Kwani? Series

African Violet and Other Stories

Author: Various
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 978-9966-1598-2-3
No. of pages: 230
Size of book: 198mm x 129mm
Price: Ksh 1000 ($ 12)
Year of Publication: 2012

The life and times of a war hero who discovers the oddities of the world and returns to declare his own form of independence…An inveterate chancer and drunk gives a command performance as he outwits his boss…Sensation grips Malawi as a homosexual caught in the act takes a righteous stand…A sister and brother discover the world of wealth and expectation that separates their lives in Senegal and the US…A severed leg in a tree leads a maverick investigator down the darkest of trails…

The shortlisted stories for the 2012 Caine Prize – Africa’s leading literary prize – offer five memorable snapshots of life on the African continent in all its diversity.

The shortlisted authors are:

• Rotimi Babatunde (Nigeria) for Bombay’s Republic
• Billy Kahora (Kenya) for Urban Zoning
• Stanley Kenani (Malawi) for Love on trial
• Melissa Tandiwe Myambo (South Africa) for Hunter Emmanuel

In addition, ten writers from six different African countries took part in the Caine Prize Writers’ Workshop, held this year in South Africa, where they each produced a special story for this volume.