Petina Gappah is a lawyer and writer born in Zambia and raised in Zimbabwe. She has law degrees from Cambridge University, Graz University and the University of Zimbabwe. She lives in France with her son Kush and works as an international lawyer in Geneva. Her first publication was the critically-acclaimed short story collection An Elegy For Easterly which won the Guardian First Book Award in 2009. In 2015, she published The Book Of Memory, a novel narrated by the only woman in Zimbabwe on death row hoping for a presidential reprieve. Her 2016 collection of short stories Rotten Row explores the causes and consequences of crime through a panoramic view of Zimbabwean society.

Events participated in:

Harare Blues?: David Coltart and Petina Gappah recount tales of life in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe. (2016)

The Book of Memory: Petina Gappah reads from her novel Book of Memory. (2016)

Zimbabwe at the Crossroads: Allan Little talks with Sir Kieran Prendergast, Mordecai Mahlungu, Petina Gappah and William Burdett-Coutts about the future of Zimbabwe. (2011)

GREAT Women: Mariella Frostrup in conversation with Marie Colvin and Petina Gappah about empowerment of women in Africa and beyond. (2011)

Petina Gapaph and Henry Olonga: Meet prize-winning writer Petina Gappahwith her exquisite portraits of life in contemporary Zimbabwe, and exiled former cricket Captain Henry Olonga, author of “Blood Sweat and Treason”, and explore how living outside one’s country changes the perspective of the writer and sportsman. (2010)

Laying down the law: What role for the Literary Advocate?: Three lawyers and authors share their views; with Petina Gappah, Michael Mansfield QC and Raja Shehadeh. (2010)