The Writers of Wales Database

MUSHAKAVANHU, TINASHE

Email: tinsmush@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.mazwi.net/uncategorized

Tinashe Mushakavanhu is a young Zimbabwean writer born in 1983. He received a First Class Honours degree in English Literature from the Midlands State University. He became the first African to study for the MA in Creative Writing at Trinity College in Wales. In 2004, he became the youngest writer to participate in the Crossing Borders Creative Writing Project, a British Council and Lancaster University initiative. He is the National Secretary in the Budding Writers Association of Zimbabwe’s Executive Committee. Before coming to Europe, Tinashe was an active literary arts journalist in Zimbabwean media. He was one of the 12 young African writers invited to participate in the annual Caine Prize for African Writing Camp in Kenya, March 2007–01–05.

Tinashe has had several short stories and poems published in various publications including three award-winning Zimbabwean anthologies. Tinashe has given readings at Harare International Festival of the Arts in the Spoken Word Segment, 2004, at the Intwasa Arts Festival, Bulawayo in 2006 and also in Gweru (Zimbabwe). Tinashe gave a presentation of a seminal paper on contemporary Zimbabwean Literature in English at the Uncwadi Writer’s Conference, Port Elizabeth, South Africa in 2004. He has also done readings in Carmarthen and Cardiff (Wales). 

He is currently completing work on his book, The Harare Hermit and Other Stories from Zimbabwe. At the moment he is also currently co-editing an anthology of short stories and poems (published by Parthian Books) to be launched at Hay on Wye in May, 2007. Tinashe has established a journal of African writing, MAZWI Literary Journal (www.mazwi.net).

Selected Publications:
The Harare Hermit and Other Stories from Zimbabwe (forthcoming)

Contributed to:
Writing Now: More stories From Zimbabwe (contributor) (Weaver Press, 2005)
Short Writings From Bulawayo II (contributor) (amaBooks, 2005)
Budding Echoes: A CD of Poetry Recordings (contributor) (Budding Writers Association of Zimbabwe, BWAZ, 2005)
Short Writings From Bulawayo III  (contributor) (amaBooks, 2006)
Author Africa 2007 (contributor) (Cook Publications, 2007)
A Haunting Touch (contributor) (Parthian, 2007)
Our Poets Speak: Contemporary Zimbabwean Poetry (editor) (The Conversation Paperpress, 2009)