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#ZimbabweLitMonth: Where the Heart is (2022)

#ZimbabweLitMonth: Inside Harare Alcatraz and Other Short Stories is Andrew Chatora’s debut short story collection which is forthcoming in February 2024.

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Zimbabwean writer Andrew Chatora.
Zimbabwean writer Andrew Chatora. Photo: Supplied

The noughties probably witnessed the biggest exodus of Zimbabweans emigrating from the country in search of greener pastures. This has given rise to the emigre novel as migrants narrate their lived experiences in their host countries. “Where the Heart is,” is one such novel authored by Andrew Chatora. The story unfolds in Milton Keyes and follows the lives of the Mupawaenda family, a Zimbabwean family living in the UK, and the plethora of challenges faced by them while trying to assimilate in a new country which often appears hostile and unwelcoming.

Andrew is not new to the writing scene having made his debut in 2021 with his novella titled Diaspora Dreams which follows the journey of Kundai Mafirakureva who is trying to live the United Kingdom dream but is disillusioned by the racial dynamics and class struggles of being a Black male immigrant. Andrew Chatora is a noted exponent of the African diaspora novel. Candid, relentlessly engaging and vulnerable, his novels are a polarizing affair among social critics and literary aficionados. Chatora is currently working on his fourth novel, Born Here, But Not in My Name, a long-run treatment of race relations in Britain, featuring the English classroom as a microcosm of wider society post-Brexit. His debut novella, Diaspora Dreams (2021), was the well-received nominee of the National Arts Merit Awards in Zimbabwe, while his subsequent works, Where the Heart Is (2022) and Harare Voices and Beyond (2023) have cemented his contribution as a voice of the excluded. Inside Harare Alcatraz and Other Short Stories is his debut short story collection which is forthcoming in February 2024.

Title: Diaspora Dreams

Author: Andrew Chatora

Publisher: Kharis Publishing

ISBN: 978-1637460504

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Title: Where the Heart Is

Author: Andrew Chatora

Publisher: Kharis Publishing

ISBN: 978-1637460849

Title: Harare Voices and Beyond

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Author: Andrew Chatora

Publisher: Kharis Publishing

ISBN: 978-1637461976

Title: Inside Harare Alcatraz and Other Short Stories (forthcoming in February of 2024, available for pre-order)

Author: Andrew Chatora

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Publisher: Kharis Publishing

ISBN: 978-1637462348

Title: Born Here, But Not in My Name (forthcoming in 2024)

Author: Andrew Chatora

Publisher: Kharis Publishing

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ISBN: forthcoming

 

Andrew Chatora

Andrew Chatora writes novels and short stories and hails from Zimbabwe. He received an MA in Media, Culture and Communication from University College London. His writing explores multifarious themes of belonging, identity politics, citizenship, and nationhood issues. Andrew is principally interested in the global politics of inequality which he interrogates through his writing. When he is not writing, he is working on his PhD thesis on digital piracy, with Birmingham City University’s School of Media and English. Follow him on Twitter at @andrew_chatora.

#ZimbabweLitMonth is curated by novelist Sukoluhle “Sue” Nyathi.

Sukoluhle “Sue” Nyathi

Sukoluhle “Sue” Nyathi describes herself as an analyst by profession and a writer by passion. She had a career spanning over 20 years in the financial services sector. Destiny retired her from this path in 2018 so she could pursue writing full time. Nyathi has authored 4 fiction bestselling critically acclaimed novels: The Polygamist (2012), The Gold Diggers (2018) A Family Affair (2020) and An Angel’s Demise (2022). Nyathi edited a nonfiction anthology of essays with a gender-based violence theme titled: When Secrets Become Stories, Women Speak Out (2021) Nyathi also has screen writing credits to her name for scriptwriting and story lining. Nyathi is currently facilitating a creative writing workshop under the auspices of the Johannesburg Institute of Advanced Studies (JIAS).

This article originally appeared on The Global Literature in Libraries Initiative and it is republished here with the permission of the author and writer. No changes were made to the original article.

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