Mubanga Kalimamukwento (born 1988) is a Zambian writer, known for her novel ''The Mourning Bird'', which focuses on Zambia's AIDS crisis, and ''Obligations to the Wounded'', her thematically linked collection of short stories centring the lives of Zambian women and girls. ''The Mourning Bird'' was awarded the

Dinaane Debut Fiction Award The Dinaane Debut Fiction Award – formerly the European Union Literary Award – is a South African literary award, open to permanent residents or citizens of South Africa and other southern African countries. The prize was first given in 2004 a ...

in 2018/2019. In 2024, she became the first African writer to win the Drue Heinz Prize for Literature. In 2025, ''Obilgations to the Wounded'' won a

Minnesota Book Award The Minnesota Book Awards are presented annually for books created by writers, illustrators or book artists who are Minnesotans. The award, originally established in 1988, is organized by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library. History ...

in the Novel & Short Story category and was longlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, an award focused on women writers. ''Obligations to the Wounded'' was also listed among The 75 best books of 2024 by

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

, 100 Notable African Books of 2024 by

Brittle Paper ''Brittle Paper'' is an online literary magazine styled as an "African literary blog" published weekly in the English language. Its focus is on "build(ing) a vibrant African literary scene." It was founded by Ainehi Edoro (at the time a doctora ...

, a Notable Book From Africa in 2024 by

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. In 2025, Mubanga published her debut hybrid collection of poems and essays, ''Another Mother Does Not Come When Yours Dies'', a finalist for the Center for African American Poetry and Poetics (CAAPP) Book Prize 2023.

Early life and education

Mubanga was born in

Lusaka, Zambia Lusaka ( ) is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was about 3.3 million ...

. She earned her bachelor's degree in Law from

Cavendish University Zambia Cavendish University Zambia (CUZ) is a private university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It was opened in 2004 as a subsidiary of Cavendish College London and is the first private university to operate in Zambia. The university is registered with t ...

, a master's degree in Law from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, and a master's degree in Fine Arts from

Hamline University Hamline University ( ) is a private university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1854, Hamline is the oldest university in Minnesota, the first coeducational university in the state, and is one of five Associated Colleges of th ...

. She is currently a PhD student in the department of Gender, Women, and Sexualities Studies at the

Bibliography

Chapbooks

* (2022) ''unmarked graves''

Novels

* (2019)''The Mourning Bird'' * (2026) ''Shipikisha''

Collections

* ''Obligations to the Wounded'' * ''Another Mother Does Not Come When Yours Dies''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalimamukwento, Mubanga Zambian writers 1988 births Living people