into Tinashe Mushakavanhu who has compiled a database titled readingzimbabwe.com which serves to list every book written by a Zimbabwean.

When I began this exercise, I knew I would not have the space to include every writer, so I decided to merely focus on contemporary fiction that has been released in the last three years from 2021-2023. I also threw into the mix some nonfiction, namely memoirs. I hope you have discovered some new ZW writers and bumped into some familiar names from the more established writers. The idea was also to highlight the emerging writers from the country. Please support writing careers by buying a book. Every royalty counts!

As I alluded in the beginning, the ZW publishing industry is virtually extinct with Weaver Press probably being the last printer standing. The demise of the publishing industry has really fostered the growth of self-publishing and with the advent of Amazon, it is now easier for writers to get their work out there using digital print media. This has also meant that many Zimbabwean writers are now published outside the country which has really expanded the market for their work beyond the African continent.

Here are the posts that appeared throughout the month…..

Day 1: An introduction to me, my work and what the month ahead had in store for you!

Day 2: Sunshine and Shadows by Busisekile Khumalo

Day 3: Avenues by Train by Farai Mudzingwa

Day 4: Tai the Rhino: A Bee in the Nose by Pamela Phuthi

Day 5: Where the Heart is by Andrew Chatora

Day 6: The Quality of Mercy by Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu

Day 7: Gone with the Blue Zodiac by Tawanda Taruvinga

Day 8: Sibanda and the Night Adder by CM Elliot

Day 9: Langabi: Season of Beasts by Chris Mlalazi

Day 10: Digging Stars by Novuyo Rose Tshuma

Day 11: The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle by TL Huchu

Day 12: Drinking from Graveyard Wells Yvette Lisa Ndlovu

Day 13: The Mad Man on First Street and Other Short Stories by David Chasumba

Day 14: Black and Female by Tsitsi Dangarembga

Day 15: Glory by Noviolet Bulawayo

Day 16: I am a Girl from Africa by Elizabeth Nyamayaro

Day 17. The Scandalous Times of a Book Louse by Robert Muponda

Day 18: This Might Sting a Bit by Claire Adlam

Day 19: To the Men I Have Hated by Tinatswe Mhaka

Pictured above: Authors featured this month

#ZimbabweLitMonth is curated by novelist Sue Nyathi. She is a published Zimbabwean author of four fiction titles: The Polygamist (2012), The Gold Diggers (2018), A Family Affair (2020), and An Angel’s Demise (2022). She also edited a nonfiction anthology titled When Secrets Become Stories, Women Speak Out (2021). You can visit her website here and follow her on Twitter at @SueNyathi.

Editor’s Note: Congratulations to our #ZimbabweLitMonth guest curator, Sue Nyathi, for winning her second South Africa Literary Award this month for her novel, An Angel’s Demise. You can read about Sue’s award here. Brava!

Title: An Angel’s Demise

Author: Sue Nyathi

Publisher: Pan Macmillan South Africa

ISBN: 978-1770108080