KURT GEORGE ELLIS was born in 1983, Durban and lived in the communities of Newlands East, Greenwood Park, Redhill, and Sydenham. Surrounded by drugs, alcohol and gangs from a young age, he found joy in the world of fiction. After …
Nonfiction
“We reach for shortcuts instead of understanding” – In Conversation With Masande Ntshanga
MASANDE NTSHANGA won the 2013 PEN International New Voices Award and was shortlisted for the Caine Prize in 2015. He graduated from University of Cape Town with an Honours degree in English Studies and obtained his Masters in Creative Writing …
“I don’t believe in a successful or failed mother, but a good-enough mother” – In Conversation With Paula Marias
PAULA MARIAS is a South African author, linguist, and an avid itinerant who has visited more than 80 countries. She holds a Master’s in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town and an Honours Degree in Publishing from the …
“I sometimes think that I view the world like an observer rather than a participant” – In Conversation With ZP Dala
ZAINUB PRIYA DALA is a psychologist and a writer with a certificate in Creative writing from University of Cape Town. Her short fiction has been long-listed for the Orange Prize and she has been the runner-up in several short story …
“I enjoy writing about women because I like exposing their many shades” – In Conversation With Ifeoluwapo Adeniyi
IFEOLUWAPO ADENIYI is a popular radio personality in Ibadan, Nigeria. Alongside being a radio voice, she is also a writer. She recently published her novel, On the Bank of the River, which was longlisted for the 2015 Etisalat Prize For …
“Books should not be judged by their prizes” – In Conversation With Rehanna Rossouw
REHANNA ROSSOUW has been a journalist for three decades, beginning her career with an article published at the age of 17. She has been very active in the literary world especially in South Africa where she’s taught journalism and creative …
A Tale of Age and Passion
A Review of Yewande Omotoso’s The Woman Next Door by Tade Ipadeola—
Insight too astonishing to be quite fortuitous, to paraphrase Amy Clampitt, is what a reader of Yewande Omotoso’s new novel, The Woman Next Door, encounters page …
The Psychology of Reward
A Review of H J Golakai’s The Lazarus Effect by Ekweremadu Uchenna—
The opening pages of The Lazarus Effect, in which an investigative journalist is haunted by the “ghost” of a teenager, reminds one of Hamlet, in which an …
“There have been deep historical traumas in the history of my country” – In Conversation With Penny Busetto
PENNY BUSETTO is an award winning South African author born in Durban. She moved to Italy when she was 17, where she studied and married, and returned to Cape Town in 1996. In 2013 she was awarded the European Union …
“I had to leave in order to understand my country” – Interview With Fiston Mwanza Mujila, Winner of the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature
FISTON MWANZA MUJILA is from Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. His debut novel, Tram 83 was originally published in French then translated into six languages. Tram 83 won the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature. Even after translation, Tram 83 maintained …