Literature & Ideas
Landmark
NoViolet Bulawayo
born 1981
The first woman shortlisted for the Booker with each of her first two novels
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Zimbabwe Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
We Need New Names in 2013, Glory in 2022 — the first woman ever shortlisted for the Booker with both her first and second books, and the first Black African woman on the list twice.
NoViolet Bulawayo is the pen name of Elizabeth Zandile Tshele, born in Zimbabwe on 10 December 1981.
Her debut We Need New Names, following a girl called Darling from Zimbabwe to the American Midwest, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2013 and won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, the Etisalat Prize, the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for first fiction. Her second novel, the political allegory Glory, was shortlisted for the Booker in 2022, making her the first woman shortlisted for both her first and second novels, and the first Black African woman on the list twice.
Her debut We Need New Names, following a girl called Darling from Zimbabwe to the American Midwest, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2013 and won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, the Etisalat Prize, the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for first fiction. Her second novel, the political allegory Glory, was shortlisted for the Booker in 2022, making her the first woman shortlisted for both her first and second novels, and the first Black African woman on the list twice.
- Wikipedia — NoViolet Bulawayo
- The Booker Prizes — NoViolet Bulawayo
- Open Country Mag — Booker Prize: NoViolet Bulawayo is the first woman to be shortlisted for her first two novels
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