UK publisher Canongate has shared the beautiful cover for Caine Prize winner Brian Chikwava’s new novel Shamiso, to be published August 28, 2025.

The dreamy contemporary cover highlights the title in a stark, brightly-colored contrast to the gray-green tones of the rest of the cover. The design speaks to the novel’s story of a young girl navigating joy and grief. From the publisher:

Shamiso is a young girl, thoughtful but uncertain, taken by her family from rural Zimbabwe to bustling Harare. As she grows up there, she watches the world: her distant, stern father, her angry stepmother and her father’s strange, loving cousin, the elderly Jimson, who encourages Shamiso to discover her passion for art, her place in their family, and her voice in the world. When she takes a leap to leave Zimbabwe behind for Brighton, England, Shamiso falls in love for the first time with George – whose female identity, Georgie, is everything Shamiso has ever wanted or needed. But can such happiness last, when neither of them knows yet who they truly are?

This is Zimbabwean writer Brian Chikwava’s second novel. His first, Harare North, was published in 2009 by Jonathan Cape. His short story “Seventh Street Alchemy” was awarded the 2004 Caine Prize for African writing in English, making him the first Zimbabwean to receive this prize.

Shamiso is available to pre-order here!