The Goddess of Mtwara

The 2017 Caine Prize anthology, titled after one of the stories. A girl raises a baby made of human hair from the salon where she works, with unpredictable results. A prodigal brother arrives at his sister’s in the dead of night, ravaged by the unearthly deal he made to escape his gambling debts. A poet is captivated by a girl walking in the market who ultimately meets a mysterious end. A male student in Nigeria falls passionately in love with another man while coping with the disintegration of his family. Following a global cyber attack, an Afrikaner farmer and former soldier looks back in anger on his life and the betrayal of his people. The authors shortlisted for the 2017 Caine Prize are Lesley Nneka Arimah (Who Will Greet You At Home), Chikodili Emelumadu (Bush Baby), Bushra al-Fadil (The Story of the Girl Whose Birds Flew Away), Arinze Ifeakandu (God’s Children Are Little Broken Things), and Magogodi oaMphela Makhene (The Virus), joined by eleven Caine Prize Workshop writers who each produced a special story for this volume.