Zimbabwean author NoViolet Bulawayo has added another prestigious honor to her collection, winning the Best of Caine award. This special prize celebrates the most outstanding story from the Caine Prize for African Writing’s 25-year history. Bulawayo earned the accolade for her 2011-winning short story, “Hitting Budapest.” The story, originally published in the Boston Review, follows six children from the shantytown Paradise as they sneak into the affluent Budapest neighborhood to steal guavas. Praised for its powerful language and compelling storytelling, the story captures themes of poverty, inequality, and childhood courage. Bulawayo won the 2011 Caine Prize for the same story and later published it as the opening chapter of her debut novel, We Need New Names. She reflected on her first Caine Prize as a milestone in her literary journey, now further cemented by her acclaimed novels and teaching role at Cornell University.
The Guardian
