We Need New Names

We Need New Names
First edition (US)
AuthorNoViolet Bulawayo
LanguageEnglish
GenreBildungsroman
PublisherReagan Arthur (US)
Chatto & Windus (UK)
Publication date
May 21, 2013 (US)
Media typePrint, Electronic
Pages304
ISBN9780316230810
Followed byGlory 

We Need New Names is the 2013 debut novel of expatriate Zimbabwean writer NoViolet Bulawayo. A coming-of-age story, We Need New Names tells of the life of a young girl named Darling, first as a 10-year-old in Zimbabwe, navigating a world of chaos and degradation with her friends, and later as a teenager in the Midwestern United States, where a better future seems about to unfold when she goes to join an aunt working there.[1]

The first chapter of the book, "Hitting Budapest", initially presented as a story in the Boston Review,[2] won the 2011 Caine Prize for African Writing.[3][1] The Chair of Judges, Hisham Matar, said: "The language of ‘Hitting Budapest’ crackles. This is a story with moral power and weight, it has the artistry to refrain from moral commentary. NoViolet Bulawayo is a writer who takes delight in language."[4]

We Need New Names was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize (2013),[5] the Guardian First Book Award shortlist (2013),[6] and a Barnes & Noble Discover Award finalist (2013).[7] It was the winner of the inaugural Etisalat Prize for Literature (2013),[8][9] and won the prestigious PEN/Hemingway Award for debut work of fiction.[10][11] It won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction (2013).[12]

  1. ^ a b Busby, Margaret (2013-06-06). "We Need New Names, By NoViolet Bulawayo". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2013-07-26.
  2. ^ "Hitting Budapest". Boston Review. 2010-11-01. Archived from the original on 2013-09-06.
  3. ^ Habila, Helon (2013-06-20). "We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2013-09-19.
  4. ^ "Previous Winners". The Caine Prize for African Writing. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.
  5. ^ "We Need New Names". Booker Prize. 6 June 2013. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  6. ^ "We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo". The Guardian. 2013-11-15. Archived from the original on 2013-11-17. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  7. ^ "2013 Discover Awards". Barnes & Noble. 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  8. ^ Ben (23 February 2014). "NoViolet Bulawayo Wins the Inaugural Etisalat Prize for Literature". Books Live. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  9. ^ "Etisalat Prize for Literature Announces 2013 Shortlist". Etisalat Prize. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  10. ^ Allan Kozinn (2014-03-17). "Writer From Zimbabwe Wins PEN/Hemingway Award for First Novel". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2014-03-17. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  11. ^ Zipp, Yvonne (2014-03-18). "NoViolet Bulawayo wins prestigious Hemingway/PEN award". MLive Media Group. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  12. ^ Kellogg, Carolyn (2014-04-12). "The winners of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes are ..." Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2014-04-13. Retrieved 14 April 2014.