As part of our reader Q&As with Booker-shortlisted authors, NoViolet Bulawayo answered a question that feels very pertinent following the conviction of her fellow Zimbabwean author #TsitsiDangarembga ‘Did you feel any fear writing about a brutal regime when some of the players are still in power?’ ‘I’d say instead of fear I felt this strong sense of purpose because for me the project was really about resistance. It was about showing up for a moment that demanded me as an artist, as a storyteller, to figure out how I could participate in Zimbabwe’s ongoing struggle for freedom. And, actually, seeing so many of my countrymen show up in their different capacities gave me the courage that I needed to simply do what I needed to do. And I am reminded of this Toni Morrison quote that kept me company, if I can read it very quickly. She said ‘There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language.’ That’s a quote that ...