Siphiwo Mahala

SIPHIWO MAHALA was born in Grahamstown, South Africa. He has contributed short stories to several anthologies, with two of his stories appearing in the Southern African Short Story Review: The Best Stories of 2002. He is the recipient of the 2006 Ernst van Heerden Creative Writing Award for his novel, When a Man Cries (UKZN; 2007). Upon presenting the award, Prof Belinda Bozzoli remarked, “When a Man Cries offers vivid insight into the painful rhythms and experiential pressures of township life, while contriving to include flashes of dark or even slapstick humour.” Mahala has also published articles in national newspapers and magazines such as the Sunday Times, Classic Feel and The Deal. He was the founding Assistant Editor of Pax Africa, an African Peace and Security Newsletter published under the auspices of the AU-NEPAD Programme, SaferAfrica. Most recently, he edited Africa is Calling, a special publication for South Africa’s cultural manifestation programme during the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany. Mahala did his undergraduate and Honours degrees at the University of Fort Hare before completing a Master of Arts degree in African Literature at the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg. He holds Creative Writing certificates from Rhodes University, in Grahamstown, and Lancaster University, in London. He is currently the Deputy Director of Books and Publishing in the national Department of Arts and Culture.

Chris Mann

Chris Mann is a poet, playwright and musician, and is honorary Professor of Poetry at Rhodes University. His works include Heartlands, Thuthula and LifeLines. Lifelines is a multimedia show based on a new book about animals which brings together science, literature and art. The show features texts and artwork projected onto a large screen above the narrator and live original music. Beeld called a similar show by Chris Mann and Julia Skeen, which featured the actress Janet Suzman, “… head and shoulders above all the others…” (at the Grahamstown Festival).

For more information about Chris Mann, click here.

Kopano Matlwa

Kopano Matlwa is a fifth year medical student from Johannesburg studying at the University of Cape Town. She is author of Coconut as well as Chairperson of WREMS (Waiting Room Education by Medical Students) a non-profit organisation that educates patients and their families on common health conditions in the waiting rooms of student run mobile clinics. She describes herself as someone who is excited by life and all the possibilities each new day holds. If not in the hospital, out at the mobile clinics or spending time with friends you will find her with pen in hand marveling at how single words strung together can change the minds of whole nations.

For more information, visit kopanomatlwa.book.co.za

John Maytham

John Maytham is the host of the afternoon drive show on 567 CapeTalk. He’s been a journalist for nearly twenty years following a decade as a failed actor. He’s always used his radio platforms to promote books and authors and has been a judge for various literary prizes. He has not written, is not writing, and has no intention ever of writing a book. He’ll leave that to the many much more talented people than him.

For more information, visit www.capetalk.co.za

Bridget McNulty

Bridget McNulty is a passionate writer fascinated by why people act the way they do. With a creative writing degree from Franklin and Marshall College in the USA, this native Durbanite now lives in Cape Town, where she recently baked the World's Largest Cupcake. Her first novel, Strange Nervous Laughter, was released in September 2007.

Bridget spends her everydays as a freelance writer, drinking copious cups of tea and scaring up new recipes for cupcakes. She also likes to make wry observations about the people around her (although she usually confines them to a notebook).

Deon Meyer

Deon Meyer was born in Paarl in the winelands of the Western Cape in 1958, and grew up in Klerksdorp. After military duty and studying at the Potchefstroom University, he joined Die Volksblad, a daily newspaper in Bloemfontein, as a reporter. His novels include The Invisible, Heart of the Hunter and Dead Before Dying. His work has been translated into a dozen languages. Deon Meyer became the first South African to win the Deutsche Krimi Preis, considered to be the oldest and most prestigious German literary award to Kriminalliteratur, or crime fiction.

For more information, visit www.deonmeyer.com

Gcina Mhlope

Writer, director, storyteller and poet Gcina Mhlope produced and performed in the the CD Music for Little People, in collaboration with Ladysmith Black Mambazo. She wrote music for the SABCTV series Gcina & Friends. In 2000 she released an award-winning storytelling CD, Fudukazi's Magic, for German audiences. She wrote both story and music, in collaboration with guitarist Bheki Khoza, for the Animated Tales of the World series. Her other books and plays include Have You Seen Zandile, African Mother Christmas, Love Child and her much acclaimed Stories of Africa.

For more information about Gcina Mhlope, click here

Kgebetli Moele

Kgebetli Moele was born on 31 March 1978. His debut novel, Room 207, was published by Kwela Books in 2006. It was short-listed for the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Best First Book (Africa) the following year, and was the joint winner of the Herman Charles Bosman Prize for fiction and joint winner of the University of Johannesburg Prize for Creative Writing in the debut category. Room 207 also received an honourable mention in the English category of the M-Net Book Prize and was one of two South African titles to receive an honourable mention from the Noma Awards committee.

More authors...