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Conversation

Namwali Serpell

I explain more about why I decided to donate my

money to bail funds for protestors against Breonna Taylor's state-sanctioned murder in this BBC radio interview. The messy thread below offers some more context for those who are interested. 1/

BBC World Service - Newsday, 'The great Zambian novel you didn't know...

Zambian-born author Namwali Serpell has received the Arthur C Clarke Award

3:14 PM · Sep 25, 2020

Namwali Serpell

Replying to

As the wonderful Tade Thompson noted in the

announcement, I split the 2015 Caine Prize between the shortlisted writers as a "mutiny" against the idea that writing is a competitive sport. 2/

Zambian writer Namwali Serpell to share Caine prize money

Zambian writer Namwali Serpell promises to split the winnings for this year's Caine Prize for African Writing, regarded as Africa's leading literary award, with all the runners up.

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Namwali Serpell

I've given back some prizes since and accepted those that I've received that don't have shortlists. I believe in being honored and being paid for one's work. I don't believe in being pitted against other artists in a kind of game with one "winner." Why is that the only model? 3/

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Namwali Serpell

And I recently split the fee I'm due for my short story, "The Work of Art," in

between their unpaid interns. I'm sure it's a coincidence I haven't been paid yet, while their columnist and proponent of #TheHarpersLetter blithely tweets "thoughts" like this. 4/

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Namwali Serpell

But, as John Berger said of giving half his Booker Prize to the Black Panthers: "It... is not a question of philanthropy. It is not even... a question of politics. It is a question of my... development as a writer: the issue is between me and the culture which has formed me." 5/

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Namwali Serpell

Read Berger's blistering acceptance speech from 1972 in full here. 6/

'I have to turn this prize against itself'—John Berger on accepting the Booker Prize for Fiction,...

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Namwali Serpell

I'm honored to receive this award. I'm the first black woman to do so. They killed Breonna in her sleep and deemed it legal. It's all I can think about. My novel is about a horrific past and a dystopian future. The question never ends: How do we turn despair into revolution? /end

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Replying to

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That’s wonderful. Thank you so much for doing this essential work.

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@JohnJoh68497514

Replying to

and

Your words and deeds support the hope for brighter future in this dim light of present! ✊✊🏼✊🏿

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