Q&As: Yvonne Kusiima – Caine Prize shortlist 2023

By Africa in Words on 31 October , 2023 • ( 0 )

AiW note: Continuing our new Words on… Q&A series, this week, we are publishing a range of interviews around the UK-based short story award, the Caine Prize for African Writing, 2023. There have been a few notable firsts that have helped shape the Prize this year, not least the change of season (from a July to an October winner announcement). In the lead up to the prize-giving on Monday 2nd October, and following on from last year’s coverage highlighting the less visible avenues and labour involved in “prizing” writing, we spoke to some of the writers on the shortlist, as well as publishers of their stories, and judges who determined the list. A series of twinned Q&As, to open up interviewees’ involvement in the Prize in 2023, follow.

In this Q&A, we hear from writer, Yvonne Kusiima (Uganda), whose shortlisted story, ‘Weaving’, was published in Isele Magazine in 2022. Our twinned Q&A in the series today is with Ukamaka Olisakwe, founder and editor-in-chief of Isele.

Yvonne Kusiima is a writer from Kampala, Uganda with a degree in Social Sciences. She is interested in the complexities of human societies and aims to shake things up to make this world a better place. She believes stories have the power to change the status quo, one word at a time. Her work has been published in African Writer Magazine, Kalahari Review, Brittle Paper, The Hektoen International Journal of Medical Humanities and Isele. Her work has been shortlisted for the Isele short story prize (2023).

AiW: Congratulations, Yvonne, on being shortlisted for the 2023 Caine Prize for African Writing. Thank you for your story and for talking with us.

Could we open with a bit about some of the “other lives” or pre-lives of your Caine Prize shortlisted story, perhaps something that our readers might not yet know (or that they should, or need to know) about it?

Yvonne Kusiima: ‘Weaving’ was inspired by the word. I wanted to come up with a word that would spur my creativity so I thought it was perfect when it came to mind. I’m a Weaver. Weaving is what I do. Joining those threads, those words to produce sentences and paragraphs to the finished story. So with Weaving, both my character and I are creating.

Could you tell us a bit about your (other) work — your writing and/or other kinds of work, roles, or the more general and different sorts of professional hats you wear?

My other writing is serious and it’s funny. A lot of it is different from what most people imagine what an ‘African story’ should sound like. I’m a writer who likes to read different things so I like to write lots of different things.

What would you say is the best investment you’ve made in your professional self, and/or the most valued advice you’ve received about navigating your industry (or industries)?

The best investment I have made regarding my writing is regulating the amount of time I spend on social media.

Most importantly, I have learnt the value of my own opinions. I write for me first. I write what I want to read. If other people love it, then great. But my writing is first for me. I’m free to write what I want how I want to write it.

What are the most ethical and/or heart-lifting changes in practice you’ve seen happening across your industry/industries recently, and what would you like to see become more visible and celebrated going forward?

I love seeing more diversity in the publishing industry which means a broader range of stories for readers.

Finally, how can our blog, books, and online communities best offer support for your work with African writing?

I feel you’re doing a great job promoting it right now. Just continue talking about it. I’m so honored to be talking about it with you.

Read Yvonne’s story, ‘Weaving’ – and all the shortlisted stories – via the links at the Caine Prize website. We’d be very pleased to hear from you about your thoughts on the shortlist, or anything else 2023 Caine Prize related – comment on the post here, below, or contact us direct and let us know.

Today’s twinned AiW x Caine Prize 2023 Q&A is with Ukamaka Olisakwe, founder and editor-in-chief of Isele Magazine, the publishing forum for both Yvonne’s story and Ekemini Pius’ ‘Daughters, By Our Hands’ (Nigeria), each shortlisted for the Prize this year.

There will be more from the series to come, opening up some of the shifts and firsts happening around the Caine Prize this year, as we continue our aim from last year’s coverage to continue to highlight what is still the less visible avenues and labour involved in literary prizes – we’ll be hearing from more of the 2023 shortlisted story writers and publishers, and some of the judges as well, as the week goes on.

This year also marks 10 years that AiW have covered the Caine Prize (!). Thank you for being here with us.

Caine Prize website, “The Caine Prize Announces, 2023 Shortlisted Writers and Judges”:

…This year’s submissions encompassed a diverse range of talent from 28 different countries, including Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Fareda Banda, Chair of Judges, and a professor of Law at SOAS, University of London, expressed her thoughts on the shortlist: “Together we have read, discussed and wrestled an eligible submission list of 230 stories down to the final five. This has not been an easy task. The entries showed the depth and scope of writing on the continent and beyond.

“The stories spanned generations, genres and themes. They challenged, stimulated, shocked, surprised and delighted us in equal measure. The five shortlisted embrace speculative fiction and artivism (using art as a form of activism). Stories of gender-based violence and reproductive autonomy highlight the power of engaging and innovative/original writing. Love is embodied in stories of grandmothers passing on inter-generational wisdom. The sense of alienation engendered by teenage diasporic liminality sits alongside comedic outrage about the perceived status downgrade in moving from city to village. Each story will have its fans and advocates-we loved them all.”

Banda further noted the remarkable fact that four out of the six shortlisted finalists reside in Africa, with two from the diaspora. This year’s shortlist also boasts a joint submission and an all-women judging panel, marking significant milestones in the history of the Caine Prize.