NoViolet Bulawayo wins the best of 25 years of the Caine Prize. This is why she deserves it

Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo has been honoured as Africa’s best short story writer after winning the Best of Caine Award. The special recognition marks 25 years of the annual Caine Prize for African Writing.

An esteemed panel of judges unanimously selected Bulawayo as the standout winner of the 25 stories awarded the prize so far. Her short story, “Hitting Budapest”, won the prize in 2011. She has gone on to publish two acclaimed novels, We Need New Names and Glory. Both were shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

For me, as a scholar of African literary cultures, Bulawayo’s recognition by the judges feels like a generational milestone. “Hitting Budapest” follows a band of children wandering in a decaying urban landscape in search of food. Their journey, told through a fractured, childlike voice, captures both the immediacy of play and the stark realities of deprivation.

The story’s unsettling blend of innocence and brutality provoked lively debate when it appeared. It raised questions about the aesthetics of the African literature the prize sought to celebrate. About whether its power lived in its inventive narration and perspective, or whether it leaned too easily into global appetites for African suffering and spectacle.

But there was never any doubt about Bulawayo’s singular talent. She’s today known for her virtuoso ability with language and her sharp eye for...

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