She works as a lecturer at Cornell University in New York and said one day she hopes to become a full time writer. Her short story called Hitting Budapest follows a group of six starving Zimbabwean children, one of whom is pregnant at age 10, as they go about fending for themselves.

The children from a shanty town decide to raid a well off neighbourhood for guavas. They encounter a rich woman and insult her for throwing away a piece of pizza, a food they discover for the first time in their lives. On their way back home they come across the body of someone who has committed suicide.

Asked if her story is related to the current situation in Zimbabwe, she said it was linked through the issue of poverty. “The real issue is that a lot of people are living below the poverty line and children, being society’s most vulnerable victims, are suffering the brunt of it,” she said. The story also draws heavily from her own experiences of growing up in Zimbabwe.

Bulawayo was chosen from 126 submissions by a jury consisting of this year’s Commonwealth Writers’ Prize winner Aminatta Forna and the Man Booker Prize shortlisted Libyan author Hisham Matar, among others.

Handing over the prize, Matar explained why Bulawayo was chosen over four other shortlisted writers:

“The language of Hitting Budapest crackles,” he said. “Here we encounter Darling, Bastard, Chipo, Godknows, Stina and Sbho, a gang reminiscent of ‘Clockwork Orange.’ But these are children, poor and violated and hungry. This is a story with moral power and weight (yet) has the artistry to refrain from moral commentary.”

As Caine Prize winner NoViolet receives £10,000 cash and will be given the opportunity to take up a month’s residence at Georgetown University, Washington DC, as a writer-in-residence. The award will cover all travel and living expenses.

The Caine Prize has become a near-infallible early warning system for new African talent. Often, just being shortlisted is enough to catapult African authors to international renown, as has been evidenced by Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie.

Previous winners such as Leila Aboulela, Helon Habila and Kenyan Binyavanga Wainaina have gone on to publish critically acclaimed works, as well as further the cause of writing in their respective countries.

Read Hitting Budapest

Buy the book: ‘To See the Mountain and other stories’ features all five stories shortlisted in 2011.

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Africa’s diverse beauty and rich heritage are her powerful source of inspiration.
Her series entitled “Identity” stems from an upbringing in Africa and calls into question cultural stereotypes and preconceived notions of belonging. This series includes screen prints of traditional African imagery on traditional English prints such as wallpapers and lace curtains. Through this she engages her audience by immersing them into a fusion of cultures and challenging further debate on personal identity and what it means to “belong”.

To see her latest work take a look at her website: Katie Grubb -Zimbabwean Artist

Zimbabwean Art & Images for Sale:
	Photographic Print of Elephant on shore of Lake Kariba 12×8 Print. Image size 305x200mm. Printed on professional grade Fuji Crystal Archive Photographic Paper for clear and sharp images. Paper size 305x203mm (approx). Elephant on shore of Lake Kariba. Available on Amazon.co.uk Available on Amazon.com

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• Mashonaland Flying Club Aviation Art Auction

The Mashonaland Flying Club (MFC) has now been in existence for 52 years, when the Marlborough Flying Club became the Mashonaland Flying Club in 1957.

As you will be aware the club has fallen on hard times in recent years. In the good times MFC had about 850 members, but, as a result of people leaving the country and those remaining having to tighten their belts to cope with rising costs, these figures have dwindled. Currently membership figures are nearer to 100, of which only half are active members in Harare.

Many ex Mashonaland Flying Club students are now enjoying good careers flying for major airlines world wide; Emirates, Cathay Pacific, Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways, easyJet, Air Mauritius, MK Airlines and of course Air Zimbabwe to name a few. MFC has also produced many private pilots and has always provided a warm and happy welcome to all those who have walked under the Vampire arch. One only needs to have a look at the current MFC facebook site, to see how many of us look back on our days at MFC with sheer happiness.

In order to celebrate both MFC’s wonderful history and its continuing survival against all the odds and Concorde’s 40th Anniversary, Fiona Del Giudice, a Sussex based artist, has been commissioned to paint John Reid-Rowland’s legendary photograph of Z-MFC and Concorde at Harare Airport, 31st October 1993.

The water colour in its double mount measures 16” X 20”, the starting bid is £425-00, an absolute bargain for an original aviation watercolour of such a high standard. Please e-mail your bid to mashflyingclubauction@hotmail.com ( please give your name and bid in UK pounds ).

The bidding will open on Friday 27th November and will close on Saturday 12th December at 18-00 GMT (e-mails will be sent out intermittently advising you of the current bid). The winning bidder will be required to pay for shipping of the picture from the UK. Once the auction has closed all money raised above £425-00 will be donated to MFC to help with their fight for survival.

PLEASE BID GENEROUSLY IN ORDER TO HELP KEEP THIS WONDERFUL CLUB ALIVE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS!!!!

Please note: This auction is not being conducted by chirundu.com, I am just advertising it. If you require more information, please email mashflyingclubauction@hotmail.com

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• Katie Grubb - Zimbabwean Artist