Born and raised in Zimbabwe, novelist NoViolet Bulawayo is an accomplished writer and lecturer as well as the winner of the 2011 Caine Prize for African Writing. You can meet her, and participate in her writer’s workshop, during the upcoming StoryMoja Hay Festival (September 13th -16th). In an email interview with UP, NoViolet shared her thoughts on her life as an author and gave us a few pointers for all the aspiring writers out there.

Who did you grow up reading?

I read British and local language literature but this doesn’t mean I had access to many books, or that I consider my early reading to have had a profound impact. What did it for me instead was orature. My people’s stories, and I was surrounded by tons. Serious reading came after this important foundation.

Have you always felt drawn to creative writing in its different forms?

Absolutely, I work across genres and I love how they feed off of each other. My dialogue in fiction benefits from my drama and screenwriting experience, my non-fiction is told through the same devices I use in fiction and so on. I think mastering different forms definitely makes one a richer writer and I encourage young writers to learn as many forms as they can. Did you have an “aha moment”?

At what point did you know that this was something you were good at and could pursue seriously?

When I began studying creative writing in college is when I became encouraged to take it very seriously and invest in learning the craft and reading in meaningful ways, which eventually led me to following my heart and applying to an MFA program instead of law school.

What does winning the 2011 Caine Prize mean to you?

The Caine is old for me now especially since I’ve spent all the money and there’s a new winner and all (ha-ha), but it was a very encouraging and humbling stamp of approval at a time when I really needed it as a young writer just trying to hustle. Let me say that it left me even more serious and focused, and to that end my debut novel, “We Need New Names” is coming out in the summer of 2013, and I’m already thinking about the next.

Is this your first trip to Nairobi?

It’s my first time yes but of course I’ve encountered Kenya through its writers. What are your expectations of the festival? StoryMoja is one of the leading literary festivals in Africa so I’m expecting to be blown away at every level. I’m especially looking forward to meeting great writers and thinkers, to insightful discussions, music, fun, just the whole shebang.

Will you conduct a workshop or give a talk at the Hay? If so, what should your fans (new and old) look forward to?

Yes. I’m excited to do a workshop and exchange ideas, and hopefully meet Kenya’s upcoming writers.

Is the global literary culture on the decline or rise?

It’s definitely facing competition from technology but it doesn’t mean it’s dying, if anything its finding ways to adapt and I think we’ll see interesting new genres and who knows, maybe increased reading as gadgets may make reading cool. We all grimaced with the coming of the kindle for example, but folks are carrying tons of books in their bags.

Does the author still have a place in society? Always, she is, after all, its product.

What words of encouragement would you give budding writers? This is not exactly encouragement, more like advice. Invest seriously in craft so you become an effective storyteller. Get your dialogue, setting, exposition, scene and other elements down and understand them. From working with young people not many are taking the time to do the craft like it needs to be done (and this was me in my early twenties too). I think with patience and focus these are things you can learn and master, and then you can talk about getting published.